“I love you!” a man shouted at me from the backseat window of his friend’s car. It was my first day of work, and I was sitting on a bench during my lunch break. I decided to be pleasant and jokingly replied that I loved him too. I thought that would be the end of it, but the conversation took a different turn. The next few words that came out of his mouth were the vilest form of street harassment I’ve ever heard.
I sat speechless, with my jaw on the ground like an idiot. Many of my friends know that I’m usually armed with a quick comeback, but this time I was in total shock. The man continued to scream, and I mean scream, numerous disgusting remarks. We were on a busy street in the middle of the day, and I had never been so embarrassed or uncomfortable in my life.
One thing about my interaction with my street admirer that didn’t make sense was that his friends didn’t react at all. They didn’t laugh, but they didn’t tell him to stop either.
It made me question whether this was a common thing for them. If he would verbally harass a stranger on the street in broad daylight, how would he act at a party? I thought about how the situation would change with dark lighting and women who had their guards down and fewer inhibitions.
From someone else’s viewpoint, his actions might not seem too serious — just a typical drunk guy being belligerent for no reason. That way of thinking is passive. It condones his behavior and shifts thoughts away from the issue. To me, what occurred that afternoon was a small example of how rape culture can develop.
In May of this year, the U.S. Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights released a list of 55 colleges and universities currently under investigation for their response to sexual violence and harassment complaints on their campuses. MSU is on the list.
The higher education institutions are suspected of violating sexual violence requirements of Title IX, a law intended to protect individuals from discrimination based on sex in education programs or activities that receive federal financial assistance.
I think it should be brought to students’ attention that some cases of sexual harassment and violence are treated casually, or not treated at all.
I understand the man in the car didn’t pose a threat to me, but what he did was the start of a dangerous cycle.
Sometimes, once we start to take things seriously, it’s already too late.
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