Last night I did something that some may think of as incredibly stupid and ridiculous… and I think it’s quite sad that we’re living in a world where people would think of what I did as such.
Now, what did I do? I jumped in to defend a stranger, someone who was about to get his ass kicked for the most ridiculous reason. I, a 19-year-old girl, stood up to a man that was my height but had really broad shoulders and strong arms.
Why? Because I felt like I had to, because I know how it feels when people are watching a certain situation unfold and just let it happen because ‘at least it’s not me’. I get harassed on a daily basis, whether it’s catcalls or men pushing me against a wall – I get it all… so I always make a point out of saying that if I ever see something happen, I’ll jump in. So far, I never had to though… until last night.
So what actually happened?
My friend and I were walking home from getting some stuff in a nightshop when a car drove over the sidewalk really fast, we were both shocked because he could’ve hit us with his reckless behaviour.
We then looked around and saw that another car was pulling out of his parking spot, which is why the first one had to drive on the sidewalk (although he did give some extra gas instead of just coming to a halt).
Anyway, the first car then stops in front of my house and I’m already thinking to myself ‘Shit, something’s gonna go down.’ – and, indeed, as soon as the second car has gotten out of his parking spot and behind the first car he jumps out of his car and starts making all these obscene gestures and saying they’re crazy and such.
I was telling my friend to wait to go inside because I knew something would happen, but the two guys in the other car were smart and just told him to calm down from inside their cars… the aggressive dude then runs over to the other car to which the passenger gets out, he’s yelling at them ‘You need to watch where you’re going! You can’t just come onto the street like that!’ and all that…
The passenger stayed calm, but the aggressive one then starts pushing the door closed with the guy still standing up… so I wanted to let the guy know people were watching so I yelled from my front door ‘AYE!’, but it was ignored.
The aggressive man then leaned passed the passenger into the car and started throwing punches at the driver and at that moment I just couldn’t help myself and I ran over there.
“There’s no need for this aggression, this isn’t normal behaviour. They did nothing wrong, you’re in the wrong here! Go back to your car!” I yelled, and at first he ignored me… but then the passenger looked at me in shock, I’m pretty sure no one expected for a girl to stand up for them – especially not against a man.
Then the guy turned to me and started pointing his finger in my face: “Who the fuck are you?! He’s the crazy one, you need to shut up.” He yelled, pointing his finger at me in a very aggressive manner.
I again yelled at him, “NO. YOU NEED TO GO BACK TO YOUR CAR. THIS ISN’T NORMAL. YOU DON’T TREAT PEOPLE THIS WAY FOR SOMETHING THIS PETTY.”
“Are you a friend of his or something? If so, your friend is crazy!” He yells in my face, still pointing his finger… so I decide to do the same thing to him, point my finger in his face and yell back “No, but I have respect for people! You don’t do things like this to people!”
He then smacks my hand away, and believe me – it hurt pretty bad. “Well, fuck off then woman! You don’t have anything to do with this.” He yells back at me and instead of backing down from the guy, I stood up on my tippy-toes and pushed my chest forward (yep, I went there haha) and yelled “TOUCH A WOMAN LIKE THAT AGAIN. GET BACK IN YOUR FUCKING CAR. THERE’S A COP IN THAT HOUSE AND WE’VE GOT YOUR LICENSEPLATE WRITTEN DOWN.”
(When all of this was going down I took the time to tell my friend to take a picture of the licenseplate and all that. I kept my cool, y’know…)
He didn’t believe me so he’s like ‘Yeah?! Well go get him then! They’re wrong not me.’ He yells, so I tell my friend to get my father… and then remind the guy that this is aggression for no reason (still yelling).
As soon as my father comes downstairs the aggressive man runs over to him, telling him that he’s not wrong and all that. So I’m like ‘He fucking hit my hand and he’s being aggressive for no fucking reason’, the guy then proceeds to yell at me again before jumping in his car and running away.
The guys in the other car thanked me as they drove by and that was it… when I went back inside, my legs were shaking so bad… it took me about an hour and a half to calm down. I never expected myself to stand up to someone like that, but something just clicked inside of me and I just had to defend them.
I’m really glad I did it and I’d do it again, even though I’m pretty sure that he would’ve beat me up had my father not been a cop and had he not been home… but I would do it again because I wouldn’t have been able to live with myself had I not… had I knowingly walked away from the situation when those guys most likely would’ve been beat up for something so ridiculous.
I really wish more people would help others out in times like these…
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