Guy Catcalls Woman During Anti-Catcalling Report

How's this for Horrible Ass-Bag Of The Week: A man, while being filmed for an anti-catcalling video report on the streets of New York City, catcallled more than one woman on camera. Entering all new levels of ultimate douchebaggery and it's only Monday morning. The reporter, bless his cotton socks, is beside himself with shock when the interviewee takes it upon himself to make noises at women that are, he admits, the same noises he'd use to call a dog. Some people seriously need to have their street privileges revoked. This guy seriously has no business being in public.

The man refuses to believe that women don't like being catcalled, but he also admits that he realizes that women are scared by it, when he tells the reporter he catcalls from far away so that women are "less scared". Great. So you know what you're doing is threatening, and yet you continue to do it. To be completely honest though, the guy LOOKS like someone who'd catcall. Look, I know. I know I shouldn't generalize, and I know from experience catcallers come in all shapes and sizes, but if one would draw what they assumed a stereotypical catcaller would look like, they'd draw this guy. Everything about him screams "forced, abrasive, aggressive machismo." I mean, his t-shirt has a motif of a Playboy bunny mixed with a marijuana leaf on it. CLASSY.

It's mind-boggling to me that the police in NYC aren't doing something about men like this. Because if you look at the definition of an assault, it's the INTENT to harm or create a legitimate fear of harm. This guy KNOWS he's scaring women. He KNOWS he's giving women the reasonable impression they might come to harm. This is his INTENTION. Therefore, he is WILLINGLY committing assault. Assault is a crime. This man is a criminal. And we should all be able to report criminals and have those reports taken seriously. After all, would the cops not stop a man calling out intimidating slurs to another man? They would: I've seen them do it! And yet, I've seen catcalling happen in front of police, where nothing is done about it at all.

You see I've started to get on a rant here, but said ranting makes this point no more salient. Catcalling isn't an "inconvenience". It isn't an annoying thing that sometimes happen. It's a criminal act, and it's high time we started treating it as such, instead of treating it as an inevitability that we're perturbed by but ultimately have to put up with. Every single person, no matter what gender, sexuality, race or religion has the right to be able to walk the streets they inhabit without fear. If only there was a way to make Joe Catcaller understand this.

Images: YouTube; Giphy