Against*

I was once a bus rider like you until a guy stroked me in my knee. ..........I will get the noose.

I gotta try brushing my hand against people's knee's. more often

I'd stand before I sat next to a pervert

Wow, so much victim blaming in this thread, OP did not deserve it in any way! Women are taught from an early age to be polite and not make a scene - it is no wonder so many of us would fail to act in a situation like this! Shyness and social anxiety can be significant factors too. How about we instead ask why men so often act like women are public property and that they can treat them however they want?

And shitstains like this arsehole are why I laugh when people try to say that women (well, people in general, but especially people who come across as female) aren't sexually harassed anymore. Everyone trying to slide blame onto the OP for not moving/telling him to stop are either assholes, never been in the situation before, or don't pay attention to accounts of how how many harassers become violent over being 'rejected'/called out for they inappropriate behavior. First off, most victims of sexual harassment tend to freeze- both male and female victims. It's an unfortunate reflex that is fairly common. Two, getting up might not have stopped the creep if he followed OP. Three, despite how people say that victims should be loud about their plight and not be afraid of 'making a scene,' a lot of the same people that say that turn around and harass the victim for... Making a scene. Four, saying that shit is just really, infuriatingly, and callously insensitive, for all the reasons mentioned above, plus the fact it comes across as implicating the OP as the one at fault for the event. Okay, rant done. On to more practical matters, look into legally acquiring a self defense weapon. A knife with a sheath or a gun are apparently your best choices, because batons are illegal in California. Which makes no ******* sense, if guns are legal, but California has dumb laws, apparently.

Next time make him stop. Better yet, change your seat. You shouldn't feel violated like that. It's not "just a knee" if it makes you uncomfortable.

This is sexual assault. The same thing happened to me. A man, about 20 years older than me and grungy-looking, got on the bus and sat next to me in one of the last available seats. He started making small talk about the weather; I was polite but reserved, the way you are with a stranger. After a few minutes of silence he leaned over and said, "Do you want to have sex?" I must have looked appalled as I asked, "What?!" because he quickly said, "Never mind!" and looked away. Then, a few minutes later, he leaned over, put his hand on my knee and asked again. I shoved his hand off my knee, glared at him, and said "NO!" A minute later, he reached out and stroked my hair, and I batted his hand away and changed seats, glaring at him. He moved with me and sat in the seat next to my new seat. He was reaching for my knee and I slapped his hand and said, "I'm getting off at the next stop." He leered and said, "Lady, I'm going to ride this bus all d*mn day." This is Oklahoma, not New York, so we only have 1 bus per line. Distressed, I looked around at the other passengers for help. A lady was gathering her things to get off the bus and made eye contact with me and nodded. I thought, "Oh, she's going to tell the driver!" Just then, the man tried to reach between my legs. I slapped his hand hard and loudly said, "DO NOT TOUCH ME!" That got people's attention, and he pulled into himself and didn't try to touch me again. We reached the terminal and I got off to change onto the bus that would take me home. As soon as I was away from him, I started shaking and crying. A girl who had been seated near us looked at me and looked at the man lining up for a different bus. She said, "Oh my god, you're not together?! I thought you were a couple having a fight!" I shook my head miserably and she said, "He just sexually assaulted you!" I was so numb, I really didn't know what to do, but she took me to the (female) bus driver of our new bus and we told her what happened. She called it into the dispatcher, and the girl (whose name I never got, sadly) sat with me and let me hold her hand the entire way home. As soon as I got home, I called the police and made a report, since that would allow the bus company to permanently ban the man. He was a regular, and the bus drivers knew him because there had been nuisance complaints made against him (in one case, he yanked out a stranger's earbud because he wanted to have a conversation with them.) What they DIDN'T know, that the police did as soon as I gave him the man's name (supplied by the bus drivers), was that he was a registered sex offender and had served time for rape. The point of this story is, you never know. Even if you don't think it's a big deal, think of the next woman and always, always report it.

Patellas are smecy! :D

that's hilarious