I wasn't going to blog about this, but it has been eating away at me ever since it happened so I thought I'd unload it here. Recently, I was walking home through a busy area after a pleasant evening out, when I was attacked by a stranger. It wasn't a vicious attack, but it was definitely a violation. This enormous, drunk guy ran at me, grabbed me around the legs, and hauled me up in the air. His friends implored him to put me down, and kept telling me not to worry, he's just drunk. I, meanwhile, was pounding on his back, swearing, and demanding to be put down RIGHT NOW. I'm relieved to know that I have an angry and assertive reaction in these situations.
If that wasn't disturbing enough, the group of them (there were four) then staggered off, leaving me, in shock (but pretty much unhurt), standing on the street. On this busy street, not a single person came up to ask me if I was okay, if they could call someone for me, or if I needed anything. I myself completely forgot that I had a cell phone with me, and just walked the rest of the way home alone in a daze. By the time I got home, and even now, I could not remember exactly where on the block this had even happened.
Now, I'm fine. But it did make me aware of how randomly and suddenly a person who is minding her own business can be picked out of a crowd by a complete stranger. I am so fortunate that this guy had no knife, wasn't in the mood for a fight, and had friends who just wanted to get him out of there instead of joining in the "fun". Walking home alone at night has taken on a whole new frame for me, now that I have been the target of a random attack.
It has also made me want to take some kind of martial arts training.
4 comments:
Oh my god TI. I am SO sorry to hear about this. I will right you an email now. I can't imagine how frightening this would be.
This is so horrible. This is one of those things that the body doesn't forget and will take time to heal. I wish I could have been there or that anyone could have been there with you to help. It's so unacceptable that nobody bothered to stop and ask if you were okay. I'm so sorry you went through this. One of the scariest triggers (for me) is being lifted off the ground and having no power. Just reading about this makes me so sad and angry.
I'm so glad you're ok! Martial arts and mase. I'm sorry you had to go through it at all :(
HUGS
Your twin
Thanks Bug, Gili, and Tammy. It was unnerving. I now have pepper spray. And I have signed up for a Women's Personal Safety course at the Aikido studio.
Post a Comment