Woman Gets Followed Home By Three Strangers, Hugs This Black Guy And Asks Him To Help Her
Being a good citizen, neighbor and person can mean many things. But it doesn’t always include sunshine, rainbows, and pleasant tasks like baking pies for the local bake sale.
Sometimes, it means protecting a complete stranger when they’re being followed by a group of men intending to do them harm. That’s exactly what one Twitter user did when a woman in need approached him, asking for his help.
She hurriedly told him to pretend that he knew her, so she could get back home to her son safely. Scroll down to read the full story in the Twitter user’s own words and to realize that there are still everyday heroes among us.
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A Twitter user told everyone how he helped out a complete stranger who was being followed by 3 men
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The story had an update
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The Twitter user’s thread went viral with over 380.3k likes and more than 60.1k retweets. Which goes to show how much the internet appreciated the stranger’s kind actions. After all, if we were in trouble, we’d want to be helped out, right? But that also means that we’re responsible for helping others when we see that they’re in trouble.
This happened in New York and some of you might start wondering if the city’s dangerous. But that’s not necessarily the case. New York is the safest large metropolis in the United States and has a lower than average crime rate per inhabitant.
However! (Yes, there is a “however.”) New York is the most visited city in the country, with over 13 million visitors every year. That means that criminals see an opportunity. That’s why there’s lots of petty theft. And tourists are the targets.
What’s more, some of the city’s neighborhoods are rougher than others. According to Smart Travel, popular tourist areas like Times Square, the Meatpacking District, and the Garment District have high violent crime rates. Meanwhile, some other neighborhoods that you should be wary of include NoHo, Union Square, Hudson Square, Koreatown, the Flatiron District, Columbus Circle, and Upper Harlem. Especially at night.
If you’re planning to visit New York’s Chinatown, keep in mind that even though it has lower than average rates of theft and homicide, assaults and robberies are much more common there.
Some safety tips to keep in mind are that you should never get into an unmarked cab, be very vigilant when walking after dark, and avoid Disney and superhero characters in Times Square who might try to hustle you. If you’re in trouble, ask the locals for help—they’ll be sure to lend a hand.
Most Twitter users were touched by the tale of everyday heroism
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And some people even shared their own stories
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The sad reality is that most men are unaware of how scary it can be to be a woman in certain circumstances.
Ah yes Obese Lukas, it is always the women’s fault. They shouldn’t have been running out at night, they were basically asking to get followed.. 🙄
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As a woman i'd just like to say, if you are ever in that situation please dont think you can't go to another female to get rid of creepy men. I, for one, would have your back 100%, also walk you home and if it came to it, fight for you. Women turn into friggin tigers when they need to protect others. Very very glad this man was here for her though!
Same here, now that I’m older. Amazing how an angry mom-aged woman can be incredibly intimidating to a bunch of a*****e young guys. It’s like their own mothers trained them to recognize when they’re going to get their asses whooped, so they duck and run fast. Having that kind of power now, after years of harassment when I was younger, is a heady experience, and one I relish.
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THis happened to my mom when I was with her. And I was 9!!! We were shopping for clothes for my sister and I and then an older man just came and started following us. My mom couldn't do anything because she was raised in india, and in India you respect your elders no matter what. But I wasn't raised like that. I ran towards the man and kicked (you guess where) and We ran until we got in the car. My mom then started crying. Then a worker who had noticed me kick him knocked on our window to make sure we were ok. He even gave me some candy and my mom some water we thanked him and went our separate ways
GOOD FOR YOU! When I was 10, my aunt and I were walking down our street, and one of our creep-o neighbors started following us, then tried to grab me. My aunt fought him off, and while he backed off, he called her a bunch of vulgar names as he ran back onto his porch. After that, though, we took the long way to the store. I was shocked to learn later that she'd told his wife everything, and his wife's reaction was basically, "Leave me alone. If he couldn't catch her (meaning me), then, what's the problem? If you go to the cops, we're on the street." That last one was the kicker (the woman had 3 kids with this guy, one of them a daughter, poor thing), and he continued to creep on little girls and young teens for a couple of years. I'm sure people went to the police, but somehow, he was never taken away. Finally, when I was about 13, a girl's teenage older brother dragged the guy off his porch and beat him to a pulp in front of the whole block. They moved away within a month after that.
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Back when I used to work nights in a bar, my female co-workers used to ask me to walk them to their cars all the time. I found out later it was mainly because the bar manager was a real creep. The owner finally fired him, after about a year. Now he makes 6 figures as a GM in a major chain here in Oregon. God I hate corporate culture.
yup, a student who used to follow me around school, blocking my way, giving me lewd notes, and eventually telling me how "easy it would be to rape you" is now head of the narcotic squad.
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Totaly ludicrous that this is a thing in our modern world. You might think we left that behind a long time ago. Really shocks me. And yes sure, I'm male. Horrific
Unfortunately, in the US, it’s gotten so much worse since we put a misogynist in the White House.
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This reminded me of something that happened a few months ago in my country. A woman was rapped she could run away from the guy who rapped her. She ran to the side of he road and stopped a car. There were two guys in the car she asked for help and told them about what just happened to her. The guys let her in the car. Do you know what happened next? Do you think they helped her? NO . they took her somewhere else and RAPPED HER AGAIN. Just imagine that 🤯 . I have a father a brother a boyfriend and many guy friends and I love them all with all my heart . But when I hear about stories like this I can't help myself . I get so angry that I just hate all men 🤬🤬🤬🤬
This is the fear of all women. That if you must ask a man and help for protection, that they'll be as bad or worse than what you're running from.
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We can all help each other in these situations. If someone felt threatened and came up to me for help, I wouldn't mind. It is sad that we still have to worry about these things in this day and age. This guy was really nice and made that woman feel safe. I wish that there was more that could be done about people behaving that way.
We did this with a girl at a bar. She was tipsy and there was a guy harassing her. She started to leave, he followed her. I was with friends from college. I said, "She's in trouble." Two of my friends sprang into action. They hustled up to her and said "Hey girlfriend! Where are you going? You promised to let us buy you a drink." We turned her back inside. Then one of them turned to the guy and said firmly "We got this! You can go home now." We told the bouncer he was hanging around by the door. He went out and told him to leave before they called the police for loitering (and now you know why those laws are in place.) He left, we made sure she got home safe, and I had total respect for my friends for helping her out.
Years ago when I was a college student, a guy I talked to online but never met came to my job, which at the time was a grocery store. I was a cashier and he just stood there, talking to me helping me bag groceries. He was waiting for me to get off and I wasn’t having that. I tipped my boss and he told him to leave. I thought it was over and once I did get home I had received several angry messages from him. I lied to make it seem like I didn’t ask my boss to make him leave as I didn’t know how he’d react. He didn’t believe me. So as I’m chatting with him (this was before texting so we still used AIM to chat) he hacked my computer and IMed me, as me. It freaked me out so I called a police officer friend who immediately knew the guy, as he was called on earlier in the night. He told him to leave me alone and I never heard from him since. I’m thankful for my boss at the time and I’m thankful for the police officer friend. Who knows what could have happened to me.
I’m still in awe years later that the police officer friend had responded to a call on the guy earlier in the night so he knew where to find him. That in itself was a miracle. I don’t doubt the existence of God. Sometimes he uses his people as his hands.
Load More Replies... This happened to me just a couple weeks ago. This guy saw me walking in the street (middle of the day by the way), stopped and stared at me and started muttering all the usual BS (how beautiful I am, what he'd like to do me etc.). I pretended not to notice him and kept walking. He started walking right next to me as I passed him, then fell back a couple of steps but continued to follow me for a block. I was keeping an eye on him in the reflections of the store windows...he looked like a predator targeting its prey. I ducked into a coffee shop, looked out the windows, and the dude just gave me the death glare, locking eyes with me as he walked by. Thankfully, he was gone when I walked back out.
Did you inform anyone at the shop or call police? I know it usually ends up with police doing nothing (“no law was broken”), but police showing up at all might be a deterrent for repeat creeping by that guy, at least in regard to you. I’m sorry this s**t is so f*****g common that we have to have conversations about how to try to cope with them.
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I hate these guys that are constantly mackin' on the ladies - cat calling, following them, coming on to them with sophomoric sexual advances and crude innuendo. While relatively few in number, these relentless dopes make women suspicious and fearful of men, which is totally understandable for women. As a normal guy that respects people and was raised to be a gentleman, it pains me to feel the fear and nervousness of women in every day situations like being in an elevator, walking to the car park, etc. I'm a big guy - way bigger and taller than the average person but not particularly intimidating (at least I don't think so!). I purposefully avoid looking at or otherwise acknowledging women in most situations because I don't want them to be nervous or scared. It's sad but I totally understand. I wish these fools would grow up and treat everyone - including women - with dignity and respect. Women aren't objects!
I don’t share your size, but I share your sentiments here. Good for you in not buying into toxic masculinity. I don’t think you need to “purposely avoid looking at or acknowledging women”. Sometimes that itself can come across as creepy behavior. Just be natural. Treating women as people is the key.
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A few hours ago I was sitting in the parking lot in a shopping plaza responding to a text from a friend. Minutes passed as we bounced messages back and forth before I realized "My pizza's ready, I should probably head inside and grab it." Well, I unexpectedly timed getting out of my car simultaneously as the woman in the car next to mine. I didn't think anything of it until she looked back and picked up her pace. I slowed my pace to make her feel more at ease until I realized "S**t...she's here to get a pizza too. F**k, I'm going to have to follow her in." However, as soon as I stepped foot inside I blurted out nice and loud, "Is the order for Nick ready yet?" so the person person behind the counter could confirm that I am indeed a customer, and not "Nick, the 3pm Jet's Pizza Rapist." So even though the woman now realizes I meant no harm, my favorite pizza place now thinks I'm an impatient a*****e...
lol aw nick but you're still awesome for doing this luv <3 As a women I thank you for your kindness <3
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This is really upsetting, girls stay safe out there, plan your route home and avoid dark or lonely places.
Are no safe spaces. When I was 18, I got off a local bus at my stop and 3 men followed me off and kept cat calling me & started chasing me. I was a runner so... I was able to hide. When I was about 22, I went to walk to the grocery store to grab a few things. On the way home this guy slowed and asked if I wanted a ride. I moved away - said no - and started walking the other way when he slowed down even more. Not a slow road either - was pretty busy. So i crossed and he came back down the other way - same thing. Then me plowed ahead - parked and got out of his car to block me - I crossed the road > he chased and I ran into a store and went right to a cashier - and told her "I need help, this man is following/chasing me". A decade later, I'm walking to a store through my neighborhood to get a paper - almost noon. This guy jumped out from bushes - would not stop following me & said things to me. I stomped his foot, kicked him down & ran. Just 3 of many times.
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I remembered a couple of years back as I'm riding on a jeepney (local transportation here in my country) on my way to a train station I was asked by a pretty girl sitting beside me if she can tag along with me until we can part ways inside the train station since she noticed that a man was pervertly looking at her and she says that she also noticed that she was stalked until that ride. I mean I'm not the kind of guy who will fight our way when something happened but I still believe her story and walk with her to the station once we got off the jeepney. She thank me profusely and said that the man noticed that she talked to me and got off earlier but still a little close to us. The man changed direction once we're near the station and both of us was relieved that nothing bad happened. We part ways and I still make sure she was not followed.
Oh, thank you so much for being so kind. You are making the world a MUCH better place. Thank you forever.
Nice story and a great guy, but why did BP feel the need to specify his skin color in the headline?
I wondered the same. Then I saw that he specified his skin color in his Twitter handle. It’s possible that this is one of those “don’t judge a book by its cover” stories that wants to showcase an opposite of the typical “violent minorities” s**t.
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Love this! BUT why was it necessary to put "Black Guy" in the headline? Couldn't the same message have gotten across if the headline had said "Random Guy"? If the amazing man in this story had been white, would the headline read "White Guy"? Race shouldn't even come into play in this story, except when acknowledging his Twitter handle. Disappointed in the headline Bored Panda.
I wondered the same. Then I saw that he specified his skin color in his Twitter handle. It’s possible that this is one of those “don’t judge a book by its cover” stories that wants to showcase an opposite of the typical “violent minorities” s**t.
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Mr. Black Professor, would you please run for president? We need more of your kindness in this country right now. Thank you.
makes me so happy whenever another man starts to realize, what a lot of women experience. and all us actually been through attacks, no wonder, harmless acts from men can feel so treathening. seeing men stand up for women makes the world feel a bit better everytime, the horrible ones are few, but the impact is massive. thank you thank you thank you all you good people.
Just guessing here, and since the author didn’t bother to respond: I wondered the same. Maybe the author figured that, since the guy describes his skin color in his Twitter handle, it would be okay to associate a good deed to the man via skin tone, to push back against the constant association of “black guys” with “crime”. (???) I’m always asking my dad why he needs to make a point of saying “this black guy” when he tells me about people he interacts with. I think, ultimately, it comes down to the sad fact that, to my white dad (who hasn’t adjusted to the fact that Italian is now considered white/Caucasian), the most notable thing to his mind is the person’s most notable difference from himself. He has never said “this white guy at work...” etc. :-/
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Love this...... Just wanted to add a bit of my story.... Walking in a mall in Florida when I noticed a lady heading my way with her zipper completely open. So I walked up to her and hugged her and whispered in her ear about her zipper, and while I kept hugging her, she pulled up her zipper and kissed my cheek. We both smiled at each other and went on our way....... This is not the same as what Black Professor experienced, but his story brought this memory to mind. Being there for others to help them through life is what we are supposed to be here for. Thank you Black Professor for such a kind and understanding heart.
Way to go man. Dont question y you were there just great that you were. Good guys won that one.
Why the need "hugs this black guy"? Why not only "hugs this guy"? I mean... Are we supposed not to expect a guy; black white or yellow.. Red if u want, to react in this way? Are we to expect this reaction from other skin colors but black? Are we seriously gonna keep doing this thing, segregating people even if in a dubious light of positivity? Story to be true kudos to him. Kudos to anyone who help those who need it
He specified his skin color in his Twitter handle. It’s possible that this article is one of those “don’t judge a book by its cover” stories that wants to showcase an opposite of the typical “violent minorities” s**t. If so much negative s**t is historically associated with certain ethnicities (look at news media and crime segments), maybe it helps to associate positive things in as overt a manner.
Load More Replies... I was in a similar situation like this once when I was a kid. My sister and I went down to our hotel pool while our family was on vacation. There was this guy who was just sitting there all by himself. He didn't have any kids with him and he was just sitting in a lounge chair on the side of the pool. He kept looking at us and at one point my sister told me to very slowly and without drawing any attention to myself to get out of the pool. We went back to our room after that and made sure we watched our backs on the way. My sister was about 16 and I was about 13 at the time. We didn't see that guy for the rest of our trip and our dad didn't let us go anywhere in the hotel alone after that.
We are so lucky there are still some people like him out there.. if they didn't exist, some of us probably wouldn't be here. Thank you for doing it, saving people toy don't know, even if it could be a set up. This story really touched me, thanks for sharing. ❤🤭😖
hmmm! Happened to me in a bar in Lüneburg.. saw a woman being harassed by 2 pretty mouthy Russians; played the friend, which worked more or less. Apparently they were waiting for me later outside, but a VERY big biker guy had followed the last part, went out and apparently scared the s**t out of them......1
awesome! a man protecting a man looking out for women
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Just goes to prove what I've always believed...There are Angels among us.
No, there are nice and decent people. They’re actually the majority. They’re just not the most impactful percentage.
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I am stuck on the heading "hugs this black guy". Like, really? How is his race relevant to this story? NO!
Maybe the author figured that, since the guy describes his skin color in his Twitter handle, it would be okay to associate a good deed to the man via skin tone to push back against the constant association of “black guys” with “crime”.
Load More Replies... I don't get how putting his skin color in the title was relevant to the story. It was a guy that she hugged because she felt afraid, his color was irrelevant. Unless the author was making a racist connotation?
Just guessing here, and since the author didn’t bother to respond: Maybe the author figured that, since the guy describes his skin color in his Twitter handle, it would be okay to associate a good deed to the man via skin tone to push back against the constant association of “black guys” with “crime”.
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I actually remember a pretty creepy instance where me and my friend got off the train and there was this man who kept staring at my friend and stopping whenever she stopped, and she asked me whether she could come to my place for a while, and obviously I said yes, so she could call someone to pick her up from there. I don't know what made the man to stop following us, maybe it was cause I look like a boy in certain types of clothes, or maybe it was just cause there were two of us. I was already worried enough when he followed quietly behind us, and I would've been prepared to get violent if it meant protecting my friend from a creep. But luckily he did not follow too far.
I was once followed home after a party, so pretty late. I did all the usual things that women do, that men don't even think about , like crossing the road to see if he followed, looking out for lit houses, but it was late. Eventually I came to a row of shops where there was a kebab cafe, which of course was heaving at that time of night. I stopped there because of the people and the guy just sort of hung about at the edge of the people outside. So I just screamed 'will you just F*** off following me!' at the top of my voice. Everyone looked and he slunk off. I waited a while longer and then made it home, which wasn't far from there, but I didn't want to get home with him still following. No one was such a knight as Black Professor was, but it's true, guys don't even know what women have to do just to be safe.
I have also done this. If it means the difference between getting home or not getting home that evening, do it! I've never read a story where the man chosen to be the protector has regretted or refused to do it. Men were made to protect and the decent ones are proud as punch to be someone's security.
Cute story, I will admit. But why did you have to put black guy in the title? Why bring up something as dumb as their race? Would you put: "Woman Gets Followed Home By Three Men, Hugs this White Guy And Asks For Help"? Nope! Good story.
A lot of people have asked this question. I wondered too. I suspect it’s some kind of unconscious “white person only sees one descriptor” problem, or maybe an effort to push back against the constant association between “black guys” and “violence” in the US media. It would be nice if the author had bothered to respond to this question asked by SEVERAL commentators.
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I'm wondering, are the Americas so unsafe for women? I lived in East London, in Rotterdam, in Istanbul, I was never afraid to walk home or take a cab alone at night
Maybe you just don't know enough to be afraid? As a single female, with all of the serial rapists and murders around (estimate is 7 serial operating at any given time, if I remember right) I would be leary of walking alone in the dark no matter where I was, sure there are places that are worse than others, but I would treat them all the same hust to be safe.
Load More Replies... By who? The whole point of the article is to describe the event and suggest why she didn’t: a kind and healthy-minded person helped her out and it deterred her stalkers.
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"us men created an environment of toxicity"? Surely there are plenty of poorly educated men out there, but this is about a man helping a woman out. Clearly this man is educated enough to do the right thing, while the ones who followed the woman weren't. There are other men who would help out in a similar situation, because "us men" are of many kinds, which includes educated ones too. And toxicity is genderless. Just as I hope more men will get educated just enough to stop doing creepy things, and more men will do the right thing if it comes to that, I also hope that people will at some point learn to stop generalizing behavior based on gender. Because behavior is largely influenced by education, not gender.
If you’re a decent man who would never harm women, then this isn’t about you. Try to turn off any defensiveness you might be feeling when you read about this subject because it’s not about you. It’s about a culture (all over the planet) of toxic behavior that is primarily coming from men, targeting women. There are normal men, who wouldn’t harm women, and then there are messed-up men who would. There’s masculinity, and there’s toxic masculinity. Messed-up men are encouraged by toxic masculinity to act on their messed-up impulses. Toxic masculinity defends them when they’re caught. “Boys will be boys”, etc. Again: if you wouldn’t stalk, harass, or assault women, then this isn’t about you. Don’t be defensive. Listen to what women are telling you. It’s not “all men”, but it *is* ENOUGH men. The reason there’s so much fear and resentment of men is because ENOUGH men have been abusive to far too many women. It’s systemic. It’s not an aberration in most cultures; it’s a feature.
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The sad reality is that most men are unaware of how scary it can be to be a woman in certain circumstances.
Ah yes Obese Lukas, it is always the women’s fault. They shouldn’t have been running out at night, they were basically asking to get followed.. 🙄
Load More Replies... As a woman i'd just like to say, if you are ever in that situation please dont think you can't go to another female to get rid of creepy men. I, for one, would have your back 100%, also walk you home and if it came to it, fight for you. Women turn into friggin tigers when they need to protect others. Very very glad this man was here for her though!
Same here, now that I’m older. Amazing how an angry mom-aged woman can be incredibly intimidating to a bunch of a*****e young guys. It’s like their own mothers trained them to recognize when they’re going to get their asses whooped, so they duck and run fast. Having that kind of power now, after years of harassment when I was younger, is a heady experience, and one I relish.
Load More Replies... THis happened to my mom when I was with her. And I was 9!!! We were shopping for clothes for my sister and I and then an older man just came and started following us. My mom couldn't do anything because she was raised in india, and in India you respect your elders no matter what. But I wasn't raised like that. I ran towards the man and kicked (you guess where) and We ran until we got in the car. My mom then started crying. Then a worker who had noticed me kick him knocked on our window to make sure we were ok. He even gave me some candy and my mom some water we thanked him and went our separate ways
GOOD FOR YOU! When I was 10, my aunt and I were walking down our street, and one of our creep-o neighbors started following us, then tried to grab me. My aunt fought him off, and while he backed off, he called her a bunch of vulgar names as he ran back onto his porch. After that, though, we took the long way to the store. I was shocked to learn later that she'd told his wife everything, and his wife's reaction was basically, "Leave me alone. If he couldn't catch her (meaning me), then, what's the problem? If you go to the cops, we're on the street." That last one was the kicker (the woman had 3 kids with this guy, one of them a daughter, poor thing), and he continued to creep on little girls and young teens for a couple of years. I'm sure people went to the police, but somehow, he was never taken away. Finally, when I was about 13, a girl's teenage older brother dragged the guy off his porch and beat him to a pulp in front of the whole block. They moved away within a month after that.
Load More Replies... Back when I used to work nights in a bar, my female co-workers used to ask me to walk them to their cars all the time. I found out later it was mainly because the bar manager was a real creep. The owner finally fired him, after about a year. Now he makes 6 figures as a GM in a major chain here in Oregon. God I hate corporate culture.
yup, a student who used to follow me around school, blocking my way, giving me lewd notes, and eventually telling me how "easy it would be to rape you" is now head of the narcotic squad.
Load More Replies... Totaly ludicrous that this is a thing in our modern world. You might think we left that behind a long time ago. Really shocks me. And yes sure, I'm male. Horrific
Unfortunately, in the US, it’s gotten so much worse since we put a misogynist in the White House.
Load More Replies... This reminded me of something that happened a few months ago in my country. A woman was rapped she could run away from the guy who rapped her. She ran to the side of he road and stopped a car. There were two guys in the car she asked for help and told them about what just happened to her. The guys let her in the car. Do you know what happened next? Do you think they helped her? NO . they took her somewhere else and RAPPED HER AGAIN. Just imagine that 🤯 . I have a father a brother a boyfriend and many guy friends and I love them all with all my heart . But when I hear about stories like this I can't help myself . I get so angry that I just hate all men 🤬🤬🤬🤬
This is the fear of all women. That if you must ask a man and help for protection, that they'll be as bad or worse than what you're running from.
Load More Replies... We can all help each other in these situations. If someone felt threatened and came up to me for help, I wouldn't mind. It is sad that we still have to worry about these things in this day and age. This guy was really nice and made that woman feel safe. I wish that there was more that could be done about people behaving that way.
We did this with a girl at a bar. She was tipsy and there was a guy harassing her. She started to leave, he followed her. I was with friends from college. I said, "She's in trouble." Two of my friends sprang into action. They hustled up to her and said "Hey girlfriend! Where are you going? You promised to let us buy you a drink." We turned her back inside. Then one of them turned to the guy and said firmly "We got this! You can go home now." We told the bouncer he was hanging around by the door. He went out and told him to leave before they called the police for loitering (and now you know why those laws are in place.) He left, we made sure she got home safe, and I had total respect for my friends for helping her out.
Years ago when I was a college student, a guy I talked to online but never met came to my job, which at the time was a grocery store. I was a cashier and he just stood there, talking to me helping me bag groceries. He was waiting for me to get off and I wasn’t having that. I tipped my boss and he told him to leave. I thought it was over and once I did get home I had received several angry messages from him. I lied to make it seem like I didn’t ask my boss to make him leave as I didn’t know how he’d react. He didn’t believe me. So as I’m chatting with him (this was before texting so we still used AIM to chat) he hacked my computer and IMed me, as me. It freaked me out so I called a police officer friend who immediately knew the guy, as he was called on earlier in the night. He told him to leave me alone and I never heard from him since. I’m thankful for my boss at the time and I’m thankful for the police officer friend. Who knows what could have happened to me.
I’m still in awe years later that the police officer friend had responded to a call on the guy earlier in the night so he knew where to find him. That in itself was a miracle. I don’t doubt the existence of God. Sometimes he uses his people as his hands.
Load More Replies... This happened to me just a couple weeks ago. This guy saw me walking in the street (middle of the day by the way), stopped and stared at me and started muttering all the usual BS (how beautiful I am, what he'd like to do me etc.). I pretended not to notice him and kept walking. He started walking right next to me as I passed him, then fell back a couple of steps but continued to follow me for a block. I was keeping an eye on him in the reflections of the store windows...he looked like a predator targeting its prey. I ducked into a coffee shop, looked out the windows, and the dude just gave me the death glare, locking eyes with me as he walked by. Thankfully, he was gone when I walked back out.
Did you inform anyone at the shop or call police? I know it usually ends up with police doing nothing (“no law was broken”), but police showing up at all might be a deterrent for repeat creeping by that guy, at least in regard to you. I’m sorry this s**t is so f*****g common that we have to have conversations about how to try to cope with them.
Load More Replies... I hate these guys that are constantly mackin' on the ladies - cat calling, following them, coming on to them with sophomoric sexual advances and crude innuendo. While relatively few in number, these relentless dopes make women suspicious and fearful of men, which is totally understandable for women. As a normal guy that respects people and was raised to be a gentleman, it pains me to feel the fear and nervousness of women in every day situations like being in an elevator, walking to the car park, etc. I'm a big guy - way bigger and taller than the average person but not particularly intimidating (at least I don't think so!). I purposefully avoid looking at or otherwise acknowledging women in most situations because I don't want them to be nervous or scared. It's sad but I totally understand. I wish these fools would grow up and treat everyone - including women - with dignity and respect. Women aren't objects!
I don’t share your size, but I share your sentiments here. Good for you in not buying into toxic masculinity. I don’t think you need to “purposely avoid looking at or acknowledging women”. Sometimes that itself can come across as creepy behavior. Just be natural. Treating women as people is the key.
Load More Replies... A few hours ago I was sitting in the parking lot in a shopping plaza responding to a text from a friend. Minutes passed as we bounced messages back and forth before I realized "My pizza's ready, I should probably head inside and grab it." Well, I unexpectedly timed getting out of my car simultaneously as the woman in the car next to mine. I didn't think anything of it until she looked back and picked up her pace. I slowed my pace to make her feel more at ease until I realized "S**t...she's here to get a pizza too. F**k, I'm going to have to follow her in." However, as soon as I stepped foot inside I blurted out nice and loud, "Is the order for Nick ready yet?" so the person person behind the counter could confirm that I am indeed a customer, and not "Nick, the 3pm Jet's Pizza Rapist." So even though the woman now realizes I meant no harm, my favorite pizza place now thinks I'm an impatient a*****e...
lol aw nick but you're still awesome for doing this luv <3 As a women I thank you for your kindness <3
Load More Replies... This is really upsetting, girls stay safe out there, plan your route home and avoid dark or lonely places.
Are no safe spaces. When I was 18, I got off a local bus at my stop and 3 men followed me off and kept cat calling me & started chasing me. I was a runner so... I was able to hide. When I was about 22, I went to walk to the grocery store to grab a few things. On the way home this guy slowed and asked if I wanted a ride. I moved away - said no - and started walking the other way when he slowed down even more. Not a slow road either - was pretty busy. So i crossed and he came back down the other way - same thing. Then me plowed ahead - parked and got out of his car to block me - I crossed the road > he chased and I ran into a store and went right to a cashier - and told her "I need help, this man is following/chasing me". A decade later, I'm walking to a store through my neighborhood to get a paper - almost noon. This guy jumped out from bushes - would not stop following me & said things to me. I stomped his foot, kicked him down & ran. Just 3 of many times.
Load More Replies... I remembered a couple of years back as I'm riding on a jeepney (local transportation here in my country) on my way to a train station I was asked by a pretty girl sitting beside me if she can tag along with me until we can part ways inside the train station since she noticed that a man was pervertly looking at her and she says that she also noticed that she was stalked until that ride. I mean I'm not the kind of guy who will fight our way when something happened but I still believe her story and walk with her to the station once we got off the jeepney. She thank me profusely and said that the man noticed that she talked to me and got off earlier but still a little close to us. The man changed direction once we're near the station and both of us was relieved that nothing bad happened. We part ways and I still make sure she was not followed.
Oh, thank you so much for being so kind. You are making the world a MUCH better place. Thank you forever.
Nice story and a great guy, but why did BP feel the need to specify his skin color in the headline?
I wondered the same. Then I saw that he specified his skin color in his Twitter handle. It’s possible that this is one of those “don’t judge a book by its cover” stories that wants to showcase an opposite of the typical “violent minorities” s**t.
Load More Replies... Love this! BUT why was it necessary to put "Black Guy" in the headline? Couldn't the same message have gotten across if the headline had said "Random Guy"? If the amazing man in this story had been white, would the headline read "White Guy"? Race shouldn't even come into play in this story, except when acknowledging his Twitter handle. Disappointed in the headline Bored Panda.
I wondered the same. Then I saw that he specified his skin color in his Twitter handle. It’s possible that this is one of those “don’t judge a book by its cover” stories that wants to showcase an opposite of the typical “violent minorities” s**t.
Load More Replies... Mr. Black Professor, would you please run for president? We need more of your kindness in this country right now. Thank you.
makes me so happy whenever another man starts to realize, what a lot of women experience. and all us actually been through attacks, no wonder, harmless acts from men can feel so treathening. seeing men stand up for women makes the world feel a bit better everytime, the horrible ones are few, but the impact is massive. thank you thank you thank you all you good people.
Just guessing here, and since the author didn’t bother to respond: I wondered the same. Maybe the author figured that, since the guy describes his skin color in his Twitter handle, it would be okay to associate a good deed to the man via skin tone, to push back against the constant association of “black guys” with “crime”. (???) I’m always asking my dad why he needs to make a point of saying “this black guy” when he tells me about people he interacts with. I think, ultimately, it comes down to the sad fact that, to my white dad (who hasn’t adjusted to the fact that Italian is now considered white/Caucasian), the most notable thing to his mind is the person’s most notable difference from himself. He has never said “this white guy at work...” etc. :-/
Load More Replies... Love this...... Just wanted to add a bit of my story.... Walking in a mall in Florida when I noticed a lady heading my way with her zipper completely open. So I walked up to her and hugged her and whispered in her ear about her zipper, and while I kept hugging her, she pulled up her zipper and kissed my cheek. We both smiled at each other and went on our way....... This is not the same as what Black Professor experienced, but his story brought this memory to mind. Being there for others to help them through life is what we are supposed to be here for. Thank you Black Professor for such a kind and understanding heart.
Way to go man. Dont question y you were there just great that you were. Good guys won that one.
Why the need "hugs this black guy"? Why not only "hugs this guy"? I mean... Are we supposed not to expect a guy; black white or yellow.. Red if u want, to react in this way? Are we to expect this reaction from other skin colors but black? Are we seriously gonna keep doing this thing, segregating people even if in a dubious light of positivity? Story to be true kudos to him. Kudos to anyone who help those who need it
He specified his skin color in his Twitter handle. It’s possible that this article is one of those “don’t judge a book by its cover” stories that wants to showcase an opposite of the typical “violent minorities” s**t. If so much negative s**t is historically associated with certain ethnicities (look at news media and crime segments), maybe it helps to associate positive things in as overt a manner.
Load More Replies... I was in a similar situation like this once when I was a kid. My sister and I went down to our hotel pool while our family was on vacation. There was this guy who was just sitting there all by himself. He didn't have any kids with him and he was just sitting in a lounge chair on the side of the pool. He kept looking at us and at one point my sister told me to very slowly and without drawing any attention to myself to get out of the pool. We went back to our room after that and made sure we watched our backs on the way. My sister was about 16 and I was about 13 at the time. We didn't see that guy for the rest of our trip and our dad didn't let us go anywhere in the hotel alone after that.
We are so lucky there are still some people like him out there.. if they didn't exist, some of us probably wouldn't be here. Thank you for doing it, saving people toy don't know, even if it could be a set up. This story really touched me, thanks for sharing. ❤🤭😖
hmmm! Happened to me in a bar in Lüneburg.. saw a woman being harassed by 2 pretty mouthy Russians; played the friend, which worked more or less. Apparently they were waiting for me later outside, but a VERY big biker guy had followed the last part, went out and apparently scared the s**t out of them......1
awesome! a man protecting a man looking out for women
Load More Replies... Just goes to prove what I've always believed...There are Angels among us.
No, there are nice and decent people. They’re actually the majority. They’re just not the most impactful percentage.
Load More Replies... I am stuck on the heading "hugs this black guy". Like, really? How is his race relevant to this story? NO!
Maybe the author figured that, since the guy describes his skin color in his Twitter handle, it would be okay to associate a good deed to the man via skin tone to push back against the constant association of “black guys” with “crime”.
Load More Replies... I don't get how putting his skin color in the title was relevant to the story. It was a guy that she hugged because she felt afraid, his color was irrelevant. Unless the author was making a racist connotation?
Just guessing here, and since the author didn’t bother to respond: Maybe the author figured that, since the guy describes his skin color in his Twitter handle, it would be okay to associate a good deed to the man via skin tone to push back against the constant association of “black guys” with “crime”.
Load More Replies... I actually remember a pretty creepy instance where me and my friend got off the train and there was this man who kept staring at my friend and stopping whenever she stopped, and she asked me whether she could come to my place for a while, and obviously I said yes, so she could call someone to pick her up from there. I don't know what made the man to stop following us, maybe it was cause I look like a boy in certain types of clothes, or maybe it was just cause there were two of us. I was already worried enough when he followed quietly behind us, and I would've been prepared to get violent if it meant protecting my friend from a creep. But luckily he did not follow too far.
I was once followed home after a party, so pretty late. I did all the usual things that women do, that men don't even think about , like crossing the road to see if he followed, looking out for lit houses, but it was late. Eventually I came to a row of shops where there was a kebab cafe, which of course was heaving at that time of night. I stopped there because of the people and the guy just sort of hung about at the edge of the people outside. So I just screamed 'will you just F*** off following me!' at the top of my voice. Everyone looked and he slunk off. I waited a while longer and then made it home, which wasn't far from there, but I didn't want to get home with him still following. No one was such a knight as Black Professor was, but it's true, guys don't even know what women have to do just to be safe.
I have also done this. If it means the difference between getting home or not getting home that evening, do it! I've never read a story where the man chosen to be the protector has regretted or refused to do it. Men were made to protect and the decent ones are proud as punch to be someone's security.
Cute story, I will admit. But why did you have to put black guy in the title? Why bring up something as dumb as their race? Would you put: "Woman Gets Followed Home By Three Men, Hugs this White Guy And Asks For Help"? Nope! Good story.
A lot of people have asked this question. I wondered too. I suspect it’s some kind of unconscious “white person only sees one descriptor” problem, or maybe an effort to push back against the constant association between “black guys” and “violence” in the US media. It would be nice if the author had bothered to respond to this question asked by SEVERAL commentators.
Load More Replies... I'm wondering, are the Americas so unsafe for women? I lived in East London, in Rotterdam, in Istanbul, I was never afraid to walk home or take a cab alone at night
Maybe you just don't know enough to be afraid? As a single female, with all of the serial rapists and murders around (estimate is 7 serial operating at any given time, if I remember right) I would be leary of walking alone in the dark no matter where I was, sure there are places that are worse than others, but I would treat them all the same hust to be safe.
Load More Replies... By who? The whole point of the article is to describe the event and suggest why she didn’t: a kind and healthy-minded person helped her out and it deterred her stalkers.
Load More Replies... "us men created an environment of toxicity"? Surely there are plenty of poorly educated men out there, but this is about a man helping a woman out. Clearly this man is educated enough to do the right thing, while the ones who followed the woman weren't. There are other men who would help out in a similar situation, because "us men" are of many kinds, which includes educated ones too. And toxicity is genderless. Just as I hope more men will get educated just enough to stop doing creepy things, and more men will do the right thing if it comes to that, I also hope that people will at some point learn to stop generalizing behavior based on gender. Because behavior is largely influenced by education, not gender.
If you’re a decent man who would never harm women, then this isn’t about you. Try to turn off any defensiveness you might be feeling when you read about this subject because it’s not about you. It’s about a culture (all over the planet) of toxic behavior that is primarily coming from men, targeting women. There are normal men, who wouldn’t harm women, and then there are messed-up men who would. There’s masculinity, and there’s toxic masculinity. Messed-up men are encouraged by toxic masculinity to act on their messed-up impulses. Toxic masculinity defends them when they’re caught. “Boys will be boys”, etc. Again: if you wouldn’t stalk, harass, or assault women, then this isn’t about you. Don’t be defensive. Listen to what women are telling you. It’s not “all men”, but it *is* ENOUGH men. The reason there’s so much fear and resentment of men is because ENOUGH men have been abusive to far too many women. It’s systemic. It’s not an aberration in most cultures; it’s a feature.
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