# Shoshana Roberts, a street walker (10 hours,) films herself being "harassed." **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [October 29, 2014, 8:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shoshana-roberts-a-street-walker-10-hours-films-herself-being-harassed/702930 "2014-10-29T20:25:36Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 6
**Author:** ![Eonwe](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eonwe/32/240_2.png) [@Eonwe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eonwe)\ **Post date:** [October 30, 2014, 1:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shoshana-roberts-a-street-walker-10-hours-films-herself-being-harassed/702930/101 "2014-10-30T01:50:18Z")
> [@Absolute](#): > > I note that most of the harassers are, shall we say, likely Democrat voters? What, niggers? Shit, son, they’re all carrying illegal pieces as it is! ---
**Author:** ![DingoelGringo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/9d8465/32.png) [@DingoelGringo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DingoelGringo)\ **Post date:** [October 30, 2014, 1:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shoshana-roberts-a-street-walker-10-hours-films-herself-being-harassed/702930/102 "2014-10-30T01:52:58Z")
> [@RivkahChaya](#): > > You’re right. It’s like expecting a coin to remember whether it came up heads or tails on a previous flip, so you can say there was something beyond coincidence when you get ten heads in a row. > > However, when a woman can’t walk down the street without men treating her like she’s on display, something is going on. They may not be acting in concert, but there is a cultural expectation-- or lack of one, that permits this, and that’s why a woman feels harassed. > > Regarding the guy who seemed to pleasantly say “Have a nice day,” and how some people think that’s different from the overt comments on her appearance: why her? he did not say “Have a nice day!” to everyone he passed, and he certainly didn’t say it to any men, so something is going on, beyond well-wishing. He’s not just a guy trying to spread a little sunshine. He’s singling out young, attractive women who are alone, and that is wrong. He could be offering them coupons for free bagels, or asking them if they could adopt a puppy, or hitting them up for spare change, it wouldn’t matter: he’s singling them out for appearance, gender, and what he supposes is their status regarding attachment. So, the “Have a nice day!” is not so neutral. Because he says that to women only of a certain appearance, it becomes a comment on her appearance. Anyone who pretends otherwise is being disingenuous. > > When men think that the way a woman looks to him is an invitation to strike up a conversation, even when she is a complete stranger, that’s a culture of harassment, or a culture that condones harassment, or something. I haven’t quite got my slogan together, but men should not feel free to talk to any random woman they want _and then be offended if she chooses not to respond_. Moreover, men shouldn’t feel compelled to comment on the appearance of every woman who crosses their line of vision, because women are not there for the pleasure or amusement of men. She is not alone. She has to have a camera crew videoing her. ANyone on the street could see them, NO? ---
**Author:** ![BrightNShiny](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7bcc69/32.png) [@BrightNShiny](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrightNShiny)\ **Post date:** [October 30, 2014, 1:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shoshana-roberts-a-street-walker-10-hours-films-herself-being-harassed/702930/103 "2014-10-30T01:54:00Z")
> [@DingoelGringo](#): > > She is not alone. She has to have a camera crew videoing her. ANyone on the street could see them, NO? The camera was hidden in the backpack of a guy walking in front of her. ---
**Author:** ![somepumpkin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/7feea3/32.png) [@somepumpkin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/somepumpkin)\ **Post date:** [October 30, 2014, 1:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shoshana-roberts-a-street-walker-10-hours-films-herself-being-harassed/702930/104 "2014-10-30T01:57:05Z")
The lady is trying to measure others with her “personal” yardstick. And so are a lot of people who have posted here. Sure, i agree that it’s rude and demeaning but I was raised, and have spent time in, different social circles than many people have. And i would imagine that most of us posting have done so, too. Do you really think that the guys in this video (and most people in general) have had the fortunate and educational upbringing that you have? My point is that just because you think it is rude doesn’t mean that the others see it that way. Also, men have been trying to pick-up women since time began. Did you just open your eyes yesterday? Goodness, don’t you have other shit to worry about? ---
**Author:** ![DingoelGringo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/9d8465/32.png) [@DingoelGringo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DingoelGringo)\ **Post date:** [October 30, 2014, 1:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shoshana-roberts-a-street-walker-10-hours-films-herself-being-harassed/702930/105 "2014-10-30T01:59:55Z")
> [@kstarnes](#): > > Just like you’re ignoring me, I hope you’re ignoring the street walker too. She wants your attention, she wants you to think this is a big issue, don’t feed the street walker troll. The whole thing was done to promote a begging effort for some charity to help stop this terrible type of activity. ---
**Author:** ![DingoelGringo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/9d8465/32.png) [@DingoelGringo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DingoelGringo)\ **Post date:** [October 30, 2014, 2:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shoshana-roberts-a-street-walker-10-hours-films-herself-being-harassed/702930/106 "2014-10-30T02:01:09Z")
> [@BrightNShiny](#): > > The camera was hidden in the backpack of a guy walking in front of her. Hidden camera could not have been that accurate. I am not a photographer, but I ain’t that dumb either. ---
**Author:** ![BrightNShiny](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7bcc69/32.png) [@BrightNShiny](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrightNShiny)\ **Post date:** [October 30, 2014, 2:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shoshana-roberts-a-street-walker-10-hours-films-herself-being-harassed/702930/107 "2014-10-30T02:08:02Z")
> [@DingoelGringo](#): > > Hidden camera could not have been that accurate. I am not a photographer, but I ain’t that dumb either. So, you’re not a photographer, but you have expertise on photography? Why do you think anybody gives a shit about your uninformed opinion? ---
**Author:** ![Raygun99](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/6f9a4e/32.png) [@Raygun99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Raygun99)\ **Post date:** [October 30, 2014, 2:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shoshana-roberts-a-street-walker-10-hours-films-herself-being-harassed/702930/108 "2014-10-30T02:10:04Z")
Setting aside that it is trivially easy to camouflage a GoPro camera as was used in this video, what possible point are you trying to make? That the catcalls were staged? That the men in the video decided to catcall because they saw a camera? In what world do either of those notions make any sense? ---
**Author:** ![Frylock](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/ce7236/32.png) [@Frylock](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Frylock)\ **Post date:** [October 30, 2014, 2:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shoshana-roberts-a-street-walker-10-hours-films-herself-being-harassed/702930/109 "2014-10-30T02:22:00Z")
> [@DingoelGringo](#): > > Hidden camera could not have been that accurate. I am not a photographer, but I ain’t that dumb either. You take the video at a wider angle than what is shown, and use software to narrow and stabilize the image. ---
**Author:** ![Frylock](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/ce7236/32.png) [@Frylock](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Frylock)\ **Post date:** [October 30, 2014, 2:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shoshana-roberts-a-street-walker-10-hours-films-herself-being-harassed/702930/110 "2014-10-30T02:24:40Z")
> [@Absolute](#): > > I note that most of the harassers are, shall we say, likely Democrat voters? The full ten hours contained people of all stripes. In a reddit thread (I don’t know the url, I’m reporting this second-hand from my wife) the filmmaker said the ones in the short version all ended up being black for reasons having more to do with sound quality and visibility on camera etc. ---
**Author:** ![joyfool](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/df788c/32.png) [@joyfool](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/joyfool)\ **Post date:** [October 30, 2014, 2:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shoshana-roberts-a-street-walker-10-hours-films-herself-being-harassed/702930/111 "2014-10-30T02:30:48Z")
> [@DingoelGringo](#): > > Hidden camera could not have been that accurate. I am not a photographer, but I ain’t that dumb either. I bet most here would strenuously disagree with that last statement, but I’m sure you shouldn’t worry your pretty little head about it, sweetie. ---
**Author:** ![Ibn\_Warraq](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/e19b73/32.png) [@Ibn\_Warraq](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ibn_Warraq)\ **Post date:** [October 30, 2014, 2:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shoshana-roberts-a-street-walker-10-hours-films-herself-being-harassed/702930/112 "2014-10-30T02:44:18Z")
> [@Frylock](#): > > the filmmaker said the ones in the short version all ended up being black for reasons having more to do with sound quality and visibility on camera etc. I find that really difficult to believe. Obviously that’s not meant as a question of you or your wife’s veracity. ---
**Author:** ![JesterX](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/439d5e/32.png) [@JesterX](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JesterX)\ **Post date:** [October 30, 2014, 2:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shoshana-roberts-a-street-walker-10-hours-films-herself-being-harassed/702930/113 "2014-10-30T02:45:48Z")
> [@somepumpkin](#): > > Also, men have been trying to pick-up women since time began. Did you just open your eyes yesterday? Goodness, don’t you have other shit to worry about? If you were talking about a guy using the wrong line on a woman in a club or a bar, I would AGREE with you. But this is totally different. I don’t know a single guy who ever hooked up with a woman from catcalling. Or a single woman who ever hooked up with a guy who catcalled her. I can’t say that’s never happened but all guys HAVE to know their chances of scoring a date or a phone number are zero to none. This is not about picking up women, it’s about being an obnoxious asshole. ---
**Author:** ![JesterX](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/439d5e/32.png) [@JesterX](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JesterX)\ **Post date:** [October 30, 2014, 2:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shoshana-roberts-a-street-walker-10-hours-films-herself-being-harassed/702930/114 "2014-10-30T02:51:31Z")
> [@Ibn\_Warraq](#): > > I find that really difficult to believe. Obviously that’s not meant as a question of you or your wife’s veracity. I saw a fair number of white guys in the video. ---
**Author:** ![Ibn\_Warraq](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/e19b73/32.png) [@Ibn\_Warraq](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ibn_Warraq)\ **Post date:** [October 30, 2014, 3:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shoshana-roberts-a-street-walker-10-hours-films-herself-being-harassed/702930/115 "2014-10-30T03:07:13Z")
> [@JesterX](#): > > I saw a fair number of white guys in the video. I haven’t seen the video, I was responding to Frylock saying the director saying that it was just a weird coincidence that all or nearly all the men wound up being black or Hispanic due to lighting or sound. If the video was edited so that all the men were black or Hispanic I’m sure the director, for whatever reason, did it deliberately, probably because he felt that they’d be percieved as more threatening. Also, it’s hardly all that easy to look at a group of guys in New York and say “those guys aren’t Italians, they’re Puerto Ricans” or vice versa. I’ve been mistaken for being Hispanic plenty of times and if I wanted to pass for Italian could very easily. ---
**Author:** ![BrightNShiny](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7bcc69/32.png) [@BrightNShiny](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrightNShiny)\ **Post date:** [October 30, 2014, 3:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shoshana-roberts-a-street-walker-10-hours-films-herself-being-harassed/702930/116 "2014-10-30T03:10:16Z")
> [@somepumpkin](#): > > Goodness, don’t you have other shit to worry about? LOL. Do you really lack this much self-awareness? ---
**Author:** ![somepumpkin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/7feea3/32.png) [@somepumpkin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/somepumpkin)\ **Post date:** [October 30, 2014, 3:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shoshana-roberts-a-street-walker-10-hours-films-herself-being-harassed/702930/117 "2014-10-30T03:29:58Z")
> [@BrightNShiny](#): > > LOL. Do you really lack this much self-awareness? Ha, glad you got a chuckle. But is self-awareness really the question? I thought i was being quite aware of myself so perhaps you could re-phrase your query. I’ll admit that women harass me all day long. They want a piece of all the sexiness that is the shunpiker and I often grow bored and tired of having to work/deal with it. But I’ve got a job to worry about. I’ve got to pay the rent and put gas in my car. I also have a social life to manage as well as family to love and care for. I feel sorry for all the girls’ hearts that I might break through the day, but I’m a lot more focused on living my life and managing the people and tasks that I care about. The world throws shit at me every day and i manage without crying and rustling the masses about it. ---
**Author:** ![BrightNShiny](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7bcc69/32.png) [@BrightNShiny](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrightNShiny)\ **Post date:** [October 30, 2014, 3:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shoshana-roberts-a-street-walker-10-hours-films-herself-being-harassed/702930/118 "2014-10-30T03:34:33Z")
> [@somepumpkin](#): > > Ha, glad you got a chuckle. But is self-awareness really the question? I thought i was being quite aware of myself so perhaps you could re-phrase your query. Goodness, don’t you have other shit to worry about? If the issue isn’t worth worrying about, why are you in this thread posting? Why aren’t you off somewhere worrying about all those other things that you think are worth worrying about? Goodness! Why are you wasting valuable minutes of the day worrying about this issue when there’s other shit to worry about? ---
**Author:** ![Frylock](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/ce7236/32.png) [@Frylock](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Frylock)\ **Post date:** [October 30, 2014, 3:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shoshana-roberts-a-street-walker-10-hours-films-herself-being-harassed/702930/119 "2014-10-30T03:53:26Z")
> [@Ibn\_Warraq](#): > > I haven’t seen the video, I was responding to Frylock saying the director saying that it was just a weird coincidence that all or nearly all the men wound up being black or Hispanic due to lighting or sound. > > If the video was edited so that all the men were black or Hispanic I’m sure the director, for whatever reason, did it deliberately, probably because he felt that they’d be percieved as more threatening. > > Also, it’s hardly all that easy to look at a group of guys in New York and say “those guys aren’t Italians, they’re Puerto Ricans” or vice versa. I’ve been mistaken for being Hispanic plenty of times and if I wanted to pass for Italian could very easily. Whatever the truth is, it’s unfortunate. It kept me from sharing the video on facebook–by sharing it I could be saying “don’t catcall,” or I could be saying “don’t be like these colored folks.” ---
**Author:** ![Ibn\_Warraq](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/e19b73/32.png) [@Ibn\_Warraq](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ibn_Warraq)\ **Post date:** [October 30, 2014, 4:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shoshana-roberts-a-street-walker-10-hours-films-herself-being-harassed/702930/120 "2014-10-30T04:03:45Z")
> [@Frylock](#): > > Whatever the truth is, it’s unfortunate. It kept me from sharing the video on facebook–by sharing it I could be saying “don’t catcall,” or I could be saying “don’t be like these colored folks.” Were most of the men in the video making the comments and engaging in the aggressive behavior minorities? Or at least did they look and or sound like it? [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shoshana-roberts-a-street-walker-10-hours-films-herself-being-harassed/702930.md?page=5) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shoshana-roberts-a-street-walker-10-hours-films-herself-being-harassed/702930.md?page=7)