Walking home at night seems like a completely safe thing to do, but unfortunately, that’s not true for everyone – particularly for women. Sadly, females are often the target of people with bad intentions. That’s why they always travel with a bottle of pepper spray or a whistle so they can defend themselves in the event of an attack. But sometimes, these precautions aren’t enough!
Such is the case for a New York City woman who had to travel home at night without company. She was just trying to make it back home to her son when she noticed she was being followed by three strangers. The men were looking at her while they were on the train, and when she got off, they also did. They followed her two blocks, so the woman went into a store and stayed there for a few minutes, hoping they would leave. When she got out of the shop, she saw them standing at a pizza place.
Dane also went above and beyond by offering to walk the woman home whenever she wanted companionship. “We swapped numbers, and I informed her that if we were home, my boyfriend and I would meet her at the railway station at any time.” She has no choice but to go beneath the railroad tracks to get home because there is no other way, and it is dark. She said she’d call again, and I’m hoping she does. I’ll call to check in tomorrow,” he added.
She quickly walked and saw other women outside, but she didn’t approach them because she didn’t want to get them into harm’s way. She also saw two other men, but they were very loud and cursing at each other. Then, she spotted Dane Weeks. He was smiling while looking at his phone, so the woman felt like she could ask him for help.
She then walked right up to Dane and gave him a tight hug. She whispered quickly, “Please act as you know me. Three guys are following me for a while.” Dane got the message and played along. To make sure she remains safe, he walked her three blocks home. Dane posted about the incident on Twitter, where he admitted that he hesitated at first since they were in New York, where “people set you up real quick.” However, he felt that her hug was too real to be fake. While they were walking together, he saw how terrified the woman was. She also kept saying that she had to get home to her son.
Dane said he rarely walks down that block because he usually takes another way to go to the train. But that night, he went in the way he takes when he’s walking his dog. He was also watching a debate then on his phone, which also distracted him. “So I guess I was meant to be there at that particular moment,” he wrote.
Dane also went above and beyond by offering to walk the woman home whenever she wanted companionship. “We swapped numbers, and I informed her that if we were home, my boyfriend and I would meet her at the railway station at any time.” She has no choice but to go beneath the railroad tracks to get home because there is no other way, and it is dark. She said she’d call again, and I’m hoping she does. I’ll call to check in tomorrow,” he added.
Dane eventually spoke to the woman again, who commended him for handling everything so well despite having no time to process what happened. He said that as a counselor, he was trained for those kinds of moments. She thanked him profusely and said she would take a different route going home. Dane also met her five-year-old son and her mother, who both thanked him for what he did. Soon after, Dane’s series of tweets went viral. Many people responded to his thread and praised him for the kindness he showed to a stranger.
“I didn’t expect this post to touch so many people, I needed to get this emotion out and share it on my account. This is sad women & girls have to live in this type of fear because we men have created an environment of toxicity. I will do better,” he tweeted. This man just showed how important it is that we help each other every chance we get.
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