#amplifyjustice
Ok. So I came across an issue. And it is something I am not sure how to handle.
On a social media outlet, I saw I had a message. I clicked on the messages inbox and the new message was not from someone I knew. And you know how it shows the first line of the message? Well, this one showed that whoever this strange, older man was (which I implied from the user's picture icon beside the message) was saying things like, "hey, sexy, you're smoking hot you're really hot." Whoever the heck he is had enough nerve to send me a friend request via this social media site.
I clicked 'ignore.'
Here's my issue. This is not the first time this has happened. Not just ever, to any other woman, but it has happened more than once to me, personally, that a stranger would do something like that. That bothers me.
Yeah... so I could go on simply just ignoring their comments and friend requests as I have done, but I realize that is not going to be enough. I want this to STOP. Ignoring and not telling anyone when these things happens is simply an easy, passive, I'm-not-going-to-rock-the-boat kind of response.
You see, my friend, when this happens to me, I do not feel safe. It makes me want to hide away from all of the bad men out there. Furthermore, it makes me want to distrust any man as a default protective mechanism. Honestly, when this specific scenario happened, I was in my own house, and within my own house, I felt unsafe. IN MY OWN HOUSE. I felt emotionally violated.
So what am I supposed to do?
I don't feel safe to confront these strangers- I do not think that would be wise. I am pretty sure I cannot call the cops or anything like that- these randos haven't done anything more than hit on me/objectify me/harass me via social media- and frankly I don't know what a cop would do about a one or two time online nuisance.
Maybe you can relate. I feel a little hopeless. Will this just continue? Will I only be 'safe' if I am married or have a boyfriend? Will I be safe to travel place to place? Is staying inside my home just safer altogether? These questions all run through my mind...
I hope that I will not die and leave this life before these questions can be answered.
I do not want this to continue.
I am not required to have a significant other as a prerequisite for my safety.
I can travel the world, wisely, and be safe.
I do not have to limit my life to the walls of my house because of a fear that I won't be safe.
You see, I can't snap my fingers and change it all in an instant. If I could, I'd be snapping all day. And I am only 19. How much can one 19-year-old do to actually change this?
This is what I can do: I can use my voice. Share my story. Amplify this voice, because I speak not for myself, but for many women before me & after me. #amplifyjustice
"There is power in numbers and there is power in unity"
~Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.
On a social media outlet, I saw I had a message. I clicked on the messages inbox and the new message was not from someone I knew. And you know how it shows the first line of the message? Well, this one showed that whoever this strange, older man was (which I implied from the user's picture icon beside the message) was saying things like, "hey, sexy, you're smoking hot you're really hot." Whoever the heck he is had enough nerve to send me a friend request via this social media site.
I clicked 'ignore.'
Here's my issue. This is not the first time this has happened. Not just ever, to any other woman, but it has happened more than once to me, personally, that a stranger would do something like that. That bothers me.
Yeah... so I could go on simply just ignoring their comments and friend requests as I have done, but I realize that is not going to be enough. I want this to STOP. Ignoring and not telling anyone when these things happens is simply an easy, passive, I'm-not-going-to-rock-the-boat kind of response.
You see, my friend, when this happens to me, I do not feel safe. It makes me want to hide away from all of the bad men out there. Furthermore, it makes me want to distrust any man as a default protective mechanism. Honestly, when this specific scenario happened, I was in my own house, and within my own house, I felt unsafe. IN MY OWN HOUSE. I felt emotionally violated.
So what am I supposed to do?
I don't feel safe to confront these strangers- I do not think that would be wise. I am pretty sure I cannot call the cops or anything like that- these randos haven't done anything more than hit on me/objectify me/harass me via social media- and frankly I don't know what a cop would do about a one or two time online nuisance.
Maybe you can relate. I feel a little hopeless. Will this just continue? Will I only be 'safe' if I am married or have a boyfriend? Will I be safe to travel place to place? Is staying inside my home just safer altogether? These questions all run through my mind...
I hope that I will not die and leave this life before these questions can be answered.
I do not want this to continue.
I am not required to have a significant other as a prerequisite for my safety.
I can travel the world, wisely, and be safe.
I do not have to limit my life to the walls of my house because of a fear that I won't be safe.
You see, I can't snap my fingers and change it all in an instant. If I could, I'd be snapping all day. And I am only 19. How much can one 19-year-old do to actually change this?
This is what I can do: I can use my voice. Share my story. Amplify this voice, because I speak not for myself, but for many women before me & after me. #amplifyjustice
"There is power in numbers and there is power in unity"
~Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.
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