Do you think random horrible arseholes are getting worse?

[Designless]

https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2026/feb/17/men-push-abuse-women-street-stranger

I do think the days of most men not wanting to seem violent towards women in public seem to be sadly on the wane. A guy squared up to me, blocking my path, in the street recently after a minor disagreement (his dog jumped on me and I asked him to keep it under control). I said "excuse me are you trying to threaten me with your posture?" and he didn't reply so I said "ok then I'm going to call the police now" and he walked away, staring behind him. He looked pretty normal, like a guy with a job and maybe friends and family.

But maybe these guys have always been around and it's just bloody lucky if you dodge them.

Where can we live that's peaceful and far from them??

Sadly absolutely nothing will happen to her

I had a similar experience to the OP, walking on the Common minding my own business, and a large dog bounded up from behind and shot past so close that he brushed against my side (at hip height). He then turned and raced back straight at me.
The guy was slightly behind and off to my right. I asked him to keep his dog under control as it had just practically knocked me off my feet. He called me a miserable cow and told me not to be so stupid.
I do think dogs are a bad influence on so many people who treat them as though they are children or in some cases, as weapons to use against people who annoy them.

That is not what the police have said thus far. They've given a range of possibilities from a formal caution (which is still a criminal record and an admission of guilt) through to prosecution involving court proceedings (in fact I have already had to give formal agreement to participate in the latter if it comes to it). But who knows. You may be right! I don't have any prior experience of violent attacks by entitled nutcases. It's not really the point of my post (which was why that part was in brackets) - more to say that whether or not random horrible arseholes are getting worse, these horrible arseholes are not unilaterally of the male sex.

Many people are advised to get a dog by psychiatrist services in situations that I think seem totally wrong.

She won't go to jail or incur a significant fine so unless she's in a regulated profession (seems unlikely) she's nothing to worry about.

I don't think anyone would expect a prison sentence? Nor would I wish that on a fellow parent. (Even an entitled and violent one).

If the roles were reversed, however, I would be feeling quite concerned. Maybe you wouldn't be. Fair enough.

Again the point is really that violent nutters can't be judged from their sex and that if you behave in such an entitled way, someone might call you out on it.

I don't see the point of wasting police and court time for an outcome she won't care about at all

Are you her, OP? 😅
I'll leave it to the police to decide what's worth their time. All the best to you! ✌

Yes definitely..on a flight a few days ago after landing we all stood up as everyone does to get their cases down from the luggage holder above and the guy behind my seat stood up and pushed into me very aggressively to reach his suitcase and then gave me another nudge into my back as he brushed past me again..he knew what he did he sort of challenged me with an angry expression.. .I chose to ignore it because he looked like he was looking for an argument he appeared very aggressive by the way he was looking at me ..absolute bastard knob of a man

Oh piss off

You don't think it's depressing to trot to court and waste your life minutes giving evidence only for her to be out and doing exactly the same again?

I mean- that is a crazy take. A LOT of criminals don’t mind going to prison. Nor do they care about cautions/ fines etc. HOWEVER, as a society we need to continue to utilise police and court time in order to pursue justice - because it upholds social standards (which are dropping as evidenced on this thread) because it’s the right thing to do, because it’s important to record and acknowledge the crimes that are committed in society in order to track patterns of behaviour and criminality, to effect reform/ cast an honest historic picture / in the interest of justice.

I've had this! I did a bland indulgent face and said "you're a funny little man aren't you" in a school teacher voice and he was really cross

I don't think you realise that there is no punishment at the end for most crimes. I mean it keeps public sector workers in pensions tbf (I am one, I'm not dissing).

I've got to be honest here - if I was with my adult dd in a shop in London and a man ever did that to her in a shop, I'd not be responsible for my actions. A red mist would descend so fast.

I'd fucking deck the bastard

It absolutely IS depressing but abandoning the very concept and to not attempt to achieve justice is even more so! The system is broken, and that’s painfully sad- but the answer isn’t to give up upon it. It’s to seek change and continue to pursue the ideal isn’t it? Not shrug off crime and blithely mutter “nothing will change anyway”.

Thank you. This is exactly how I feel.

The things I’ve listed above happened in Glasgow and Paisley.

I always find men super helpful in a supermarket. I am short and can't reach the top shelves.

If a tall enough man comes along, my conversation is always, 'I need a tall handsome man to get this for me, but you'll have to do,'

Invariably they laugh and reach me what I asked for.

I do realise this- far more than most I suspect given I work in an adjacent sector. I meet, know, and am friends with both criminals and victims through my line of work. It’s in an appalling state. Put simply- the existing justice system is not fit for purpose. But I just cannot agree that the answer is to abandon the very idea of justice.

In terms of the thread- I also absolutely agree that incidents of public aggression are on the rise and are, depressingly, increasingly accepted as the norm, with a climate of fear where normal people won’t and don’t challenge it.

That seems a very strange reply to say to someone who has been physically attacked and emotionally affected, as well as the witnesses inc children. Especially as you started the post talking about aggression, I would have thought you'd be supportive of the victim and hoping the perpetrator faced whatever legal consequences are dealt to her. Or do you see male violence differently from violence done by a female? Surely we should be concerned by ANY unprovoked violent behaviour regardless of who is the victim or the instigater?🤔

So sorry this happened to you @ThisGladGoose and whether it ends up going to court or not, it's definitely not acceptable.🫂

No I'm saying the criminals don't care. It just wastes the time of witnesses and juries.

There is more aggression. Some men feel insecure about their place in the world, that they are losing their power over women.

Some physically assault / barge.

Some verbally abuse.

Some pass legislation restricting women’s rights / freedom.

Weirdly I’ve not had much of it at all. I don’t know if it’s because I’m 5ft 11 or that I have a resting angry face My friends definitely have had a lot worse especially on nights out or public transport

Probably because the leader of Reform thinks Andrew Tate is an important voice, has no qualms being photographed with Tate. Wants to get rid of our equality rights (removing EHCR). Reform are anti abortion and want to tax women for not having children for starters. They are not the party for women.