Dear
Porteños,
It has come to my attention that
many of you are in need of medical treatment seeing as how you are continuously
breaking your necks to look at women. At first I thought it was just a twitch
that a few of you may have. Then I began to notice that you also do this while
operating motor vehicles, maneuvering bicycles, and even caring for small
children. This seems like a very dangerous medical condition to have in addition
to a loss of vision that is becoming more common on a regular basis. It is
apparent that your sight must be diminishing as the unwarranted eye contact walking
down the streets is on the verge of invasiveness. I am beginning to worry for
the general population as these symptoms have led to a devastating decrease in
the mortality rate of women across the country and an increase in gender based
violence. Well, I am not a doctor so I will diagnose you no longer. However I
do have a number of questions for you since we are already here.
First of all, who is this “Morocha”
that you keep calling for? It seems that she must be quite popular since she is
always on the tip of your tongues. Should I help you look for her? I am
concerned that she is either completely deaf based on the way you shout Morocha
from across the street or that she has the hearing of a dog since you enjoy
whispering her name so softly on your breath when I walk by. Maybe this Morocha
is missing? With the unfortunate reality that a woman in Argentina is killed
every thirty hours, it is important to report all missing persons.
This leads me to my next
question. Who is this Hermosa character? Any relation to Mororcha? It seems
like she really enjoys sleezy dirty men since that is all who seem to say her
name. It’s crazy really to hear all of you; young, old, walking with children,
driving by on the passenger side, and/ or sitting in church pews. Since I have
been here I have heard these cries for Hermosa from the internet guy, the train
conductors, the elderly men who attend church, the friends of the elderly men
who attend church, the local parrilla chef, the remis drivers, the strange man
who drives around at night offering women rides but is not a remis driver, and
other spectators on the street. It is almost as Hermosa has identified every
potential creep in the Province of Buenos Aires. A job well done. I think I am
most curious about why all of these old men are so confident?
I cannot help but ask, did you hear about this
Perez girl? I don’t think her name was Mororcha or Hermosa. She was sixteen
though when she was drugged, raped, and left for dead in Mar de la Plata- a
teenager. Do you know of the other sixteen year old Horacelia Genesis from
Posadas? She was stabbed and dismembered by her thirty- four year old partner
and father of her seven year old daughter. Well, I am sure you hear of Melina
Romero whose body was found on the riverbank in Jose Leon Suarez after celebrating
her seventeenth birthday. In Argentina it has been reported that about fifty
five women over the age of thirteen reports being a victim of gender based
violence every single day. I can only imagine why it’s so hard for you to find
these anonymous women that you keep shouting at.
As much as I would love to make this letter a
huge joke about embarrassing are your acts of desperation and self-hate, the
reality is this is not a laughing matter. In reality it is already uncomfortable
listening to you moan and groan trying to get my attention however I challenge you
to imagine the fear that is struck in many women trying live peacefully while
trying to prevent “harmless” cat-calling turn into a Special Victims Unit case.
This is not an irrational fear but a statistically proven and experienced based
fear a number of us carry on our backs. I am not your Morocha. I am not your
Hermosa. If I pass you every single day
in a collar or in sweatpants, it does not give you the right to make me feel
uncomfortable while living in community with you. Your display of hyper- masculinity
is as tacky as a River Plate jersey. Check yourself and check your friends.
Sincerely yours truly,
Nicolette Marie Faison I
#ReclaimMissionary
