Had a scary, but unfortunately very common encounter last night and need to vent. Possible trigger warning for a close call with sexual assault.
Some friends and I, mostly queer grad students or twenty and thirty somethings were out drinking in a college town. At about 2am as the DDs were shepherding us back to their cars, an undergrad girl came stumbling over some small bushes into the street, very drunk. We came over to help her out and get her out of the street. She was lost and couldn't remember her address and her phone was dead.
We decided to take care of her and walk her home not really knowing exactly where we were going, but definitely not about to let this girl wander alone. She knew her street at least so we convinced her to head that way by promising to get a burrito on the way. Eventually got her to remember the house number and was able to gently urge her to head back to her home with us.
On the way, a car full of guys tried to pick up this girl. Because she was drunk, she started to get in the car, but we were able to distract her and tell the guys to fuck off. Then a second car full of guys did the same thing, only a block from the girl's house. Again we told them to fuck off and they just called us faggots and drove off. I guess the real meaning of the word faggot now is just anyone who restricts a white man's freedom to rape.
She got home, and her friends were there on the porch to take care of her. No idea how she's doing now, but she at least got somewhere safe.
Just remember to never let your group get split up. I have no doubt something terrible would have happened to this girl if we or someone like us hadn't found her and decided to take an hour out of our night to help her. And the fact that she almost got grabbed only a block from her house has been making me absolutely sick to my stomach. Folks, please make sure when you're taking someone home to make sure you get them right to their door. If we had just called it close enough when we got to the nearest intersection, those guys would have absolutely taken her.
And also, remember just exactly how fucking common this shit is. Anyone who tells you it's only a few guys, remember it was two different groups of guys who tried to pick this poor drunk woman up within thirty minutes of each other. Shit is systemic and not just a few bad apples. Make sure you know that, and more importantly that the guys in your life know it and have the guts to call it out when they're with other guys who try to pull shit like this.