Dear editor,

In the past three months, I have experienced physical intimidation and verbal assault from two men on separate occasions and in different locations within Courtenay.

Both incidents were related to my four-year-old son鈥檚 behaviour. He is a great kid and I consider myself an attentive mother. I also have a baby girl who was present both times.

The first occurrence was at a grocery store. It involved another shopper who swore at my son and yelled 鈥�(Expletive deleted) millennials, don鈥檛 breed them if you can鈥檛 control them,鈥� and other vitriol from a distance that was too close for comfort. It was because my son had knocked off a couple of sales tags in an aisle and I didn鈥檛 notice.

More recently, a man at the pool was angered because my son was sitting on the hot tub stairs. He would have moved immediately if required, particularly for someone with a disability. Still, I shouldn鈥檛 have allowed it. But this person found it necessary to rant about the rule while following us to the change-room entrance. The rage and unhinged nature of these individuals over minor issues caused by a young boy was frightening. Both situations should have been handled with respect. I was shocked at the audacity to threaten us. It no longer feels safe going to these places.

I would like to address this issue to everyone in the community, but mainly women 鈥� please do not interact with people who make you fearful. It is not worth risking your safety. If it weren鈥檛 for others who witnessed these events, I would have thought it was the 鈥楾wilight Zone鈥� because of the similar encounters back-to-back. But an important difference was how I reacted. At the grocery store, I responded to the millennials comment with some choice words, which caused more outrage from the man.

However, at the pool I stayed completely disengaged and tried to remain calm as I knew there was a potential for escalation. As a woman and mother, I can鈥檛 help but reflect on misogyny. How would these men have acted if it was my husband instead?

Aisha MacKay,

Courtenay