2 ms·

Many comments here have concern about this being enforced inappropriately because it's hard to distinguish between an ok situation and a real harassment. I'd s

Many comments here have concern about this being enforced inappropriately because it's hard to distinguish between an ok situation and a real harassment. I'd say for me it's real clear where the line goes: consent. If a person says you are not welcome or just doesn't react to you at all after a couple of sentences, just go on your way. If you fail to do so and continue to get in the person's way or head, then it's harassment plain and simple.

randyrand 8y ago
The issue with that "rule" is that you can harass someone even if you stop as soon as you realize its unwanted. A cat call is the most obvious example of this, but there are many less obvious others.
- nickflood 8y ago
  A very good point! I was mostly addressing the crowds that didn't understand what this is all about at all. Frankly, once I understood what terror being a woman in a public space can sometimes be, I was baffled that it is allowed to happen by the modern society. To offset this crap, I always behave in the most politest way possible and don't even hold my gaze for too long just to avoid contributing to this. The issue really is that some men think that it's okay to lightly harass women on the street, so like many other laws, it would have tremendously benefitted from some kind of educational material aimed at the offenders which shows how and why this is not okay. Well, now that this comment is long anyway, I think that much of liberal legislation would be much better received if it was deployed along with some kind of education stuff which explains what the problem really is, refutes common misconceptions etc
  - tomp 8y ago
    > like many other laws, it would have tremendously benefitted from some kind of educational material aimed at the offenders which shows how and why this is not okay. Does this actually work? Like, will car thievs just stop stealling cars, as soon as you explain to them that it’s actually not OK?

randyrand 8y ago

The issue with that "rule" is that you can harass someone even if you stop as soon as you realize its unwanted. A cat call is the most obvious example of this, but there are many less obvious others.

nickflood 8y ago
A very good point! I was mostly addressing the crowds that didn't understand what this is all about at all. Frankly, once I understood what terror being a woman in a public space can sometimes be, I was baffled that it is allowed to happen by the modern society. To offset this crap, I always behave in the most politest way possible and don't even hold my gaze for too long just to avoid contributing to this. The issue really is that some men think that it's okay to lightly harass women on the street, so like many other laws, it would have tremendously benefitted from some kind of educational material aimed at the offenders which shows how and why this is not okay. Well, now that this comment is long anyway, I think that much of liberal legislation would be much better received if it was deployed along with some kind of education stuff which explains what the problem really is, refutes common misconceptions etc
- tomp 8y ago
  > like many other laws, it would have tremendously benefitted from some kind of educational material aimed at the offenders which shows how and why this is not okay. Does this actually work? Like, will car thievs just stop stealling cars, as soon as you explain to them that it’s actually not OK?