First time in my life I felt empowered to stand up to a fucking piece of shit, and it feels AMAZING

So I (27F) just moved into a new apartment a week ago, and the area isn't really the best. I thought it was OK enough for a minority woman to live there, but I have learned the hard way that I couldn't be further from the truth.<br><br>So today at around 8 pm I'm walking back home from the grocery store. I'm carrying fucking BAGS and all I'm wearing is a dress and sandals, mind you. Now, on my street there's this group of homeless men who sit on the sidewalk and drink, scream at each other and God knows what else they do. Naturally, I try to avoid them as much as I can, because I don't want to be harassed by a bunch of fucking inebriated and half dead losers with no home and no job who have no reason to live for.<br><br>So, I'm walking towards home, and I see this man coming towards me from the opposite side of the street. He's clearly drunk, but he's not part of said group. As he's walking he starts calling out to me, saying "hey, hey, hi, come here". Now, the street we're on doesn't have any sort of street lighting, and the road is also very narrow, so I can't really go around him without going into the road, which then risks me getting knocked over by a drunk driver (not unheard of on this road). I keep walking at a steady pace, just saying "hi" and I try to look occupied with my phone. I try to walk over to the side where the homeless men are sitting and he starts following me, and suddenly he's NEXT TO ME, telling me "hey baby, come here. You look so hot. You want to go out with me? What's your name? Come here, gimme your phone". I'm fucking terrified, this guy's clearly capable of anything, he's huge, he reeks of booze, and he's tighter than a drum.<br><br>So I'm already living in fucking fear, right? I don't want to be the next Karen to go missing, I don't want to end up on the news as the "minority woman who got raped and murdered because she went grocery shopping alone at night".<br><br>So I sort of stop and face him, and tell him with the loudest and firmest voice I can possibly muster "LEAVE ME THE FUCK ALONE". By this time, the homeless men across the street are looking at us, and one of them yells at the guy "hey, leave her alone, bro", and the drunk piece of shit goes "fuck you, mind your own business". I don't really know what to do, so I try to slowly back away from him while keeping an eye on him (because I know if I turn around and run he'll chase me, and if I try to slowly go towards home he'll follow me). I still tell him to leave me the fuck alone and go home, but he keeps coming towards me like a fucking zombie. I'm starting to feel like I might need to defend myself at any moment. So I put my phone away, and hold my bags closer to my body, bracing myself for impact. I look the guy in the eye, and with the loudest and clearest voice I can muster I say, with a flow of adrenaline "BACK THE FUCK UP. LEAVE ME ALONE AND GO HOME".<br><br>Now, I'm not sure if it was me yelling, the homeless guy telling him to leave me alone, or the fact that we were starting to make a scene that scared him away, but he fucking dipped like a complete bitch. He said something along the lines of "fuck you, you don't talk to me like that", and I said fucking NOTHING. I still kept looking at him while he backed away and walked to the other side of the road and left. I still kept looking at him as he crossed the street, just to make sure he wasn't coming back. I kept looking until I was safely inside my door.<br><br>Once I got in, I felt an enormous wave of relief, and I couldn't help but laugh. This is the first time in my life that I've seen a man back away and show fear after I stood up to them. This fucking drunk piece of shit who tried to harass and intimidate me left with his fucking tail between his legs, and it feels AMAZING.<br><br>I've been a victim of sexual assault, I've been a victim of emotional and psychological abuse. I've always been too afraid to speak up because I've been convinced that if I do I'll suffer consequences and I'll be punished. But today, I wasn't afraid. Today, I stood my ground and defended myself. Today, I put my hands up and I FED a man his fucking ego right back into his teeth, and he fucking SWALLOWED IT.<br><br>I'm still an abused, scarred, and traumatized woman, but at least I can say that I'm NOT AFRAID, and I will fucking defend myself to death, no matter what.<br><br>I hope women and minorities get true justice, and that the world changes for the better.<br><br>Edit: I'm overwhelmed by the amount of good wishes and words of encouragement! Thank you all so, so much, it really means a lot to me. I'm trying to reply to as many as I can, but I might not be able to reply to everyone. Thank you all once more from the bottom of my heart :)