The guy with the truck should have been executed. He committed murder, so he forfeit his life. That seems simple, to me.

I agree that the public sphere ought not to be a place where you can have unwanted, unwarranted aggressive behavior directed at you. The act of catcalling is aggressive, no question, and it is bullying, dehumanizing behavior. I apologize if I have not been clear about this: I do not condone or defend that nonsense, nor do I think that anyone has a right to treat anyone else in anything but a respectful way... directly.

Let me clarify: when a man catcalls at a woman, she is not a passer-by or onlooker. He has directly involved her against her consent and in a very disrespectful manner. He has indeed objectified her, which I find unacceptable. There is no attempt to humanize the contact by addressing the woman like a person who has the right to choose to be involved or not in the exchange. In the original post, I'm not seeing harassment for this reason; the described behaviors involved asking politely and immediately accepting "no" as an answer. Anything else, I'd agree, would be intolerable and harassing. I also understand that this is a matter of opinion, where that line should be drawn.

It isn't an easy question, I do agree. I also agree that our preconceptions and prejudices need to be constantly challenged. It's a painful process, and it doesn't always give us the results we think we want.

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