Everyone is on your side

I took the subway back and forth to high school for all four years. The ride each way was a little over an hour. I always found comfort in the anonymity of the subway and slept all the time during the ride. On the F train back home one day, I was holding on the to one of the poles above. It was extremely crowded and I could feel someone touch my butt. I saw his reflection on the window, against the black of the walls as the subway flew through the dark tunnels. I couldn't believe what was happening. I always thought that I would turn around the yell at the pervert if I ever found myself in that situation. I imagined myself slapping him in the face or kicking him in the balls. But what I ended up doing was feel extremely embarrassed. Questioning whether this was actually happening. What if this was a mistake? I would be so embarrassed if I called him out when he didn't do anything. I was so shocked. I just wanted to get to my stop and leave. I felt so dirty on the inside and out.

After it happened, it was hard at first to grasp the reality of it. I always kick myself for not standing up for myself. I regret it even more when I heard the same thing happen to my younger sister when she started going to the same high school.

My advice to all of you? Talk it out if it ever happened to you. If you do find yourself in that situation, remember that everyone is on your side. There is no doubt that what he is doing is unlawful. Kick him in the balls and let everyone know in the car who the pervert is so this won't happen to someone else you care about.

Submitted by Diana

Scott Stringer Gets it Right

HollabackNYC would like to induct Manhattan Borough President Scott Stringer into the HOLLA-fame for issuing a ground breaking report about the prevalence of harassment on the New York City subways.

67% of folks who completed the survey were women, 33% were men. Key Findings include:

* 63 percent of respondents reported having been sexually harassed in the New York City subway system.

* 10 percent of respondents reported having been sexually assaulted in the New York City subway system.

* 69 percent of respondents reported having felt the threat of sexual assault or harassment in the New York City subway system.

* Of those respondents, 51 percent reported “sometimes” or “frequently” feeling the threat of sexual harassment or assault in the New York City subway system.

* 96 percent of respondents who indicated that they were sexually harassed did not contact the NYPD and/or the MTA to file a report or seek assistance.

* 86 percent of respondents who indicated that they were sexually assaulted did not contact the NYPD and/or the MTA to file a report or seek assistance.

For more information, click here.

Working Overtime

This delightful gentleman saw fit to shout “Hey Mami” at me as he was working at a construction site on Powers Street. Although I stopped and took his picture, it didn’t deter him from shouting the exact same thing to yet another woman a few seconds later. If this dude wants to win over the ladies, I’d recommend he clean up his attitude… and buy some pants that fucking FIT!

Submitted by Miss Heather

Hollaback from New Hampshire

in my city in manchester nh there seems to be a lot of men under the impression that any female outside is a prostitute. at any given day i could be seen wearing over sized tee shirts and jeans. nothing most people would consider sexy. any way i could be walking any where in my city and some guy i never met will stop his car, look at me, and ask if i'll get in his car. of course i refuse and they beg me. "oh please i'm so lonely." they say. "sorry, dude." i say and i'm gone. sometimes they leave, sometimes they follow. one jerk offered me 15 bucks.

a man called DJ gave me a helping hand. one of those random acts of kindness strangers do for one another. only he expected me to shirk my responsibilities to my child and my friend's child i was babysitting and have sex with him in return. he was down right offended when i refused, he had the gall to say that i was using him. this jerk insisted on helping me. oh i might point out that this jerk is married.

the problem is so big in this town that the police are actually cracking down on it. so i'm guessing dj's wife will find out sooner or later and divorce the hell out of him.

sorry i have no pictures of him. i don't have a camera phone. but if it helps he's overweight, middle aged and has short blond curly hair i believe his eyes were blue.

Submitted by B.L. new hampshire

Ten Year Old Harasser - I kid you not

I'm a pretty shy awkward teenager, and I'm 15 years old, and when men yell things at me, or honk at me or make kissy faces, it gets me mad but I don't do anything, but it gets me fuming mad. And only hours later do i think of funny things to embarass them for being such assholes. But most the time they get away with it.

BUT NOT TODAY! 8D

It's a simple summer afternoon. I'm out with my friends at borders, and across the street is a candy store. All the rest of my friends are being lazy, so my friend Lucas and I decide to go ahead.

So we do. It's been raining out, and I don't want to get my flip flops wet. Lucas, being the funny and nice person he is, offers to put them in his pocket so they don't. As he's doing so, 3 boys, wearing volcom stone tee shirts and *gag8 corduroy pants, in either the colors blue, purple (!!!), come up to us, and ask "Are you two boyfriend and girlfriend?"

Simple and innocent question, right? So I turn to them and say "No, we're just friends! :)"

And their reaction is less than polite. They turn to my friend and say "DUDE! You have no game! YOu should be pounding her!"

"HEY!" I yell out. "Guys and girls can be perfectly good friends!"

"Not when his balls drop and your breasts get bigger!" He sneers

These boys are 10 years old. I don't know if they watch too much television, or have older brothers that can't keep their mouth shut, but...

10 YEAR OLD BOYS SHOULD NOT KNOW THIS STUFF!

This goes on for 5 minutes. I ask them to stop and they say "NO."

Finally, one boys yells "DUDE! Your mom is here to pick us up!"

The drop the whole conversation and run to the car. I follow them, go up to their mother's window and knock on it.

"Excuse me..." I begin. "Sorry to bother you, but I was with my friend and your son, or your friends son.. they all said some very inappropriate stuff to me..."

I was lucky. It was raining, and I had a shopping bag over my head to keep me dry. I had been so humiliated I was about to cry. But I was lucky. The woman was a nice gracious person, and a respectable mother too. Her reaction: Jaw dropping, eyes wide, eyebrows furrowing.

By now, the boys know what I am doing and they yell: "MOM! She's crazy! Don't listen to her!"

But woman are not as stupid as they think.

The woman turns to her son and 2 friends and yells "SAY SORRY TO HER ***NOW***!"

The leader says "OKAY! BYE!"

"I said, say sorry!"

"OKAY SORRY!"

"SAY SORRY!"

"I'M SORRY! THERE! HAPPY?!"

The woman turns to me and apoligizes. "I'm SO sorry! They're boys, its hormones... It doesn't excuse them.. I"M SO SORRY!"

I nod to the woman and say. "Thank you. SOrry I bothered you." Then I turn to the boys. "Sorry you're NOT sorry!" I run away.

Now, I enter borders again, wet, and about to cry, but I begin laughing, thinking "OHMIGOSH they are in sooooo much trouble!"

The end. And I give you a picture of a Corduroy Pervert, so you can identify any in your neighborhood or town.

Submitted by Connor (heck yes i'm a girl)

Not Subtle Enough

So I walk into my local staples in Brooklyn. As I walk past the copy area this balding perv looks at me and follows with head and eyeballs every step I make. I say lapfly "well that wasn't subtle enough d@@@"

I get what I need but as I'm looking it over he has the nerve to throw this weak comeback "if you didn't want to be stared at you shouldn't go outside". No jerk.

There's a difference between a glance and visually harrassing and undressing someone with your eyes. He then kept standing there saying he wasn't doing anything wrong and gesturing to the copy center.

I said I was going to report him and he smugs "how?". The power of blackberry my friend. That's how.

Women don't like to be harrassed and leered at. When will these prevs get that?

I Don't Need a Lesson on the Law...

I was on a very crowded and cramped 4 train heading home from work on a Monday evening. When we got to 14th Street/Union Square, this loud, obnoxious man, who reeked of alcohol, shoved his way onto the packed train with his friends. As they pushed their way in, they started spewing all of these ignorant statements and obscenities at everyone that was standing around them. Needless to say, the other passengers looked annoyed, embarrassed and very uncomfortable as he and his friends carried on.

Finally, an older woman that was standing next to him politely asked if he could tone down his language. Unfortunately, the main jerk directed his drunken wrath at her by telling her that he could say "whatever the fuck" he wanted to because it was a free country and he had his first amendment right to do so. The woman tried to calmly reason with him but he continued cursing and and said that she, as a white woman, had no right to talk to him. The woman finally just moved away while he continued shouting and laughing at her with his friends.

At that point, I was boiling mad and felt like I had to do something. That's when I took out my camera phone and started snapping this fool from behind (he's the one in the burgundy shirt). The women standing near me smiled and nodded approvingly.

Once the train reached Grand Central, a bunch of people got off but the jerk and his cronies stayed on, still shooting off at the mouth. I kept snapping as they turned around, wanting them to know what I was doing. When one of them saw me, he yelped, "Hey, you can't take my picture!" He started to lecture me on his rights when I flatly told him that I was a lawyer and I didn't need a lesson on the law.

He got quiet but not before the main jerk told him to leave me alone because I was a black woman and that I shouldn't be disrespected. Are you kidding me??? Then he had the nerve to try and "holla" at me by looking me up and down and telling me that I was the "queen of the Earth" but I just glared right at him. When he saw he didn't have a taker, he then asked to see my pictures on my phone but I flatly told him no.

Finally, the idiots got quiet and didn't say anymore to me or anyone else. At last, some peace and quiet! I got off at my stop and walked away feeling ten feet tall.

Submitted by Jaimee

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