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The original was posted on /r/AmItheAsshole by /u/plasticplantations on 2023-08-25 10:30:40.
I, (f17), was out on a walk at around 4 pm, the time that my mum gets off work. As I was out, someone drove past me, beeped at me twice, and drove off quite fast.
I knew they were beeping at me because there were no other cars on the road and they slowed down when they reached me.
I have been beeped at multiple times while walking by people I did not know. I know this because if someone beeps at me, I usually look to see who it is. Also, if it is someone I know, they roll down the window to say hello.
This person had tinted windows, a large car so I could not see the driver, and they drove off so quickly that I couldn’t see who it was.
Unknown people have beeped at me numerous times while I was out for a walk. Men in taxis, on motorbikes, in maintenance cars etc. I am TIRED of being beeped at. I am a 17 year old girl and it is so unfortunate that I have to deal with idiots in cars who think beeping at women to get their attention is okay and not terrifying at all.
When the person (unknown to me at the time) drove away, I gave them the finger. I have never done this before because I always feared something bad would happen to me. I genuinely believed it was some stupid guy trying to get me to notice him. I did not see who the person was, so if I knew it was someone my mum worked with, I would not have done that.
When I got home from my walk, my mum said her male coworker messaged her to say I had given him the finger when he drove by, and that he was really offended by what I had done. I don’t know this man, I met him once at a work event. She seemed very upset because now this will harm her relationship with him and it is important for her, she says, as a woman to have a good reputation. I understand her situation, even though I think it’s ridiculous. I apologised to her, but I told her not to say that I apologise to her male coworker as well. I said that while I will avoid giving people who beep at me the finger, I will never apologise for giving it in the first place.
I told her people have no right to beep at me like that on the road. It’s terrifying, especially as a minor and a woman, and that if someone wants to say hello to me while I’m out, they should roll down their window and wave. She said even if they do beep for the purpose of being creepy, I should ignore them and just keep walking to avoid further conflict. I said I agreed and that I wouldn’t do it again to stay safe.
So, AITA for unknowingly giving my mum’s coworker the finger because I thought I was being harassed by some creep?
Edit: Why are there so many comments lecturing me on the consequences of me giving the finger? Why don’t you lecture the assholes that go around honking at women trying to get some fresh air? 🤔