Photo by PoPville flickr user Chris Williams
“Dear PoPville,
Yesterday I was verbally assaulted and threatened in a way I had been fearing ever since the election campaign dove into racist, misogynistic, anti-immigrant rhetoric. I have never felt more vulnerable as a woman, a Latino, and an immigrant. I never thought I would be in this situation, but it did happen to a friend and me today, so I thought I would share because first of all, in case there were any doubts, I want people to know this is happening in DC, and also because I wished I had had the opportunity to thank the very brave young man who put himself in danger, stood up to this bully, and allowed us to escape from a very dangerous situation.
It was around 4:30pm and my best friend and I were on our way to the movies. We were on bikeshare rides, nearing 14th and R NW, talking in Spanish as we slowed down for the red light. All of a sudden a man started to yell at us, telling us to “shut up”, to “speak American”. At first I thought he was just crazy, then I thought he was drunk, and then unfortunately I realized he was neither. (more…)
