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Guaranteed Human.

Should I have said something when some random old guy touched my hair?

You know, that's not something you want old random guys touching.

Yeah, the only thing you want them touching is the space six feet under the ground.

This happened last week.

I, 14 female, was with my best friend Jules.

14 female, not a real name. And her twin sisters, 13, at a C.ers, a fast food place here in South Africa. We were coming from the mall where we were with some friends, just shopping and whatnot, doing what teenagers do. While driving from the mall, Jules' mom suggested we go get some ice cream. I was a bit skeptical and unsure. As we had ice cream with lunch at the mall already. And I, for one, am kind of chubby and I constantly have my parents on my back trying to get me to eat better, which has now brushed off onto me. I voiced my concerns along with the fact that we had to get home since it was pretty late in the afternoon. And my strict parents were bound to get worried. Jules and her mom told me, not the worry. No, it's all good. And try to convince me. We eventually pulled up to steers to get the ice cream. After much consideration, I decided, screw it. I'm just going to get the ice cream. It's not like my parents are going to force me to vomit it out anyway. So Jules, her sister and I, got out of the car and ordered while her mom waited for us in the car. Now, I had an afro, as is my hairstyle that day. I am very proud of my hair and whenever I wear it naturally, I take a lot of time to make sure it's perfect. Ooh. I also get a lot of compliments from strangers when I wear my natural hair, especially when it's in an afro.

Settle flex, I know.

O.P. looks good and she knows she looks good.

So I wasn't worried when a random guy, about 40, maybe 50 years old, approached me and said,

Your hair is so amazing.

I looked at Jules to tell her it was okay.

We live in South Africa, which is statistically one of the most dangerous places for women in the world. So whenever a man comes up to us, we always feel on edge. Oh, wow. We thanked him and turned back to the counter. We thought that was all. You would think that would be all. But no. This guy then moved right next to me, grabs a bushel of my hair in his

hand and starts moving his fingers through it. Oh, while asking you. And I kid you not, is it real?

I was in shock. I did not know what to do. I was angry, shocked, and confused all at the same time.

It felt like he had his hand in my hair forever before he eventually took it out, took his order, and walked away, muttering how nice my hair was.

We all know this dude's creepy.

Jules, her sisters and I just stood shocked in silence until we got ice creams and got into the car.

At this point, I started to laugh because the whole thing just felt surreal.

Jules' mom asked us what happened and we told her.

She had been driving at this point and pulled over to look at me as she told me I should have done something. Maybe even shouted at him. Get your hands out of my hair curls. I'm not great with conflict in public. So for me, this was not an option. Jules and her sisters also agreed. When they dropped me off at home, I told my parents and they were just shocked. I personally don't have much of a problem with this since it's happened to me before. Girl, I do feel that it was disrespectful for the guy to touch my hair without asking. I don't like to let anyone touch my hair unless I know them well. So that bothered me a bit, but only a bit. At some point, you just got to get used to it and learn to ignore it.

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