this rant has been a long time coming, or, virginia gets her feminist on

[virginia_bell]

As a resident of Arlington but an intern in the District of Columbia proper, my daily commute consists of two parts: taking the bus to the metro station and then taking the metro to work. I am, at this point, something of a seasoned, if young, WMATA veteran: growing up, I probably went to Washington more than any other city, Philadelphia

Comments

[starpaint]

Damn straight. I'm sick of drivers slowing down as they pass me in an attempt to flirt, get my phone number, or get me to come with them, and I'm sick of random people staring at me when I walk by. (Thankfully there's only been one incident in which I've actually been followed, and I was with other people at the time.) It's a common summer phenomenon in Chicago, which means there's not much to do but accept it as best you can. But more often than not, I'm less comfortable on my own here, even in broad daylight, than I am back home. (Despite the fact that I was assaulted on a train once on my way to class. Now that was fun. Not. But at least there's no question that something like that is not okay, whereas car-stalking's something of a common pastime. WTF.)