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[trashcanman]

You've probably heard of this by now, but some group with a childish name sent an attractive woman to walk through NYC for ten hours and came back with a horror show.



TWO MINUTES of harassment! And about 80% of the harassment is standard greetings from minorities including the dreaded "how are you doing today?" and its evil twin "how are you this morning?", some vicious instances of "how you doing?", a brutal "have a nice evening",, a particularly lurid "what's up, miss", and some slightly overzealous admirations of her general attractiveness in addition to several consecutive minutes spent walking in the same direction as a black man (her greatest fear, I assume). This is followed by a panhandling request for a donation to stop "street harassment". You know, in case you ever want to walk around the most highly populated city in America filled with the most notoriously rude people for ten hours and not have a total of two minutes (really more like 1 1/2 tops without all the filler) of attempted human contact from other people in that time.

Look, people. THIS! MUST! STOP! No more pleasant greetings, no more compliments, no more friendly acknowledgements, and no more fucking walking on the same sidewalk. I'm going to empty my bank account donating to this cause because I know if I throw enough money at people who make questionable-looking Youtube videos random people in major metropolitan areas will cease occasionally acknowledging one another in a positive manner. Together, we can make a difference! Actually, on second thought, is there a place I can donate to get people to treat me that nicely when I go out in public?

[Ben]

I could almost maybe get with the spirit behind this campaign if it wasn't for the fact every woman secretly enjoys when people (yes, even these HORRIBLY OFFENSIVE street urchins) acknowledge her looks. Beyond that, though, I've never understood how donating money to any one of these thousands of stupid "campaigns" does anything to alleviate the problems they're combating. Like, if I donate RIGHT NOW then this bimbo can afford to take another day off of work to walk around the city in silence again to make ANOTHER un-clever video and this somehow counts as "fighting street harassment?" I don't get it...

[trashcanman]

It actually occurred to me that if you took the text out of the vid it looks like a Klan recruitment video about minorities targeting white women. Where da white women at? Seriously though, I can't imagine a world where I walk around scowling at people and they are nice to me. I thought men were supposed to be the privileged ones?

[The Curmudgeon]

I read about this last week, in that it was fucking impossible to switch on my computer without it being everywhere. We don't get this sort of thing in the UK. The closest I can really think of is the stereotype of a bunch of builders shouting stuff to an attractive girl walking past. Again, I've never seen that, but it probably happens.

This? Man, talk about an over-reaction. Were there any inappropriate gestures? Obscene words? Did they make a grab at her? Nope. Saying HELLO MISS? Why not just get it over with and rape her, you bastard?

I've been to Egypt, and they actually warn you a) not to walk out of the holiday resort and b) if you do, not to acknowledge any of the responses you get from men. Mrs C is blonde, and man oh man do they love blondes over there. Instead of saying "hello miss" or "how are you today" like those fellows, these dicks HISS at girls. Actual, literal hiss.

I get the idea behind the video, and yeah guys don't walk around with girls desperate to get their attention, but I don't think the video showcased any major negative behaviours at all. OK, the "why don't you smile" stuff is unwarranted, but a lot of what is in the video does seem genuinely friendly.

[trashcanman]

I don't even get the issue about telling people to smile. It's pretty common when you see somebody with a nasty or upset look on their face to tell them to smile if for no other reason than it is a scientific fact that if you do, you will begin to feel better. People used to tell me to smile when I was a less happy person than I am today and I never felt like they were sexually harassing me. They were just being nice. The shouting at her after she willfully ignored them was uncalled for, but some people see that as rudeness and don't want to give it a pass.

The hissing thing is cultural. Mexicans do it too and it drives me nuts. But to them, it's just a common way to request someone's attention. But even here in Central Cali where Hispanic people are the majority most white people find it offensive. You'd think we'd get used to it, but nope.

[Ben]

What this video demonstrates more than anything else is the old world meeting the new world. By God, we should reasonably be able to expect to walk down the street with our heads buried in our cell phones and not have to DEAL with anyone saying hello to us. The fucking nerve of these people, trying to strike up a conversation.

I'm being the slightest bit facetious, but seriously- this "campaign" is indicative of our society's graduation from personal communication to near-exclusive electronic communication. Why is it people turn their heads away when you walk past them on the sidewalk? I'm just old enough to remember the good old days when people would give you a damn "hello!" in passing and you didn't have to get weird about it.

[trashcanman]

Well, at least we have guys like this moron to defend men in public



When you say something as stupid as explaining that you're an expert on the male point of view and then use that expertise to insist that every woman is secretly begging to be told she's pretty by strangers and both women present begin laughing at you, it's time to shut up. Claiming that the video was a setup? I'd say maybe, but considering how fucking weak it is in terms of harassment, I seriously doubt it. The closest thing he said to something that wasn't stupid was that it could be a cultural thing, and it is. Black and Hispanic cultures are very forthright and open. In fact, you're pretty much considered gay if you don't try to mack on women constantly. I disagree, but I respect that it's not my culture and don't take it personally.

I'm sure most women (most PEOPLE) enjoy being told they're sexy, but I don't think that necessarily makes shouting it at strangers in the streets the best idea, and it could be offensive to those women who maybe are not comfortable having attention drawn to them that way. Is it too much to ask that men attempt to strike up a normal, casual conversation with a person who clearly is not on the move rather than jumping up and down in front of random people walking in the street? Are there no hot women in bars anymore that dudes need to scour the city streets for random cuties? I can see how that would get old, but if this video's typical I'd say this whole thing is being blown out of proportion. Nobody was jumping in front of her howling "suck this, bay-bee!" while framing their crotch with their hands.

Can we not just admit that we can't know what another person will or won't appreciate, regardless of gender an should be both respectful and open to human contact? I'm not a fan of catcalling AT ALL, but I feel like if 10 hours of public exposure in the most populous and obnoxious city on America yields that tiny amount of slightly overzealous acknowledgement, then women have it a lot better than I do. Last time I was in San Francisco (the capitol of peace, love, and tolerance) I didn't manage a two block walk to Amoeba Music without somebody following me, berating me, and threatening to kick my ass for about as long as this woman got complimented in 10 hours in NYC. Never found out why he was pissed, but I'm not going to tell people to donate money to me to stop that kind of behavior. As if there's some magic money wand that can stop people from being people. If you want money, get a motherfucking job or create something of value that people are willing to pay you for. Get the hell off of Youtube, parasites.