to the man who called me beautiful on telegraph ave

tw: rape, tw: street harrassment

it is not just a compliment
when you are thirteen years older than I am
and you have a baseball bat hanging off the end of your bike handles
and you are a complete stranger

it is not just a compliment
when at least two other strange men have tried to hit on me in the past hour
and I have learned to walk with a fist split by keys
because I know they really could hit

and don’t you fucking tell me
that I need to assume positive intent
and that you say the same thing to your sister
because I wish I could
but I have learned too well that I am not safe

I am not safe when I walk on the street
and I am not safe when I’m out with my friends
and I am not safe on college campuses
the world isn’t safe for people who look like me

we walk around with targets on our backs
(or more accurately, on our chests and backsides and between our legs)
and you did not “just give me a compliment”
you fired a warning shot

and I am allowed to fire back