Member-only story
I Was Beaten Up By Three Strangers for a Brushed Shoulder
Being able to run away taught me about privilege
The year was 2008. 19-year-old me was super excited having bought my first motorcycle that I’d be riding every day to college. But first I needed to get it registered with the local authorities, and since I was only learning to ride, I’d chosen to walk to the registration office to submit the paperwork.
It was a busy sidewalk in one of the typically densely populated parts of my hometown in India. I walked past a guy, and as is common in busy streets, our shoulders brushed just a little.
As I’d walked a few yards ahead, I heard a loud call from behind, something on the lines of “Hey you!” and I turned back out of curiosity, quite certain it wasn’t for me.
To my surprise, it was a guy looking straight at me indicating for me to walk over. I probably thought I’d dropped something or whatever reason he might be calling out for me, and so I turned around and walked towards him.
“How dare you brushed shoulders with me?” said the man rather heavily set man of about 25.
“Sorry? The street’s crowded, it must have been on accident,” responded a puzzled me.
