reasons you should not pat my head on the subway, a poem

[rm]

I don't know you.
I did not give you permission.
I am not a small child.
Or a dog.
We are not playing Duck, Duck, Goose.
Where have your hands been?
I hate you.

Clear?

Comments

[xtricks.livejournal.com]

You live in a strange place.

While I'm clearly a do not touch person (also, not pregnant, attractive or short), I don't really see anyone where I live touching strangers. Not on the max (our lightrail) not the bus, not the streets.

[teleens-journal.livejournal.com]

My eye caught on the 'pregnant' part of your comment. I have to say, if strangers felt as though that they could touch me during my (hypothetical) pregnancy, they'd be in for a rude surprise.

[delle.livejournal.com]

ew.


ew, ew, ew. There are not words enough to convey how much I agree with you.

[strollerman.livejournal.com]

Who's been patting your head on the subway? And, I know you!

[sahiya.livejournal.com]

. . .

. . .

I will say that while Bay Area public transit has its fair share of whackos, no one has ever patted my head unsolicited. Yay?

[eumelia.livejournal.com]

EWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWW.

Clearly this is an individual with problems regarding public courtesy and personal space.

EWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWW.

[elisi]

*blinks*

What?

[alt_universe_me.livejournal.com]

Oh, I can't stand strangers randomly touching me. Especially when I was pregnant.
Although, I have to admit I am a tactile/hugging kind of person with my close personal friends, but only with them.

[hab318princess.livejournal.com]

my first reaction: did you pat them back? (ok, they sound icky, but I kinda thought it would give them a flavour of their own medicine)

[http://users.livejournal.com/_lullabelle_/]

You should have growled at them.

ewewewew

[amberite2112.livejournal.com]

IAWTC. 100%.
growl. snarl. snap.

the song 'little fuzzy animals, with big sharp teeth' is running though my head now.

also? boundaries, people! but you knew that.

Re: ewewewew

[foms.livejournal.com]

I am a passerby, somewhat randomly surfing Livejournal, today. I am pleased to find someone who knows a Frank Hayes song.

Also, nonconsensual head-touching is bad.

[teleens-journal.livejournal.com]

WTF? If a stranger patted my head, they would pull back a nub. But that's me, :).

[tsarina.livejournal.com]

I can picture this happening and ending very, very, very badly. Damn.

[usullusa.livejournal.com]

While I am mad sorry somebody went and randomly did that, this entry made my day.

[rm.livejournal.com]

Hey, anything I can do to help. Seriously.

[girlingoldboots.livejournal.com]

Ew.

[virginia-fell.livejournal.com]

Gah.

I fucking hate being touched by basically anybody but Brian, but especially the patronizing little pats that strangers like to give women. My congratulations for not punching whoever that was in the ear for being ridiculous.

[maryling.livejournal.com]

"Reasons you should not touch strangers, period"

There. Fixed that for you.

[delchi.livejournal.com]

That's a hanging offense, isn't it? What ever happened to NYC no eye contact look straight ahead subway rules?

[stardragonca.livejournal.com]

It's a beating offense anywhere in the civilised world. That is part of the definition of 'civilised world.'

NYC has the same subway rules as other civilised places with subways. This is a clear violation of same.

We are not amused.

[kdsorceress.livejournal.com]

Duck Duck Goose made me crack up.

Also, dear sweet Jesus on a velociraptor people! What is wrong with you?!

~Sor

((I am pretty sure I stole the Jesus on a velociraptor thing from you. I am growing increasingly fond of it --do you mind my using it?))

[shadowvalkyrie.livejournal.com]

WTF is wrong with some people? How did you react? For that matter, how does any sane person react to something that fucking out there? (I seriously hope no one ever tries this with me, or there might well be casualties. At the very least they'll not like looking at their face in the mirror for a good long time!* *really hates being touched, especially without warning*)

* Wouldn't be the first nose I've broken for unwanted touching either. Though, for some reason, head patting seems so much worse than ass-grabbing. Either because sexual harassment is so common as to be almost expected these days, or because a pat on the head comes with so much more negative associations (kids, dogs; in any case, not actual people, but to be looked down on and patronised), rather than the, er, intended compliment of sexual objectification.

[pandarus.livejournal.com]

Maybe s/he WAS playing Duck Duck Goose? It could have turned into a whole-subway game!

...yeah, okay, probably not.

Really, I'm boggling at how ODD that is.

[sanguinity]

I believe that small children should also not have to put up with random non-permission-asking strangers patting their heads, but beyond that, I feel great resonance with this list, and am gobsmacked that there was (assumedly) reason to write it.

[rm.livejournal.com]

I agree with you, but at least in those cases I can understand what people were thinking, even if it was crap. This was just.... we weren't even talking, just, suddenly there was head patting.

[riverrocks.livejournal.com]

When I first shaved my head (back in the early 90s) I had a lot of unpleasant surprises when people would just randomly start to rub my skull without asking. This happened all the time, while I was riding the bus or sitting in a coffee shop or working as a server in a restaurant (really, the best way to get hot coffee poured in your or someone else's lap is to reach up and start caressing the server's head while they are refilling coffee cups). eventually i perfected my tough and scary glare and was gifted a leather jacket, which, combined with the shaved head, earned me an extra zone of personal space here in the Midwestern US, but it took me a while. Oh, how I wish I'd had your line about Duck, Duck, Goose.

a few years later (still with the shaved head), I spent some time wearing a filter mask and using a cane when I was out in the world, and the petting/patting continued, but it took on an entirely different tone.

[bitsyrant.livejournal.com]

Our city is a strange one, full of people who should never touch me. Ever.

[stardragonca.livejournal.com]

Or me. Or anyone. Ever again.

[nekosensei.livejournal.com]

wtf?

If somebody had done that to me on public transportation, I think I would have seriously gone off on them.

[cinnamonteal.livejournal.com]

Icon love!

[sykii.livejournal.com]

Ew.

[sykii.livejournal.com]

Also, clearly #YFYF