God Bless You

A couple weeks back I was walking along the subway platform, rushing to or from something for which I was undoubtedly late. As I passed, a young guy cocked his head to the side and said something I couldn't quite hear. He was a gangly teenager, so I did not blurt out the standard "What did you just say to me?!" Instead I just asked him tartly to repeat himself.

"I said, God bless you." There was no whistling, teeth sucking, nor attempt to approach me. Just an extra emphasis on the Gaaaawd part.

I was caught off guard. If it sounds like run-of-the-mill street harassment, but the words are actually an invocation of God, what's a girl to do? It's like smiling at someone and telling them you hate them. Or visa-versa, I guess. Except he was confusing God with sex and I'm not Catholic so I can't process that thinking (jk!!). So I think I mumbled 'thank you,' and shuffled off in confusion.

Since then, I have noticed that guys ask the Lord to bless me regularly. At first I thought it was just my neighborhood, where a lot folks have stickers of Jesus on their apartment doors and candles in the windows. But now, I've got Jah, Yaweh, JC, and all them guys accompanying me on street corners all over the city. A couple of years ago, I would have heard any number of nasty things on the street. Now, only blessings...

Have young men finally stumbled upon the perfect catcall? A jeer that can brilliantly neutralize women with the use of a confusing religious message AND still maintain control over the public space? It's genius. Thank God!