Thursday, May 11, 2006
Harlem men are too aggressive
I want to start off by saying that walking down 125 st. is NOT one of my favorite past times by any stretch of the imagination... But it's a convenient stop commuting home & it's where my blockbuster of choice is located. It's next to HM. The thing is, the people who live in this area in Harlem have limited interest in the movie's I want or the clothes I'd wear..so I never have much trouble finding what I want.At any rate, unlike the men in brooklyn who tend to compliment while hollaring, I was approached (or yelled at) by several different men who all expected me to be impressed with there tough mannerisms and harsh words. Like, they were straight up hollaring, literally. I walk around looking tough, no eye contact, no facial expression.. I don't want to give anyone the oppurtunity to make any advances, so I attempt to look as uninterested in anything as possible. So, one dude is like "Bitch why yo face so long? You can gone stretch it out so mo, I got somethin for ya." Quite frankly I didn't get it.. I thought perhaps he was talking about his little penis or a glock or who knows, all I know is it was a really odd thing to say but his friends just ate it up. Any way, I simply proceeded to head toward my destination (sisters restaurant, best yams ever) and forgot about them. I came outside from eating and there they are. His friend immediately is like "there she go, lame ass bitch". I'm feeling conflicted, but I'm never a pussy.. and i've ignored them long enough. Finally, I'm like, "I'm lame? Yall are following me around, some BITCH who isnt thinking about you, go find some chicken head to harass" and they get really angry & I'm apprehensive, but i'm thinking..they wouldn't hit a woman would they?
Then, like clockwork, a cop appears & they all sort of disperse. He asks if something is wrong & I simply said "no." and kept it moving. Pissed (and scared) as I was, I wasn't about to give any white pig a reason to fuck with a *arg* brotha.
More observations. Theres a shit load of braid shops on that street. Sisters were sitting outside trying to lure customers in. I was SHOCKED & HORRIFIED when they were trying to pull me in talking about braids. FInally i asked one last "how the hell would you braid my hair" & she sweetly replies, "Honey, I could braid a fade". Africans. hahaha.
I decided what my next tattoo will be. A snake in upright position, going up from ankle to calf. As terrified as I am of snakes, I like them in theory. They shed there exterior, yet stay the same. I can definately relate. Plus, Zora Neale Hurston's "Sweat" is one of my favorite short stories & it involves a man's terrorization of his wife with a snake, which ends up biting and killing him. Now I just need a good image.
I'm skipping class right now. It's one of those classes that if I were to be late, I may as well not go. I couldn't find anything to wear..for an hour I tried this and that & now my rooms a mess and I'm still looking bummy. Tonight I have my final in African dance & afterward, dinner with the President, vice, provost, deans, etc. not really looking forward to that. But, it's the reward for my hard work I suppose.
I hate mothers day, it made me realize how much I miss my mama :(
(I secretly want to move back home)
lauren alyse belle at 7:56 AM