Don't You Dare Stare

Another Holla cropped from the Impersonals of the Improper Bostonian: This is for all the old geezers on Boylston that can't let a skirt walk by every morning when I walk to work. Dream on honey, but do yourself (and me, and all of us) a favor and try to keep your head from swinging 360 degrees as a hardworking female crosses the sidewalk. Here's a suggestion: If you absolutely cannot control your neck muscles (for which you should seek medical attention), exercise your eyelids and close them! - Damsel in Distress

Takin' the FREE outta freeway!

I swear I attract these people. As I was running errands, I decided to roll my car windows all the way down to enjoy the perfect weather outside. All was well, and I stopped at a 4-way intersection - lots of cars - carpool time at a nearby school. So I am slowly creeping ahead, and a man clearly on the job in a truck in the next lane takes the opportunity (from his wide open window) to yell "DUMB BITCH!!!" (or something that rhymes with dumb) as I am slowly passing him by. I did a double take as he drove away, and wish I could have taken a picture at that moment. But then I had a good laugh when I thought about how I wished I could say to him, "Call me a dumb bitch all you want, dude... I'm NOT the one driving like you!" Oh to dream.......

Getting Dirty at the Laundry

A guy at a public laundry, was standing in the doorway, huffing and grunting and rocking - leaving not much to the imagination of what he was doing - while my friend was standing a few feet away inside, trying to wash her clothes. He kept looking in at her through the crack in the door. How creepy is that?! It's a public laundromat!! JERK OFF AT HOME. -Elizabeth

If only I could read minds...

Pass these two fuckers on Mt. Auburn Street in Cambridge last week. One says, as my friend and I walk by, "Are you thinkin' what I'm thinkin'?" The other responds, "Huh, yeah..." Thanks, fuckers, but we can come up with our demented fantasies if we want. We don't need yours. - Monica & Karlie

Harrassed in 1 hour or less or your money back.

At the end of June I took a trip to Boston from Montreal in order to take a language class for 3 weeks. I had never been to Boston and I was both excited and anxious about the trip as I have never been on a trip out of Canada by myself. I was finding my way around quite well, despite the maze like design of the Boston subway system and I got on to the Red Line with no problem, but unfortunately I didn't know that the line splits and I'd picked the wrong train. To switch directions and go back to get the correct line, I got off the train and stood on the platform. While waiting, I saw a man hugging a woman (his girlfriend, I presume) and at some point he noticed me too. Very shortly the train came and I dragged my luggage on to the train and found a seat. At the same time I noticed the man detangle himself from his girlfriend and start walking toward my car. He got on at the end of the car and started walking toward me, his girlfriend following closely behind. The whole time he was leering at me, walking slowly by trying to get me to notice him. I briefly looked at him, then at his girlfriend thinking to myself why would you do that in front of your girlfriend and then I turned in order to mind my own business and concentrated on figuring out how to get to the proper station. That's when it got weird. He sat at the other end of the car and started yelling loudly, I thought he was talking to his girlfriend so I looked over quickly and went back to minding my own business; it didn't look like she was in danger. But he kept on yelling so much so that everyone started looking at him. After a while he started describing what I was wearing saying "I hate people like that, think they are all that, with your striped shirt". I thought to myself 'oh sh*t I'm wearing a striped shirt'. At that point I realized that all this time he was talking to me and I got really freaked out. The way he was talking it sounded like he could get violent. He was saying things like he would beat people like me up and we didn't know him, how he stomps on people. I looked over again to see if I was in any immediate danger, and I could have sworn that his girlfriend was trying to restrain him. That was when he started barking at me. Lucky for me the stop finally came and I got off that train in record time. I had been in Boston for about an hour and I had already felt threatened enough to want to leave. I don't think it was my fault, but I cannot help trying to figure out what I did to make him so mad. Debbie

Girls Just Want to Have Fun

Hollas are everywhere. This one comes to us from the Improper Bostonian: To the guy at Embassy: You're the reason I never go to clubs. My girlfriends and I were dancing in a circle off to the side of the dance floor. We were innocently shaking what our mommas gave us, singing along to Kelly Clarkson's "Walk Away" and generally enjoying a girls' night out. Seeing as we made up the majority of the heterosexual female population that night, you homed in on us. You came up behind my friend, and she indulged you for a bit, then gave us a sign and we helped her escape. But you wouldn't be deterred. You make your way around the circle and snuck up behind me. I moved away, but being the persistent pest you are, you followed. I moved again and you stayed a few steps behind, remaining there for a good portion of the night, bouncing awkwardly to the music and staring hungrily at our circle. Maybe if you'd asked before you grabbed us from behind, you would have had a chance. You could also try being less creepy in general. Thanks a bunch. - In Hiding

My Boots Are Sacred.

So, I just got this new pair of boots. They were a gift from my mother. They were on sale. They're black, knee high, with laces, a rounded toe, and zippers up the sides. And I confess that as a fashion addict, I am just tickled that we are teetering on the edge of boot season. Oh, yes. I love my boots. So I decided, today, to bust them out early. A maiden voyage, if you will. I step out onto the street and pause at a stoplight and BAM! two seconds go by: "You gonna FUCK ME with those boots later?" After I shook my head and thought - here we go, I suddenly became furious b/c I had to wait there next to him for the stupid light to change, and so I waited and waited and finally yelled: "Not in your goddamn pathetic lifetime!!" as soon as the cross walk illuminated, and then I hurried across the street. I turned back once, and he was still standing there, gaping after me. -Michelle

Snakes on a train!

I'm riding home on the T from a birthday party on Saturday night. At the Hynes/ICA stop, a TON of people get on the subway, which means the train stands by for a good minute or two. I see these dudes sitting on a bench in the station but look away, hoping it isn't what I think. Wrong. As the doors close, I glare back (just in case), and sure enough, one is nodding his head and grinning at me like I'm just there, on display for him to take in. I didn't even have time to snap his picture as the train moseyed on into the tunnel system. - Keren

Celebrity status?

I saw this man at the Atlanta airport a while back. What first struck me, obviously, but his sheer size. 7 feet plus.... I am a good 2 feet shorter. Then a lovely baggage handler came up to him to shake his hand (this is when I figured out he was famous for something), and this huge dude REFUSED to shake his hand. Flat out refused. I was appalled. Finally, a bunch of people start coming around to take his picture and meet him. He never smiles, he looks down (literally and figuratively) on all these adoring fans (lots of Friday night smackdown fans in the airport that day). Then, the real kicker... without thinking twice about it, he turns in my direction (I was only standing like 3 feet away from him) and starts doing the typical male reality check. Like he was shopping for melons! People were taking his picture for heaven's sake!!!! I was initially shocked at how rude he was to people, but then even more shocked at the fact that he had no qualms about turning towards someone two feet shorter and start grabbing his balls for dear life. Guys - if it's that bad, take it to the bathroom. I manage to make it through a day without scratching myself in front of an audience!!!!! -pr.

And YOU sound like an ASSHOLE tonight!

I left work Sunday afternoon at 5 and was heading down Charles Street to the T. I passed the Beacon Hill Pub and an elder gentleman smoking outside who greeted me with a "hello." I responded as cordially, and sure enough after passing him, he comments, "You look glorious tonight." I step off the curb to cross the street, but pause to reach for my phone. The man has already moved on to harassing the female passerby behind me who is politely declining his request for conversation. He exclaims, "You owe me a few lines!" She again declines his requests to which he replies, "Don't yell at me, yell at this woman!" pointing to me as I snap his picture. Sir, nobody OWES you anything, but we DESERVE to be left alone! - Hilary

"It's Friday night and I feel alright"

Well, we were feeling okay until we met these jokers. Once again, holla'ed at for simply walking. Nothing really special to report. Just that these two guys in Central Square decided to snicker about and whistle at us after we had walked by them. We were able to snap a shot immediately after we heard the whistle, but when we drove by in our car, they had disappeared. This is them and their perch: Within the same block, we met a young man coming down the steps from his house who said, matter-of-factly, "Hello, ladies." We should have asked him if he could head up the street and inform his neighbors about a proper way to acknowledge and greet women. Otherwise, when will they ever learn? - Steph & Josie

It can happen to you

The young men in this car decided to yell and cat-call at almost everyone who went by as they cruised around Copley Square on Friday night. They also took time to yell at a couple of people who clearly belonged to oppressed groups. Sometimes it has nothing to do with whether or not you're a woman; any historically marginalized person will do as long as they can direct their outbursts somewhere. - Angie

Workin 9-5

I can't take my boss's picture because I still have to see him every day. And do I feel unsafe when he looks down my shirt when he stands way over me and orders me to do something totally stupid? Not exactly. But I do feel like there's a fucked up power dynamic that he either doesn't understand or doesn't care to fix. What can I say when he looks at me like that? I told him he had white male priviledge issues once and immediately felt guilty because he works way too much and his wife is dead...I don't know what I'm saying or if this is a holla, but I wish my boss didn't look at me like I'm just a woman, and I wish I felt like I had something to do besides make it possibly worse for everyone by bringing it up. - B in Boston