They *may* charge him with attempted murder? As opposed to what?

Why does the article refer to the attack as an "accident" ("when the accident happened") ! That seems like a poor choice of words considering what happened.

That is fucked up and honestly makes me sick. God forbid a woman decide to ignore unwanted attention. I guess it's not enough anymore for these yahoos to simply yell some kind of epithet (I've heard "fat bitch" before) and go on their way.

It just makes me want to bang my head against a wall, y'know?

wow. just. wow. you like that? heres another:

http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/chi-070322bartender-beaten,1,3542619.story?coll=chi-news-hed

right now i sort of wish i never learned to read. not really but, jeez.

Well I wouldn't recommend banging your against the wall sammy, but I can understand your anger.

The driver should be charged for attempted murder.

So can we finally put paid to all that crap about how keeping silent and ignoring harrassment will make it stop/keep you safe? I don't doubt that this asshole sociopath would have tried to kill her if she'd told him to fuck off as well, but ignoring him did not make him go away, did not keep her safe, and I'm sick of being told (as I was throughout my adolescence) that it was my job to keep quiet.

This terrible story reminds me of the time my mom was almost ran over on a golf course. A man, known for his mental instability, didn't want women on the golf course, so he tried to run them over with his truck while they were playing golf. Luckily no one was seriously injured, and my mom wasn't afraid to get back on the course. But it drives me crazy that some men think they are entitled to treat women however they damn well please.

EG,

I agree. I'm also sick of the "just keep quiet" and it'll be okay. No it won't. Perhaps no matter what women do we'll be harassed but I'd rather be harassed after giving some a**hole what's what than be silent.

I hope she makes a full recovery and is able to identify her attacker and put in behind bars.

MAY charge him? What's the question?

Ladies, while Western men have lost any sense of chivalry (due to feminism?), for true barbarity to women, courtesy of Islam, please see:

Husband RIPS WIFE'S EYES OUT after she refuses sex

http://www.news.com.au//story/0,23599,21420231-2,00.html

But now, coming to a free market near you: RAPEX, the anti-rape condom, for woman who meet men whose mothers didn't teach them how to treat the ladies:
http://www.rapestop.net/

jessilikewhoa--I woke up to that video this morning as I was getting dressed for work. Fucking disgusting.

"MAY charge him? What's the question?"

Well, obviously, whether or not the woman deserved it and/or was asking for it.

I posted it in that thread, and I'll post it here:

MaryB said:
This brightened my day a little. I don't know about the rest of you, but sometimes after reading all the negative articles about women, I just get so downtrodden. I just read this article about a man who ran over a woman on the sidewalk because she wouldn't pay him any attention.

Y'know, MaryB, even that article can brighten your day! Look at what police officers said about that entitled man:

Investigators said that when they find him he'll be in for a ride of his own, getting all the attention he seemed to want and more.

"When we catch this person he's looking at, at the least, aggravated battery with a motor vehicle and possibly attempted murder," [Sgt. Spike Hopkins] said.

This story, [like the bartender & waitress story], is a story of people looking out for each other and feeling passionate about punishing entitled people who harm other people.

"May" is not the wording of the law enforcement officers involved. It's a word summarizing their actually much more empathetic stance.

Again, please make sure you know that these men and women with the law are actually being great allies and fighters for justice!

Stone, yeah, the world's fucked up in lots of ways. There's no rule that says we have to list every one of them every time we list any.

Someone on Feministing's MySpace group said that Rapex was a fake and spreading word about it was some kind of psych experiment. Anyone know anything about this?

Also, "chivalry" isn't what we're missing. Chivalry is bullshit. Men shouldn't treat me super special because I'm a delicate flower: they should treat me with basic respect and dignity because I'm a fellow human being.

While living in New York city, I, and every other attractive woman was harassed on the street at an average of several times a week.

And I learned that when I ignored the harassers, it either gave them the excuses to follow me (in case I hadn't heard them), or get angry that I was "ignoring" them.

It took a couple years but I finally developed a way to handle street harassers that continues to work to this day.

As much as they don't deserve politese, using it against them forces them to stop, for some reason.

Responding angry to their harassment, only gave them the excuse to unload their anger on me.

But once I started throwing the polite at them, they were stopped dead in their tracks.

"I'm terribly sorry, but I never speak to strangers on the street," said in a calm tone of voice, and repeated, if necessary. Leaves the harasser with nowhere to go: you heard him, you haven't fed his anger. In my experience, it shuts them up, and stops them from following or harassing further.

You've made it a matter of manners, and for some reason that stimies 'em.

Any request from the harasser, even the most obscene, is stopped cold by a polite "No, thank you."

As an added bonus: if his friends and colleagues hear it, they laugh at HIM.

On the rare ocassion when this didn't work, and the harasser persisted, because I'd made it a matter of manners, then your righteous indignation is accepted by the harasser, and that stops them cold.

More than once I was followed by a drunk when walking home late at night, and when polite didn't work, I turned to say angry, "Do you realize how rude it is to follow me and frighten me?"

Each time, the guy backed away apologizing, and ended his hunt of me.

The overly polite rebuff repeated, followed by righteous anger, has gotten me out of 3 or 4 of what could have been dangerous situations as a woman in a city seemingly full of harassers (and worse.)

Great advice, jochre.

I mean, I'm assuming that you're going off on an advice tangent here, not implying that you can predict those women in the article would've been better off had they tried your strategy, but yeah--if so, thanks for adding one more tool to the toolboxes of Feministing readers today.

You know, as a feminist, I shouldn't say things like this, but, sometimes:

I hate men.

"Also, "chivalry" isn't what we're missing. Chivalry is bullshit. Men shouldn't treat me super special because I'm a delicate flower: they should treat me with basic respect and dignity because I'm a fellow human being."

Thank you. I'm *so* sick of people saying that feminism killed chivalry as if it's a bad thing. I hope feminism did kill it.

What sort of mental defect must trolls have, to believe that running someone over with a truck is merely unchivalrous?

You know, as a feminist, I shouldn't say things like this

I agree with you sometimes. I have a great boyfriend, and I know some great guys, but sometimes...g'uh.

And Katie, it does help that the police really want to get this guy and people are looking out for each other. But I can't help feeling sad for the world sometimes.

Thank you. I'm *so* sick of people saying that feminism killed chivalry as if it's a bad thing. I hope feminism did kill it.

:)

Vera, my awesome feminist sister used to post a statement on one of her webpages: "Chivalry isn't dead, but I intend to change that."

Hehehe.

While living in New York city, I, and every other attractive woman was harassed on the street at an average of several times a week.

I just thought i should mention that it's not just attractive women who get harassed.

I know I shouldn’t feed the trolls but I couldn’t resist this one.
Yeah StoneCraft, One of the most basic teachings of Islam is to rip your wife’s eye out if she refuses to have sex with you. You know, just like Christianity teaches men to harass women on the street and if the women ignore them run her over. Also, it is quite obvious that the first one is a barbaric act while the second one is just lack of chivalry due to feminism. The truck driver must have been a radical feminist.

You know, I had a friend who was always flattered by men yelling things at her when we walked down the street. She never understood why I thought it was creepy and wrong. It's honestly been happening to me since I was 13 and I've always hated it and felt a little frightened by that kind of attention, and this is why. I hope they catch this asshole and throw him in prison for as long as possible.

And yeah, it's nice when guys hold doors open for me, but I also will hold doors open for other women or men following me into a building. It's respect and being a considerate person, not chivalry.

And yeah, it's nice when guys hold doors open for me, but I also will hold doors open for other women or men following me into a building. It's respect and being a considerate person, not chivalry.

Genny, PRECISELY.

Casey, that's what I was about to say. Not just in NYC, either, but when I lived there I would head to the grocery store in sweats not having showered for 3 days because I was sick and I was still harassed.

My favorite anti-harassment story: there was a homeless man who was very nearly always drunk and hung around outside the building where I was an intern. Every day he would yell something awful and crude at me as I passed until one day I stopped and introduced myself (with a fake name that I often use, so I would remember to respond) and told him that I didn't really like what he was saying but if he wanted someone to talk to I would promise to at least say hello and stop if I had time, as long as he used my proper name to address me. He was so nice after that . . . but he was a sad drunk, not a murderer. And it's sad that we've all got coping strategies planned out ahead of time, because it's just that inevitable that we will be harassed.

I hope they find this man and charge him with attempted murder, and that it gets LOTS of press.

I wonder how it would work out if when someone starts hooting at me from his car window I could smile, grab my pepper spray, and get close enough to spray the bastard in the face.

*btw- the other day I was leaving one of my classes and overheard a boy talking about how some "bitch" opened the door for his entitled ass that morning and how he should have pushed her through the door for thinking that's how things work, that only men open doors for women. If he wasn't a burly guy I would have turned around and told him to fuck himself.

Lindsay, oh my God, that's hilarious. How gentlemanly of him to want to hold the door open for that stupid bitch.

LMFAO

I worked for a few years in immigrant communities and verbal harassment is a huge problem. It got to the point that another teacher and I decided to host special classes to talk about proper behavior in America. It was really interesting. The girls were SO relieved and thankful to be GIVEN permission to tell someone they did not want to hear it. The boys on the other hand were pretty upset that they couldn't continue doing what they had been taught by every male around them.

I've been putting up with street harrassment for god knows how long. As a teen it got to the point where i started wearing baggy clothes to hide my figure in hopes of being left alone. I actually found that one of the perks of leaving the city and moving out to VT is that people are a lot nicer here and so far I haven't had to deal with harrassment in our town.

I do remember one particular incident when my friend and I were leaving a bar after last call and walking back to our dorms. A group of guys (who were inebriated to put it nicely) asked us if we wanted to go with them. I can't remember if we ignored them or just said "no" and kept walking but being the class acts that they were, the head honcho yelled that we were lesbians. If not wanting to deal with some stupid a-hole makes me a lesbian, that must make me one MEGA LESBIAN

When I was about 16, my best friend and I were walking out of the downtown library and a these two 20-something guys started harassing us. We just decided to walk away without responding and they followed us all the way to the parking lot. We were absolutely terrified. Luckily an older woman got out of her car and raised hell with them. I still get shaky thinking about what could have happened if she handn't been there.

The same thing nearly happened to me about 8 years ago in Toronto. Some guy was following me in his car and we were headed toward a gas station and he started to turn into the station while I was crossing in front of it. Luckily I anticipated him and rushed across and jumped behind a telephone pole so he couldn't get at me.
Nothing like that has ever happened to me since. I normally don't get harassed too much, mostly I think because I walk really assertively, look I know where I'm going, and put on my "don't fuck with me" face. It's not 100% effective, but it's still pretty good. I really like the politeness tactic. Will definitely try that in future.

"Men shouldn't treat me super special because I'm a delicate flower: they should treat me with basic respect and dignity because I'm a fellow human being."
Okay, TLF, this might be inappropriate, but that simple statement expressing my opinion in a way that I'm not clever enough to throw together has cemented my internet crush on you. And I mean that in the least harassing way possible and promise not to run you over if you tell me to go to hell.

And I would love to know what small town has no hecklers. I live in a town with literally *one* stoplight and I still can't walk to the store in without a whistle or two. I used to like it. When I was *12*. Then I grew a brain. It's amazing what a friend's subscription to Bitch can do for you.

The police "may" charge the guy with attempted murder?!

Flowers and prayers to the woman and her community.

Yeesh, Owlhouse, read the fucking comments. "May" isn't their words.

I used to like it. When I was *12*.

I can remember walking through the UGA campus after a football game (we'd played Tennessee, which may have had something to do with it) and getting hoots and hollers from a bunch of rather inebriated young men in a bright orange pickup. I believe most of their commentary centered around offering me fries to go with my "shake." I didn't say anything, of course, and kept walking, at which point one of the guys yelled, "Hey, that's okay, don't say nothin'. I like 'em quiet." I'd never been so happy to see someone stuck in football traffic, because ewwwww.

Whoa, Katie. Owlhouse using the language of the original post and not using the language that you insist upon does not mean that Owlhouse is deserving of verbal abuse.

Thanks, Trevelynne. I should have saved my outraged response 'til I read through the list...maybe next time.
Still, it sounds like a battery charge is definate, while attempted murder is, at this point, a possibility.

LindsayPW, was this at a Big 10 college, by any chance? Because I go to one, and I have a habit of holding doors open for people, male and female, while committing the apparently gross violation of being female myself. I find it a matter of courtesy, though I know that I'm trying to turn convention on its head. Most men (typically older) will try to make me go through the doorway before going through themselves, and I'm wondering if one of them who was pissed off that I "stole his job".

Dang it, I like *not* thinking of the patriarchy when I'm being nice to people. Now I'm going to have to ask men *why* they want me to go first, *why* it's considered a man's job, etc, while being on the lookout for jerks who want to kick me for daring to take this over. At least where I live, most people don't give a flying monkey about others, so it's not like they're going to pick up my politeness slack.

Owlhouse--I'm sorry for my mean words! Trevelynne's right--they were mean. Again, sorry.

Armchairpinko--I'd say don't worry about it. Don't start asking. You're doing a good thing by subconsciously conditioning people to get used to a new reality. If you start asking, eh, sure you might get into a gratifying-feeling fight with one person who thinks you "stole his job," but all you're going to do by asking every guy who tries to make you go through why he's doing that is undo your wonderful bit-by-bit, day-by-day reconditioning of the rest of such men by bringing the whole thing to their attention and making them think it's a stupid project instead of just letting them readjust to a new culture.

I'd say that most of them are simply trying to get you to go through because they're creatures of habit and freeze up and do silly things when you throw them off. Just like you, just like me, only in a particular context that neither you nor I would happen to get that thrown off in.

Best of luck!

I'm keeping an eye out for this truck; I live in Orlando. That wankstain needs to be taken off the streets.