It is essential for women in big cities to be aware of their surroundings. It’s also essential for women in mid-sized cities, small towns, quaint villages, and hamlets where your closest neighbor lives 3 miles away, since they are likely to start plotting your capture the moment they see you jogging in one of those slutty “she was asking for it” sports bras.
Getting home safely involves weighing risks and making calculated decisions, such as, “Would I rather be assaulted walking home or in an Uber?” It’s not always easy to be a vigilant pedestrian, but Sheia Ortega does it with the ease of someone who has been preyed upon by older men since middle school.
Following a 10-hour shift at a local restaurant, Ortega would love to put on her noise-canceling headphones and walk to the bus stop, but she’s acutely aware this is a nighttime activity reserved for men or women who know jiu-jitsu.
“Last week, I sat down next to a complete adrenaline junkie,” said Ortega. “She was listening to music, reading a book, and then later leaned her head against the window and closed her eyes for a few minutes. Whether this kamikaze-esque mission was the result of complete burnout or surrender to the seemingly unending violence against women, no one knows, but I was inspired.”
A woman’s best case scenario is to arrive safely at her destination without harm or incident, but even then, you have to keep your finger on the mace trigger and listen to peripheral conversations about cryptocurrency, fantasy football, and a guy complaining about his wife being a “total bitch,” all in the hopes you’ll be able to stop a potential attack before it starts.
“I sometimes wish someone would attack me to make all this preparation mean something,” said Ortega. “Last night a man sat next to me on the train and ate an entire tin of spaghetti with what I can only imagine was an expired debit card, and then he hit on me.”
Fortunately for Ortega, her suitor reacted better than expected to the rejection and called her an “ugly whore” instead of killing her.