Thread by @ClaraJeffery

1/ the horrific murder of #SarahEverard by a cop, the national reckoning about women's safety and the brutal response of the Met makes me want to share a story of a run-in I had with British men and cops when I was studying in Oxford the summer of 1988.

2/ So first: a lot of town/gown, and UK vs US factors also apply to this story, those I didn't fully understand at the time and will not get into.

Suffice it to say, I was studying there with a bunch of Americans, most British students were on holiday.

3/ A few of us, including my friend John who was travelling around, went to a pub, then after lined up for a "disco" (basically a bar that stays open after pubs). Some local guys on a stag, pushed their way to the front of the line.

4/ We made lame jokes about proper queuing, but nothing aggressive, there were a lot more of them, first, and like who gets in the way of a bachelor party? Not that dumb.

One of them however, really starts harassing me.

5/ Then a few others start in. John, who's a big guy, rancher/football player, stands in front of me, but with as calm a demeanor as one could hope for (he looked a lot like Swayze, so imagine Bhodi telling Warchild to chill, kinda the vibe.)

6/ One guys says something to John like "you're good lad, to not get upset."
"you haven't done anything to upset me...yet"
real movie dialog moment.

7/ Next thing, 8-10 guys are just pummeling the shit out of him. Now, he's a Montanan and tough but that's a lot of guys. I can't do nothing, so I pull one guy off, knee him in the balls, he punches me in the face.

8/ Thankfully the bobbies get there very quick, take all o f us to police station and begin questioning us. This is where it gets ugly.

10/ First, as they question the guys, their dads show up. So we are sittting in a waiting room with a bunch of pissed off men, glowering at us.

11/ Then it's our turn to be questioned. They separate John and I and spend the time asking me:
we're you flirting...
how much had you had to drink...
WHAT WERE YOU WEARING...

And I'm like: THE SWEATSHIRT COVERED WITH BLOOD YOU SEE BEFORE YOU

12/ They ask if we want to press charges. Honestly I can't remember if we did, I do remember John--whose face is swollen and cut--asking if they were going to take us back to our dorms or at least call us a cab; or even walk us past the phalanx of family members. Nope.

13/ So we walk back to my college—no cell phone, no GPS mind you—find some ice (always a challenge) John sleeps on the floor, gets on train the next day to meet other friends at Cambridge, where I think he made have gotten stitches.

My nose never looks quite the same.

14/ Anyway, tl;dr: The British cops (perhaps in part out of national or class allegiance, who knows) took it upon themselves to try and slut shame a woman who just got punched in the face for standing in line.

15/ And glad to see so many young British guys on Tik Tok realize that they need to stand up against other men and fight for women's safety. -30-