K.I.M. (Keep it Movin')

When I used to go out and give dudes the fake name...What?!!!!  It was always Kim.  I've come to realize that this name was a premonition.  A psychic time traveling connection with my future self.  A reverse acronym.  I live in the hood.  But there is no borough or neighborhood in NYC where a young black woman can just walk down the street.  Period.  That is without being accosted by the Rainbow PUSH Coalition of crazy men out there.  Can I get an Amen?!  Yes.  I am using the example of the black woman to epitomize this universal experience.

My solution:  Don't be embarrassed.  Carry a book on the subway.  Only address ignorance when you have time or feel like it.  It is not your full-time job to explain to ignorant guys that you are not a prostitute (literally.) Or that they should not address you by your body shape or skin complexion.  And to explain that they are not going to attract a quality woman/person this way (which is clearly what they are aiming for.)  That's what would classify as a public service.  Sometimes I'm confrontational but usually with at least a small dose of gentleness and/or humor I've acquired over my years.  I want to live not die of preventable hyper-tension.

My cousin's solution:  Say "Uh huh.  Das right!"  accompanied by ghetto runway walk.  Pretty fun.
Disclaimer:  And no white folks this is not a pass to use the word "ghetto."  I don't like that shit!   Is that scary?  :/  Keepin it 100%.  Lol!  Yep.  We appropriating words in this BITCH.  Men, don't even try it!

Side note:  Not quite a complaint but does anyone else experience that being black and somewhat "approachable" is a full-time job even in the melting pot of NYC?  I don't even mean romantically.  From old ladies to stay at home dads everybody wants to talk.  My fiancé (we're French now) says the same thing.  Because he is not a huge scary black man in FUBU, he cannot ride the train without somebody asking what he's reading.  This used to be a lot of pressure for me when I was younger.  In such situations I do not use the K.I.M. Theory.  I'm learning to enjoy this cuz the more the merrier but it's a notable experience non-the-less.