I have a fucked up story I need to share. I'm still rattled, and a day later I'm having a crisis of conscience I need to talk through. Yesterday around 4pm I was assaulted in Fed Hill, Baltimore. A thread, which I'm still struggling to believe, even though I was the victim. 1/

On the weekends, me and the boys (12 & 13) go on long walks to play Pokemon Go and support small businesses. Yesterday's plan: walk from our house in Pigtown to Port Covington, stop at Ace Hardware, grab a snack, then home. It was crazy hot, but it gets us out of the house. 2/

After the park we were walking up Light St and passed a bar serving people outdoors; didn't note the name, but it was on a NW corner. As we approached a guy comes walking fast towards me with a flimsy orange bandanna falling off his face. All women know this feeling. 3/

Kinda surprised this man drunkenly decided he NEEDED to approach me, since I'd just walked several miles in the heat and was utterly disgusting, but he was intent on coming close to me and my kids. I screamed at him to get away from us because he was not wearing a mask. 4/

I had to walk into the street to get away from him. Description: he was a white guy, about 5' 7" and maybe 270. Short brown hair, ruddy face, country accent. There was someone at the bar (bouncer?) who guided him away from us and we kept on walking. 5/

I don't think a damn thing of it. Saturday was my 40th birthday, so situations like this have happened to me god knows how many times. Again, every woman knows what it's like to be charged by a man who expects her full attention and god knows what else. 6/

And, you know, my kids were there. Thought nothing of it til about three blocks later when I heard a commotion behind me and someone screaming "COME HERE YOU FUCKING BITCH." Turned around and he was running towards us; I pushed my kids out of the way and started backing up. 7/

Then the guy starts swinging at me, saying he's going to fuck me up, while I'm doing my best to keep 6' away while screaming at him to A: put his fucking mask on, and B: STAY THE FUCK AWAY FROM MY CHILDREN. 8/

He starts yanking off his bandanna saying "I'M WEARING A MASK WHAT DOES THIS LOOK LIKE, BITCH" while swinging and missing, because my dad taught me to box when I was a kid in case I was ever in a street fight. (I grew up in Brooklyn, and yes, I've used those skills before) 9/

Now here's the crazy thing: I am in no way scared of this man hitting me, because I was about to fuck him up in a way he would never forget. I had three inches on him, and while I weighed considerably less, I hadn't run three block uphill in 100 temps. And most of all... 10/

This guy was putting my kids in danger. I was not scared for myself. I was going to fucking obliterate this piece of shit, because the adrenaline that runs through your body when your kids are threatened HOO-FUCKING-BOY this was NOT going to end well for him. 11/

But, I WAS scared, because my husband is immunocompromised, and if I get sick, he could die. Fuck, I'm a cancer survivor. If I get sick, my kids could end up being orphans. But in that moment, all I'm thinking of is protecting him and my children. 12/

So I dodge and weave and am screaming at this guy at the top of my lungs, with the thick Brooklyn accent that comes out when I'm going apeshit, letting everyone within three city blocks that this guy is trying to hit me and bum-rushed my kids. 13/

He ends up retreating, for some reason. I'm not positive what happened in the surrounding area, because when you're about to get into a fight, you're laser-focused on the threat. The kids say some women called the cops, but I didn't see them. 14/

They also said that from behind where I was standing, a large black guy had come out of nowhere and was walking towards the guy, but I didn't see him. If you're out there, big man, I am eternally grateful for protecting my children! 15/

While the guy was walking away he kept calling me a "bitch" who needed to "learn to shut her fucking mouth," all because I told him to get away from me because he wasn't wearing a mask. Seriously. I legitimately cannot believe that any of this happened. 16/

I've spent the past two weekends walking through Fed Hill, and have complained (and tweeted!) about how people there hate wearing masks. But getting assaulted by a bro who was day drinking at a bar on Sunday because he wasn't wearing a mask? ARE YOU SHITTING ME?!? 17/

I don't know what happened to the guy. I didn't stick around, bc if you've ever needed to call the cops for help before--as I have had to do several times in my life--you know it takes like an hour for them to show up, and I wasn't letting him breathe on me while we waited. 18/

I wanted to get my kids out of there and let them know they were safe. And I'm FUMING because I'm hopped up on adrenaline and so ready to beat this guy's ass, but coronavirus. This asshole weaponized his fucking body against me. 19/

While I was ducking and dodging I wasn't worried about getting hit. I was worried he would cough on me. Cases are rising in Baltimore. Earlier in the day I had seen a group of maskless bros walking around coughing. No one wears masks in that damn neighborhood. 20/

But a man weaponizing his body against a woman and her kids? This I never, NEVER would have expected, though I suppose I should have. So we went to Ace, ran our errand, and walked back to Pigtown. I'm still surging with adrenaline the entire time. 21/

I get home and tell my husband and nephew what happened, and then I have to focus on calming them down because they're texting all their friends trying to get a crew to find this guy and fuck him up, which, of course, is NOT the answer to, well, anything. 22/

Then like an hour later we're all calm and talking about it, and I make a crack about how you should never fuck with an Italian girl from Brooklyn. Then Matt says "Yeah, but what if it wasn't you? What if it was another woman who couldn't defend herself?" And I froze. 23/

That's when I felt victimized. That's when I felt so rattled that I've been a mess ever since. This cockbrained fuckpig -- a 20-something white bro day drinking in Federal Hill -- could have done this to any mom walking with her kids. 24/

Even though I wore my mask and covered myself with hand sanitizer once it was over, this guy still got close to me, and now I'm terrified he could have infected me, which vis a vis would mean he could effectively murder my husband. 25/

So now, I don't know what the fuck to do. It's nearly 24 hours later. Do I call the cops? There's security cameras all over the area, and there were plenty of witnesses. Do me and my kids get tested? How can I identify this man for contact tracing? 26/

So now, I don't know what the fuck to do. It's nearly 24 hours later. Do I call the cops? There's security cameras all over the area, and there were plenty of witnesses. Do me and my kids get tested? How can I identify this man for contact tracing? 26/

What would this guy even be charged with? At this point, does the law consider the human body itself a deadly weapon? I've been attacked by men multiple times in my life and never pressed charges because nothing ever happens to them, but should I have done that this time? 27/

What I know for sure: I'm not going to Federal Hill again. Not shopping at the cute little thrift store, not going to Ace Hardware, not getting ice cream at The Charmery or picking up sandwiches at BRD. Hell of a job you're doing with that neighborhood, @CouncilmanETC! 28/

And the icing on this extremely fucked up cake: not only was Saturday my 40th birthday, it was the 4th anniversary of moving to Baltimore. Everyone told me it was too dangerous, but I've never once felt threatened until yesterday, when I was attacked by a white Fed Hill bro. 29/

More specifically: I was attacked by a white man, in Federal Hill, who was day drinking in a crowded sidewalk bar during a deadly pandemic, all because I told him to wear a mask and keep six feet away from me.

Stay the fuck out of Federal Hill. The end.