Who Needs Proof That A Lot Of Men Are Just Plain Disrespectful!

Another sociological study was performed a couple of weeks ago when “street harassment” was recorded by actress Shoshana B. Roberts.  Forget about spending “10 Hours Walking As A Woman in NYC…” – women have been dealing with catcalls since the beginning of time! Don’t you just love how someone comes along and “recaptures” an obvious social or public scenario – but nothing is done to change or address it?

I’ve already written a column on how I don’t feel safe walking the community when dozens of potentially dangerous men want to simply “say hello,” to a pretty woman (“When Courteousness Is Mistaken For A Dangerous Encounter,” 12/8/2011). 

The idea brought on by Roberts’ disturbing experience – which was captured by a man who strapped a hidden camera to his back and walked in front of the attractive subject– is that women are constantly being harassed in the streets.

Questions about whether catcalls are all that “innocent” are being raised…

Questions on whether these complimentary sentiments are potentially “dangerous” were raised…

Questions about crossing the line between flirting and being a clear and present danger to a woman were also entertained.

How about the fact that some men are just plain RUDE and DISRESPECTFUL? How about the fact that most men DON’T know how to approach a woman in the first place – and this pathetic attempt at getting someone’s attention is proof that a lot of men weren’t taught the right way to speak to a woman – without coming off as an arrogant idiot with no manners!

It wasn’t just disrespectful – it was downright DANGEROUS that one of the men walking next to Roberts was following her as he was talking! What woman wants to be followed and nagged for attention? If you’re a man in the community who thinks senselessly hollering at a woman will get her to date you – then you’re pretty pathetic! Shouting at a woman and talking to a woman is two different things. Also, just because a woman is attractive and crosses your path, doesn’t mean you have to react! You don't know what her situation is and you don’t know what she’s going through in her life. When you’re walking the city streets – trying to get to work, school or to an important appointment – that's definitely NOT the place or time to start a conversation!

Let’s get real!  These days, it seems, even if a man has ample time to hold a conversation, he can’t even compliment a woman in a reputable manner. Instead of saying, “Miss, that’s a nice jacket you’re wearing,” or “How are you today?” some hoodlum decides to sidle up to a woman and snap at her – saying,  “Yo Ma, lemme git your number!” or “Sup, girl….You don’t wanna say hi?...Fine be like that b***h!”

So you don’t have the decency to say something…decent…and YOU decide to call a woman a derogatory name? We don’t know – and most of us don’t want to know – where the conversation’s going to lead. If we start responding to these douchebag men, we know it’ll provoke more unwanted conversation. How much of a gentleman can you be if you walk up to random women spewing horrible words you think will get you a date…or more!

Why should we respond? In a city where women are the ones who have to be careful and protect themselves, it’s only natural to ignore a man who uses sexist pet names and crude language to get our attention. If all a man can do is throw aimless flirts at a woman, how classy and proper would he be if he actually got a chance to have a date wit her?

A man’s choice of words – and how he makes his first impression – sets the stage for how a woman sees his personality and character. Do you really see a serious relationship coming from someone who yells, “Lookin’ good shorty!”? How polite can a man be to you and your your family if he invades your personal space and talks trash the second he gets one look at you? What’s more – if you dated this creep, would you seriously marry and have kids with someone who hollered at you on the street? Let’s take it a step further – would you want this loser, with their street talk and sloppiness, raising your children to talk with same disgusting vocabulary?

Whether you enjoy being a creep…a loser…a douchebag…or if you just don’t care that your “flirty” and “innocent” words can lead to a woman feeling like her sense of privacy has been violated, it doesn’t take new video footage from a small time actress to tell us what we all know: Seeing some mens’ horrible manners and hearing their tacky pick-up lines is like seeing garbage tossed all over the street – and that’s where I think these guys belong!

(Unpublished as of 11/6/14)