No, you are not this guy. This woman wants you to GO AWAY.
(And, as it turns out, this photo is actually from a film about just that...)
<rant>So I have no problem with talking to guys on the bus. I have actually had a few great bus encounters recently with guys, including reminiscing with a guy about living in the Pacific NW, and then later running into him and his daughter, whom he had taken to see the film Lucy because he wanted her to see films with strong female characters (!), and then some time later having a great debate on geophysics vs. geology with a petroleum geologist I ran into.
I DO have a problem when a guy asks to take the seat next to me, and then I look up and notice there are plenty of other empty seats around me he could have taken. By taking this seat, he has boxed me into my seat, blocking off an escape route, thus instantly making me edgy. He then proceeds to ask me if I believe in fate, because he saw me on the bus that morning and "wanted to compliment me on my hat" (so he was watching me all morning). Meanwhile, I'm trying frantically to be VERY involved in poking my phone, hoping he'll get the hint (spoiler alert - he doesn't). He pulls out a can of something that smells like beer and asks me do I have a particular seat I like to sit in. I mumble something, wondering if I should get off a stop early, even though it's about 10˚F outside, just so I can make sure he doesn't follow me home. At some point I give him the false name of "Rachel", all the while really, really hoping he doesn't try to follow me off the bus, and he doesn't start making this his normal route. Thankfully, he doesn't follow me off, and by this point the friend I've been texting with calls me so I guess the guy at least knows someone knows where I am if he decides to try anything.... I got off at my normal stop, but walked a different route home... just in case.
And yes, I live in a lower income area, but it's not a scary one. I like riding the bus, and I'm not planning on stopping because of one creeper. This was probably just some guy who thought I was cute and wanted to try his chances. Okay, fine. BUT I DON'T KNOW THAT. All I know is this guy has boxed me in and WON'T GO AWAY. Guy probably thinks he's on a romantic encounter, I'm wondering if I've picked up (another) stalker. You know those romantic comedies where the guy goes after the girl who obviously hates him in the beginning but he wins her over by the end? I hate those movies. </rant>
<siderant>Venturing into dicey territory here, but I should point out that both of the great bus conversations I had were with black men. My (God I hope) former stalker and this more recent creep? Both white. So, from a totally significant sample size of four, I can reasonably conclude that white men are to be avoided at all costs.</siderant>
<addendum>No, I'm not saying all men are creeps. I'm not saying all white men are creeps. The vast, vast majority of the white men I know are perfectly wonderful human beings, including my friend who called me to give me a conversation ending excuse. I'm saying that based on my experiences thus far, my race's all-too-common back-of-the-mind fear of black men is looking pretty dang stupid.</addendum>
