Please don't make me have to kick your ass.

[foxgrrl]

No, I don't want to be your sweetie.
No, I don't want to Git to know you.
No, I don't want to hug you.
Stop touching me.
Please don't make me have to stab your eyes with my fingers.

What is it with creepy guys hitting on me everywhere I go now. It always used to happen before, but now it's an epidemic. By creepy guys, I mean, strangers who want to be personally intimate with you within the first five or ten seconds of speaking to you. And who ignore anything you say, and creep closer and closer and closer as they (pretend to) talk to you, trying to touch you. Strategically, when then guy is within arm's reach, I wonder if I should attack him while I still have the element of surprise. It's more legally defensible though if I wait for him to touch me first before I kick his ass. But I'm in a strategically weaker position if he already has a hand on my body. (FYI: For the last few days, I've managed to walk away without being followed. Also, I've been wearing cargo pants, a zipped up hoodie covering an unseen t-shirt, my hair tied back in a pony tail, and no makeup, jewelry, or bra.)

Update (May 26 08:49 PDT)

1. In these situations, I have about three seconds to assess the situation, and take decisive action. Anything that takes more time is not a viable solution.
2. I didn't want to say this, but the common element to these experiences, is that the male is black, older, and a poor communicator. The two times when this has happened while shopping, I also noticed that the man did not purchase anything from the store.
3. The stakes are higher in my case because I'm trans. Attempted rape becomes attempted murder, and I get blamed for it because I'm deceiving people. (The murder rate for transsexuals is about 2%.) (At least there's no public information linking my old and current names, so the press will have to use the right name when they talk about my death.)
4. I advocate and practice non-violence whenever possible. But I also have an extremely strong self-preservation instinct when I'm in an immanently life threatening situation.
5. I practiced martial arts for a few years, about a decade ago. In a physical altercation against anyone who doesn't know martial arts (most people), I stand a good chance. All of my muscle memory is to not actually damage the person though, if it comes to that I'll have to figure things out as I go along.

Comments

[badwox.livejournal.com]

It's just my observation of the sleazy dudes that creep me out. I have some really creepy stalkers, too. The ones I encounter are really operating on poorly conceived expectations of the real world. SOme of them even get mad when I won't have Web Cam sex with them when I don't know them and never met them! One stalker tried to blackmail me recently!

my first reply was more acidic than it should have been

[krinndnz.livejournal.com]

I think we have a lot of agreement there. The culture of the Internet can definitely encourage that behavior, I just don't think that it is, at its core, new.

The ones I encounter are really operating on poorly conceived expectations of the real world.
Yeah, that produces scary stuff. People who are working from really skewed ideas about the potential consequences of their actions can be dangerous.

[kitten-goddess.livejournal.com]

@smashwolf:

"One stalker tried to blackmail me recently!"

Eesh! I hope you saved those e-mails and reported the psycho to the cops.

@foxgrrl:

I'm sorry you're getting harassed by creeps.

[badwox.livejournal.com]

There's nobody to report to because he's an international stalker.. from Austrailia, and neith his ISP, nor Australian authorities seem too keen on acting on the complaint of a foreign victim.

[kitten-goddess.livejournal.com]

I'm so sorry! What about the authorities in your area, for the blackmailing attempts? That is against the law in the US. (I don't know where you are.)

[badwox.livejournal.com]

I live in a rural area without any sort of a cybercrime unit, and calling the sheriff got me laughed at.