Tuesday, August 12, 2014

Cards Against Harassment

Bill Lindeke is a Twin Cities urbanist who encourages people to walk, bike, and take transit. He wants people to be in the city and enjoy it as a place.

As part of his work, he began talking to women about street harassment, and recently wrote about it on MinnPost. Thanks to that article, I now know about a local woman named Lindsey who has created Cards Against Harassment, which she gives out to men who catcall her and worse.


Even more impressive is the fact that Lindsey talks back in a respectful way to men who harass her and records the interaction. Here's her YouTube channel, with over a dozen videos (mostly just sound, since she's making the recordings with her phone while talking to the men).

This is a brave woman, doing inspiring work. Most times, it appears she has convinced the men to stop catcalling and to think about the situation from the woman's point of view. But then there's the one with the guy who suddenly seems to become afraid of her and backs away when she tries to give him one of the cards.

I guess he was uncomfortable about a woman who talked back.

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I also appreciated Lindsey's FAQ page. And, from a different source, this comic called Next Time Someone Says Women Aren't Victims of Harassment, Show Them This.

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