Yes, all this that you say Celtic - AND - 95% of the time you don't need to have superior physical strength. If you can be REALLY assertive, you can make even most aggressive men leave you alone.
One time I was walking down the street and a man approached me and asked if I was available "for a chat". I said, "No, not really, I just want t…
Yes, all this that you say Celtic - AND - 95% of the time you don't need to have superior physical strength. If you can be REALLY assertive, you can make even most aggressive men leave you alone.
One time I was walking down the street and a man approached me and asked if I was available "for a chat". I said, "No, not really, I just want to be alone". But of course, he didn't take no for an answer, and started following me. I went into a bookstore. He came into the same bookstore. I ducked out and walked quickly down the street, but he stayed on my trail, and as I started walking down a sides treet towards my apartment, I heard footsteps behind me. Now, I was on a deserted street. It was daylight - Sunday afternoon - but there was no one around. I figured running wasn't an option because he would just overtake me, so instead I turned to face him and confront him.
"So, you're following me?" I asked
Looking sheepish, he admitted that he was.
"I've just never met anyone who dresses like you" he explained. I looked down at my clothes.
"You've never met anyone who wears jeans and a sweater?" I asked.
"I mean I guess it was your head scarf" (I was wearing my hair wrapped up in a scarf.)
"So you're following me down an empty street because I have my hair up in a scarf?"
"I guess so."
"Okay, well, look. I don't want to talk. Please just leave me alone. I want you to turn around and go back the way you came and stop following me."
He mumbled a bit and then finally agreed and walked away.
Thankfully, that is how that story ended.
I have another story. Thist time I was in an unfamiliar city, on the road, and decided to take a nap in my car in the parking lot of a public park. I woke up and had to pee, so I got up and walked towards the public bathroom. When I came out, I noticed the park was abandoned except for a group of guys, mostly Latino, who were hanging around the bathroom door. I started walking back to my car.
"Hey, Mamasita, what's going on?" one of them asked.
I shrugged, trying to look nonchalant although I had quickly grasped the peril of my situation.
"Nothing, just going back to my car," I said.
"Maybe we walk with you," he said and the whole group of them started to circle me. I was terrified. Thankfully, though, I was armed. I reached into my purse, pulled out my pepper spray and held it up.
"I'm going back to my car, ALONE," I said.
Their demeanor completely changed.
"Oh hey, no problem, we don't want no problem, Mamasita," he said.
They backed off.
I got back to my car, shaking. Got in. I drove away, and never ever ever went in the public bathroom in a park without checking my surroundings first again.
I am still afraid of what would have happened if I hadn't had that pepper spray. Would I even be here to tell the tale? It didn't look good.
Anyway, the moral of my story is this: the combination of pepper spray and strong talk has been enough to shut down all the creeps who have ever tried to hassle me - even when I was alone and outnumbered. Obviously, there are some creeps who wouldn't even be deterred by the pepper spray, or who would catch a woman by surprise before she could respond. So I am definitely not saying that men shouldn't stick up for women, or that we all shouldn't stick up for each other. Of course we should, but we should also all learn to defend ourselves to the best of our ability, because it really makes a difference.
Yes, all this that you say Celtic - AND - 95% of the time you don't need to have superior physical strength. If you can be REALLY assertive, you can make even most aggressive men leave you alone.
One time I was walking down the street and a man approached me and asked if I was available "for a chat". I said, "No, not really, I just want to be alone". But of course, he didn't take no for an answer, and started following me. I went into a bookstore. He came into the same bookstore. I ducked out and walked quickly down the street, but he stayed on my trail, and as I started walking down a sides treet towards my apartment, I heard footsteps behind me. Now, I was on a deserted street. It was daylight - Sunday afternoon - but there was no one around. I figured running wasn't an option because he would just overtake me, so instead I turned to face him and confront him.
"So, you're following me?" I asked
Looking sheepish, he admitted that he was.
"I've just never met anyone who dresses like you" he explained. I looked down at my clothes.
"You've never met anyone who wears jeans and a sweater?" I asked.
"I mean I guess it was your head scarf" (I was wearing my hair wrapped up in a scarf.)
"So you're following me down an empty street because I have my hair up in a scarf?"
"I guess so."
"Okay, well, look. I don't want to talk. Please just leave me alone. I want you to turn around and go back the way you came and stop following me."
He mumbled a bit and then finally agreed and walked away.
Thankfully, that is how that story ended.
I have another story. Thist time I was in an unfamiliar city, on the road, and decided to take a nap in my car in the parking lot of a public park. I woke up and had to pee, so I got up and walked towards the public bathroom. When I came out, I noticed the park was abandoned except for a group of guys, mostly Latino, who were hanging around the bathroom door. I started walking back to my car.
"Hey, Mamasita, what's going on?" one of them asked.
I shrugged, trying to look nonchalant although I had quickly grasped the peril of my situation.
"Nothing, just going back to my car," I said.
"Maybe we walk with you," he said and the whole group of them started to circle me. I was terrified. Thankfully, though, I was armed. I reached into my purse, pulled out my pepper spray and held it up.
"I'm going back to my car, ALONE," I said.
Their demeanor completely changed.
"Oh hey, no problem, we don't want no problem, Mamasita," he said.
They backed off.
I got back to my car, shaking. Got in. I drove away, and never ever ever went in the public bathroom in a park without checking my surroundings first again.
I am still afraid of what would have happened if I hadn't had that pepper spray. Would I even be here to tell the tale? It didn't look good.
Anyway, the moral of my story is this: the combination of pepper spray and strong talk has been enough to shut down all the creeps who have ever tried to hassle me - even when I was alone and outnumbered. Obviously, there are some creeps who wouldn't even be deterred by the pepper spray, or who would catch a woman by surprise before she could respond. So I am definitely not saying that men shouldn't stick up for women, or that we all shouldn't stick up for each other. Of course we should, but we should also all learn to defend ourselves to the best of our ability, because it really makes a difference.
I've got a temper, it has saved me several times. I should really write about some of the incidents where's it's risen to my defence.