Holly Holla's Back

I went to grad school at UIC. One nice fall day, I was walking between the east and west campuses. I think I was on Polk, a few blocks east of Ashland. This older man said hi to me, so I said hi back. He seemed perfectly nice, and I keep trying (stupidly) to give people the benefit of the doubt so I don't turn into a misanthrope. So much for that. So he is making small talk (beautiful day, pretty leaves, and such), then comments about the small community hospital nearby and says it's a shame it's closing. What are the neighborhood people going to do, that sort of thing (oh, I don't know - go to Rush, or UIC, or County, being that this is the MEDICAL DISTRICT), ok, he's concerned about his community, that's good. Then, completely out of the blue: "suppose you and I were dating, and we were having intercourse, and I pulled out and flung the condom against the wall. Bye!" and walks off. WTF? It was a verbal flashing.

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On the inbound blue line, these guys get on at Pulaski and start harassing people. They are probably in their early 20s and trying to look cool in front of their friends by being complete dicks. The ringleader is just walking around shouting at people, who are all trying hard to ignore them. So he starts to shout at me, and I just cannot take it. I think that their goal is to make people afraid, shut them down, and I just wasn't going to play along (though I am normally not at all confrontational). I said something loudly like "stop shouting at me," not really expecting him to stop and go away - I just had to holla back. So when I get up and wait for the Medical Center stop, he stands behind me and says something like "I'm gonna part your legs and make you scream." I say, "whatever," and he says "did she just call me a n-----?" (he is black and I am white). Um, yeah. You're harassing me, threatening to rape me, and so I call you by the worst term I can think of. I am not stupid! (nor do I use the n-word). I don't know if he really thought I said that or if it was just something else inflammatory for him to say. I wasn't scared since I was getting off the train right then. It was morning rush hour, loads of people around, cops & security probably not too far off. But what if it had been night? No one around? I supposed I wouldn't have holla'ed at all.

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I worked at a counseling center in Uptown. I was accompanying a client back from the bank one cold winter day, when this guy honks and waves me to his car at Lawrence just west of Broadway. I figured I must know him - why else would he be waving to me? There are lots of people who work at my agency, it was probably one of the doctors. So I go over there and he asks if I want to get together and go to lunch. What? Um, no! I was so confused. Tries again to get me to go with him, and I just walk away. When I got back to my office, I tell my coworkers, who practically fall down laughing, saying he thought I was a prostitute. He couldn't possibly have thought that though. What prostitute wears a calf-length, wool German navy coat, with a black and white middle eastern scarf over her head, tied under her chin?? I looked like a cold woman who had someplace to be!

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Another Uptown incident. We had an employee appreciation lunch at some hotel, so I had dressed up a bit. Had on a dress with above-the-knee skirt, but quite modest. One of my clients was leaving my office at the same time as me, so he walked me partway home. When we got to Lawrence and Broadway, I was just about to tell him it was time to part company when I noticed this guy stopped in his fancy car at the light. He was just smiling and smiling at me, in such a creepy way. I let my client walk me a little further on, until the smiling guy was gone. I didn't tell my client about him - might have been inappropriate - but I sure appreciated his company at that moment. Oh, how I hated Uptown. When I moved to Lakeview and couldn't walk home anymore, I waited for the bus at Clark just south of Lawrence, and guys were constantly checking me out. And I was always dressed for work, nothing revealing! And so often it was middle-class men in nice cars. Why are they cruising Uptown? Ugh. Not to mention the married medical director of the agency, very high profile in his profession, who asked me if I had any other body parts pierced (I have a nose ring). Ick!



~Submitted by Holly.

Indecent Exposure

This past Sunday morning, September 9th, I boarded the Red Line at Grand and headed North to church. At some point after Addison, I looked up and caught the eye of a creepy-looking man facing me. He gave me a look–the look that creepy men give women… I immediately averted my eyes and pretended that I was REALLY interested in my iPod.

I could feel that he was still staring at me, and when I looked up, there he was, unzipped, pulled out into the open, and playing with himself.

I gasped and turned around, finding two nicely dressed girls trying to figure out why I am all of a sudden staring at them. After 10 seconds of my incoherent babble, one girl saw it and gasped and turned as well. I got up and moved to a seat that I couldn’t see him. In my peripheral vision, I could tell he was laughing.

One girl said she had a similar experience at 2 a.m. once, and said, “But you’d expect that kind of thing at 2 a.m. This is Sunday Morning. GOD’S DAY!!! People are in church right now!!!”

The man was probably 40-ish, short dark hair, wearing a t-shirt and jeans. He exited the redline at the Granville stop around 11 a.m.


~submitted by MM

Drive By

Two goons that work in the Clark/Lake CTA stop building made rooster noises at me (i have an orange mohawk so it looks like the comb of a rooster...i have gotten this before). I confronted them and they got quiet but snickered behind my back. (they got my middle finger)..they did it again on my way home from work yesterday but were HIDING from me, if you can believe it. I ignored them this time but plan on getting in their face with a camera phone next time.

The site reminded me of a few stories I had the misfortune of experiencing while living here in my early 20's.

When i was 21 or so I was riding my bike in my neighborhood (a few blocks from Wrigleyville) I got harassed a lot on my street, lots of men sat on their porches or hung out of windows making stupid noises or kissy sounds. Vile. I stop at a corner and dismount my bike, lifting my leg over the seat. I'm wearing short shorts cause hey it was hot out. I get a squicky feeling and see a man crouched on the corner, staring at me. I glare at him and pull the legs of my shorts down. He says " what, I already saw what I wanted to see" referring to the fact that he had a clear eye level view of my crotch as I dismounted my bike. I don't know why i didn't throw my bike at him or slap him but all these years I wish I had done more than feel sick and shoot eye-daggers at him.

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I'm walking home after shopping (Clark/Belmont area) and a car full of hipster punker guys pulls up by me. One leans out and asks me what im doing, blah blah. I say "nothing with you" or something along those lines, still walking. His buddies are grinning at their hilarious pal's antics. They keep slowly driving by me and he says something like "hey come on what are you doing, where are you going...come on" So I look at him and say "I will fucking break you in half, leave me alone" Haha! The window leaner gets IRATE, especially because his buddies started to laugh at my comment. Leaner's true contempt for women bursts forth as he screams "I'll cut you, you fucking bitch!" I say "fuck you" or "yeah right" or something stupid and they drive off, Window Leaner still screaming. I thank the driver for having the brains to know when it's just not funny anymore. I walk home shaking and actually pretty afraid they were going to follow me but glad I said something to get a rise out of the little creep. Ah , Chicago. It's so nice to walk home afraid that standing up for oneself might result in being attacked later.


~submitted by missmonster

creepy non-prophet

Today I was on the Addison bus eastbound, right in front of Wrigley Field, when I was harassed by a very creepy, very smelly, very old man. The man shook a rosary in my face and told me "You know what happens to women who reveal their cleavage..... hellfire... abuse.... rape." The ellipses indicate the parts that were too slurred for me to understand.

Now it was about 90 degrees in the shade today, so I was wearing a fairly low cut tank top -- nothing spectacular -- just a simple tank top. Apparently that is all it takes for me to become the target of some sleazy old man's diatribe against young women. He clearly felt that because I am a woman I must want his opinion of my attire, or something. Anyway, it was very upsetting and no one on the bus even acknowledged that I was being harassed.

~submitted by Cortney