Let me preface this by saying, no, I don't need to be courted. This isn't the 1800s, I understand that, but the story I'm about to tell makes me wish we still had that type of chivalry today.
As I was shopping in Lenox Mall, a popular shopping area in Atlanta, there was one instance where I felt my gender did not do me justice. While reading this, see if you find any red flags along the way.
So, on this particular day, I was shopping by myself. I had my head down and was on my phone to give myself something to do as I walked through the multilevel shopping mall. I walked past a group of about six males ranging from what I would call 20-25 years of age. As I walked past the boisterous group, one of them said, "Baby, I wish you'd look at me like you look at your phone."
He followed this by calling out to me. "Excuse me, excuse me, can I get your number?" To which I replied kindly with, "No, I'm sorry," and continued to walk. Then he began to walk beside me. He proceeded to ask me my name and where I was from. To which again, I replied kindly with, "I don't live around here," and kept moving.
Then he struck out once again and this last one really set me over the edge. He then went on to grab my hand and said, "C'mon, give me a chance." I can't say that this time around I replied so kindly. I quickly snatched my hand away and said, "No, you may not have my name or my number, and I already gave you a chance to leave me alone."
Now let's run through some "What if" scenarios shall we?
1. What if I was in a parking lot outside the mall?
2. What if I didn't have my cell phone to contact anyone?
3. What if I was drinking at a party?
4. What if the man cat-calling me was a former swimmer for Stanford University?
5. What if he didn't take no for an answer?
6. What if I couldn't fight back?
Thankfully, my circumstances didn't lead me down any of these "What if" scenarios, but not everyone gets so lucky.
To the guy that cat-called me, you should've stopped when I said, "No."
And to Brock Turner, you should've known what "no" looked like when the woman you sexually assaulted was unresponsive, laying unconscious behind a dumpster.
No means no today, tomorrow and forever.
