Bite Me

An Open Letter to the Guy Who Asked Me for Money at the Bus Stop Around 8:00pm Tonight:

First of all, running across the street toward a woman who is standing all by herself at the crosswalk, at night time, in the dark, is probably not the best opening to your request.

I am not your "sister". Do not address me as such. Doing so makes your Scandinavian Minnes-oh-tah ass appear to be a refugee from the movie Guys & Dolls. Sit down; you're rocking the boat, mister.

When I politely (I mean, come on - I apologized to you for Christ's sake!) tell you that I do not have money to give you, take that at face value. Quite frankly, it is none of your business whether or not I have money to give you. Your argument that I should "reward" your honesty (you told me upfront that you needed money to buy a bottle) does little for me.

I am not an unsympathetic person. I am not Republican. I understand tough times. I have given money/food/paid bus fare for folks in tight spots. I'm sure I will again in the future. Admittedly, I might not have given you money to buy booze, but the fact remains that I DID NOT HAVE ANY MONEY TO GIVE YOU.

And bottom line - you do not know me. You are a complete stranger. I feel no obligation to continue any conversation with you. It is late, it is dark, I am alone and I am just trying to get home. Back off.

All things considered, the horrible insults you chose to holler at me as I walked away were completely unwarranted. And ineffective. I mean really, you don't know me - how do you know if I'm a bitch or not? And so what if I were? What if that were my biggest point of pride? And the "Big Ass" comment? Yeah, you think I don't know I've got a big ass? Duh. What a moron.

I leave you with four thoughts Mr. You-Should-Buy-My-Booze Man:

1) I owe you nothing. You can ask, but don't be so shocked if you get turned down. You don't know anything about me or MY financial situation. Your angry response to my polite denial is without basis.
2) The name-calling thing did not endear you to me, nor could it have done much for your chances of receiving anything from the others strolling the block.
3) When a lone woman refuses your aggressive overtures at conversation - on a dark corner - did I mention that she's alone? And that you're trying to get her to give you her money? Back the fuck off.
4) Bite Me.