A Man Fondled Himself At SXSW and All I Got Was a Lousy T-Shirt

A man jacked off next to me at a SXSW premiere and all I got was a lousy t-shirt. Okay, so that’s slightly misleading. I actually got the t-shirt at a different premiere, and it wasn’t a lousy shirt. I really like it. But other than that, it’s a pretty true statement. 

I’m being serious, though. This actually happened to me and neither SXSW or Alamo Drafthouse have reached out to me. To be fair, though, I handled it completely wrong. This is not the first time I have experienced something similar. I won’t go into great detail on my past, but I will share that my defense mechanisms range from ignoring to freezing in place. Not a wide range there. 

My life is about compartmentalizing. To say that I’ve had a complicated life would be an understatement. In order to survive, get through the day, and function as a responsible human being, I occasionally have to push down my real feelings. Okay, so I often have to do this. It’s almost an art form by now. 

Frozen in silence

So I sat there. And I ignored him. And when it was all over I let him walk away and I continued on with my day as though nothing had happened. Why didn’t I say anything? Because I was scared. I was embarrassed. Because it wasn’t my moment. I was at a premiere. Yes, all of these thoughts were swirling through my head as I sat there. No, none of them make sense.

Why didn’t I say anything afterward? Because it was done. He was gone. I was not hurt. I didn’t want to think about it anymore. It was only after speaking with some friends about it afterward that I got the courage to speak with the manager at the Alamo Drafthouse. So that’s what I did. I felt good about our conversation. Speaking with another woman who I felt empathized with my situation helped.

I still haven’t heard from anyone. What am I expecting to happen? I honestly don’t know but I’d like for someone to reach out to me. Many times in life I have wanted to be ignored and left alone. Now isn’t one of those times.