There's no nice version of street harassment.

I haven't written on here in a while because I've been working on a series of short stories and poems that are probably not suitable for blogspot.

Anyways, by now we've all probably seen the infamous Street Harassment video. If you are relatively involved with social justice, or just happened to stumble across articles written on the video, you've probably seen some analysis of the video. You've probably heard about the fact that all white men were edited out of the video, and the video's director has strong ties to gentrification.

Even though those important aspects of the video sucks, I think that the video brought up Street Harassment, and also sparked many conversations.

I've heard many men confused at the fact that they "just can't say hi," to women anymore.  These men are completely capable of understanding that hollering , whistling, or saying crude things to a woman is not okay. They see how these things can be considered harassment, and they know they would never engage in that type of behavior. They want to remind women that #notallmen. 

That's cool or whatever, but I think we are missing out on a key fact. The fact is, if a woman does not want you to talk to her, she does not have to respond nicely when you do so. 

I don't think men realize how annoying it is to be on the phone, or late to a meeting, and a seemingly nice guy comes up to them to start a conversation. Women simply don't have the time. 

Sometimes women don't want to talk to men because they are not attracted to them. Sometimes the men smell. Sometimes the men are too short, or sometimes the women don't even like men. But now they have to take time out of their busy schedule to feign interest in a guy they will never see again.

Why don't the women just ignore the men? Because they could literally be murdered. If you think this is an exaggeration, turn on any news channel. School shootings have started over women rejecting men. 

I don't think men understand the instant fear that enters many women the second they see a guy eyeing them out of the corner of their eye. It's stress-inducing and sometimes scary. What if women have been victims of sexual assault? What if they have anxiety?

Why must our comfort be sacrificed for the confidence boost of a stranger?

I'm a firm believer in the idea that someone's reaction to something that shouldn't have happened in the first place, can't be judged. Meaning, if you have no business talking to me, I shouldn't be judged if I don't take too kindly to the fact that you're talking to me.

Men have been conditioned to think they are God's gift to women. They have been conditioned to believe that the fact that they took time out of their day to talk to me, is doing me a favor. 

Remember this.

If you aren't paying my bills, if you aren't a relative, if you aren't relevant to my life in any way, I am under no obligation to be nice to you. Especially when you're hitting on me.