2012-11-11, 10:59 AM
Today my mom and I went to the Walmart that is in Westfield mall. We had a bike (really nice bike, as everyone keeps saying) with two side bike bags, my backpack, and my mom's bag. We decided that my mom would go inside to get a few things and I would stay outside and sit on the bench at the bus circle to watch the stuff and take a break. It's really cold here compared to St. Petersburg, so I pulled out my gloves and my second jacket. I pulled my jacket up to cover my nose and listened to some music from my phone with my headphones.
About 10 minutes later I got bored and pulled out my phone to read some notes I typed in the notepad. A security guard comes up to me and asks "are you okay, miss?" I jerk my head up thinking it's some weird guy trying to talk to me, but see his uniform and respond with a yes.
I went back to reading my notes, thinking nothing of the intrusion.
About 3 minutes after that, another security guard, this time in a truck, pulls up and honks his horn. He/she (I couldn't tell!) gets out, saunters up to me and asks if that security guy woke me up. I said "no, I had my jacket pulled up over my nose to keep warm and had my head down to look at my phone!" He/she declares "you can't sleep here." So, very agitated over being harassed by the mall security, I tell him/her "I. WASN'T. SLEEPING."
He/she backed down and said "okay, they just told me to come over here..." and left her his/her truck.
In my head I was saying, you jerk! There isn't a dress code saying a jacket over my nose is inappropriate. It was very clear that my eyes were open as I was looking at and using my phone. Also, why would I sleep sitting on a bench with my phone out in a cold, drafty place with a bunch of people running around?
Seriously, this is harassment and I feel that my personal rights were violated by these people and whoever "told" him/her to go over to where I was sitting. That is a public place used for the public transportation system as a waiting spot for bus riders. They had no right to disturb me. I was only there for another 5 minutes when my mom came out and we left. Considering that people sometimes wait an hour for the bus, my measly 18 minutes of waiting was nothing. I could understand if I was there for hours. But I wasn't. Soooo...yeah.
About 10 minutes later I got bored and pulled out my phone to read some notes I typed in the notepad. A security guard comes up to me and asks "are you okay, miss?" I jerk my head up thinking it's some weird guy trying to talk to me, but see his uniform and respond with a yes.
I went back to reading my notes, thinking nothing of the intrusion.
About 3 minutes after that, another security guard, this time in a truck, pulls up and honks his horn. He/she (I couldn't tell!) gets out, saunters up to me and asks if that security guy woke me up. I said "no, I had my jacket pulled up over my nose to keep warm and had my head down to look at my phone!" He/she declares "you can't sleep here." So, very agitated over being harassed by the mall security, I tell him/her "I. WASN'T. SLEEPING."
He/she backed down and said "okay, they just told me to come over here..." and left her his/her truck.
In my head I was saying, you jerk! There isn't a dress code saying a jacket over my nose is inappropriate. It was very clear that my eyes were open as I was looking at and using my phone. Also, why would I sleep sitting on a bench with my phone out in a cold, drafty place with a bunch of people running around?
Seriously, this is harassment and I feel that my personal rights were violated by these people and whoever "told" him/her to go over to where I was sitting. That is a public place used for the public transportation system as a waiting spot for bus riders. They had no right to disturb me. I was only there for another 5 minutes when my mom came out and we left. Considering that people sometimes wait an hour for the bus, my measly 18 minutes of waiting was nothing. I could understand if I was there for hours. But I wasn't. Soooo...yeah.
