O...M...G. See, this is why I don't travel:
The famous photo, over which Mike never-been-ogled Krumboltz gushes, "perfectly catches the fun and romance of being abroad," shows a young woman, eyes downcast, being drooled over with scary intensity by over a dozen strange men; had she been alone rather than hangin' with a photog, the next dance-step is one of 'em brushes against her, catches her up and if she draws away, he takes offense, backed up by his peers. At that point, there'd better be a cop or a busy street right around the corner, because it's already too late to get away alone.
Or maybe I'm just a sour old maid. Nevertheless, that image pretty well captures why I started carrying a gun -- and one reason why I despise travel.
Ma chère, you will never be a sour old maid to us.
ReplyDeleteIt's an interesting picture...it's tough to doubt the words of the lady who was actually involved, but when I see the look on her face(I would at least use the term 'consternation' and might go as far as 'worried') and the protective way she is holding the shawl, she doesn't look like it was a good time...
ReplyDeleteAs you stated, it interesting to guess what might have occurred without a photographer handy...I dare say she wouldn't have walked down that same stretch of street twice as she admitted to.
Travelling anywhere is not easy, but I'll take the danger over missing the experience.
ReplyDeleteyes, I'm a big guy, but that doesn't mean anything to a machete wielding mexican or a brasilian with a gun. It's all what you're comfortable with, and you have chosen the correct course for you. I don't drink because I break out in handcuffs; that's a good choice for me.
Aside: the person who saved my ass from the machete mexican was a girl not as big as my daughter, and the only places I've ever been shot were both in the USA-in a parking lot in iowa and in a farmers field in Indiana (A dispute over the ownership of produce. he felt that watermelon belonged rightfully to him)
Travel is not for everyone.
I suppose that there's a line between a woman feeling good about herself because she is attractive to men... and a woman being more than a little worried because she's (ahem) attracting men.
ReplyDeleteThere's also a line between a man appreciating an attractive woman (the day I stop looking is the day you can ease me into the box)... and a man being a slobbering cad.
Interesting photo. Also interesting that the photographer was female, and while it wasn't staged, one wonders if some of the extreme reaction was created by that.
ReplyDeleteAs a young, petite redhead female who has travelled quite a bit in Spain and Italy on my own, that sort of thing amuses me more than it bothers me. A cultural thing maybe, because it would bother me in North America or northern Europe, where it is not expected. Definite uptick in situational awareness in any case, but the only guy that would bother me is the one against the pillar. His body language suggests a willingness to cross a line. Frankly, more trouble is likely to come from a group (pack) of young men eyeing someone and not being overtly sexual about it, there the likelihood is robbery.
I should add though, there is one very fast way to get into trouble walking down that street: to respond in any way, shape, or form to the guys. Practice being an ice-queen and they leave you alone. Flirt and all bets are off.
ReplyDeleteSo she was the chick in that famous shot?! Being totally oblivious and in condition white is a blessing to some.
ReplyDeleteWhen we were in Rome (and Greece, and Paris, and...) in '69 my somewhat-younger-aged-than-her (at the time) sister's ass got pinched on a block-by-block basis, and in multiples - but she was a blond so that may have been all the viv-la-difference necessary to initiate action.
And somehow I never, despite my travels and near-complete immersion over there, got up the nativiste enough to get around to pinching girls. I guess I wanted them to like me.
Having been in Europe, the Caribbean, South Pacific and Asia, traveling alone just reinforces what Clint Smith teaches: "Two is One, ONE IS ZERO."
ReplyDeleteJust ask Natalie Holloway.
The interview was a bit vague about which photo became the famous one, but I'm willing to bet that the one that has been reproduced from here to Vadivostok is the second one, and the repeat trip up the street encouraged the Sidewalk Lotharios to be more visibly taunting for the photo.
ReplyDeleteI must admit to a certain morbid curiosity as to how one gets shot in a parking lot in Iowa, of all places. Having grown up there I might expect one to be shot whilst in a farmer's field (or crawling out of his daughter's window), but a parking lot?
ReplyDelete...We may never know....
ReplyDelete