'Locker-room' banter not so harmless

When I was in my twenties, I lived with a girlfriend on the near north side of Chicago. It was a nice neighborhood of two flats not far from the Steppenwolf Theatre.

We took up jogging for exercise. Then one lovely spring afternoon, I got off work early and decided to go for a run by myself. I remember it was a truly beautiful afternoon around three o'clock. I started out down my street and noticed a young man down the block walking toward me. It was a wide sidewalk and neither of us needed to move over to pass. As I ran by him, he reached out and ran his hand over my crotch and ran away laughing as I called after him letting him know what I thought of his parentage. I kept on with my run but the lovely day evaporated for me.

Not a big deal at all, right? No injury. Just laugh it off?

Fast-forward to seeing Donald Trump brag to Billy Bush on Access Hollywood about how he enjoys putting his hands on unknown women. Everyone who voted for Mr. Trump should watch that video every day. He convinced his wife it was just locker-room talk and harmless. Just a laugh.

The Herald recently had a story of a million-dollar settlement in the Maine Township High School hazing case. I wonder how much "harmless locker-room banter" preceded that event.

And in my case, I wasn't beaten, robbed, or raped, but I never went jogging alone again. So you tell me, was I harmed?

Patricia Waskowski

Prospect Heights