Thursday, October 07, 2010

Oooooh, Icky, Icky, Icky

I had to deal with a Perv in the Pool today. Had to report said Perv to the pool manager. Turns out I'm not the first one, there have been several complaints about this guy in the last couple of weeks. The pool manager was thankfully very responsive:  this man will not be back. Sometimes it's hard to be a woman. I hate looking over my shoulder as I bike home, wondering if anyone is following me, especially the creepy guy in lane five.

It's a good reminder to follow our intuition, to be assertive, to take the time to make the complaint. It's one reason that I love the book The Gift of Fear by Gavin de Becker, as well as Protecting the Gift, his companion book for keeping your kids and teens safe. I like to re-read these books every couple of years. I like to remind myself that it's better to be rude than to be wrong about a dangerous predator. It's better to be the complainer than to be the victim. It's better to be alert than to be lulled into a false sense of security. I don't like to feel paranoid, and I'm not normally the type to worry unnecessarily. But when something or someone feels really really wrong and creepy, it's time to take action.

4 comments:

x said...

ummmm ewwwwwwww!

cherelli said...

Good job - save other less sure people from the same experience. It's always tough to make the D because we all like to give people the benefit of the doubt but...much better safe than sorry (it's nice to know others were complaining too).

Miles of the Journey said...

I would agree that is hard to be a woman sometimes and it requires constant alertness and vigilance.And, I think with that alertness and awareness undergirderd by healthy respect for one's own intuition about a person or situation can be a life-saver.

Caratunk Girl said...

UGH...that is so creepy. Thanks for the heads up on teh book, it looks like a good one. I am glad that the pool manager kicked the guy out.