While I have been trying my best to keep my head down and act like I know what I’m doing in this city, I went on the ultimate touristy excursion last week to the Empire State Building. I must say, the $32 I paid to get to the 86th floor was definitely worth it. The view was nothing short of incredible–each side of the outdoor observatory deck offered a different perspective on the wondrous and vast New York City.

From my view about 1,000 feet up in the air, I gazed in awe at the thousands of buildings and millions of lights. The tall skyscrapers of course jumped out at me and were easy to focus on; the people and cars were tiny specks that quickly disappeared into the night.

Please bear with me as I extrapolate this experience to come up with a forced metaphor. A special shout out to Abby for encouraging my creativity.

Let’s relate this to capitalist patriarchy. The perspective from the observatory deck of the Empire State Building was a zoomed out view of the entire system. Everything seems very impressive and overwhelming. It looks like money and power. Of course, there are problems with this system, but you can’t pinpoint them from so far away. You cannot see what’s happening on an individual level and how what’s happening is contributing to the system. It’s very easy to look at the big picture, recognize that it is very clearly functioning (because we would not have such an incredible view of capital America) and to keep moving. Why fix something that isn’t broken? Thus, these issues continue to infiltrate society.

I had the opportunity to meet up with a friend the other day. I visited her in Central Park in the Upper West side where she was born and raised. Now that I have been in New York for a month, I had several questions for her regarding her experience growing up here. I asked her when she first experienced street harassment. She said she was catcalled starting at a very young age and it didn’t make much sense to her. I then asked her how she handled this, and she said she just shrugged it off and always ignored it. She even said it was never really a big deal, although it happened frequently. My friend also told me never to respond to street harassment because it could result in violence.

I didn’t know how to respond to this. I’ve found it difficult to speak to people in my life about the work I’ve been doing because most are not as engrossed in the feminist and structural issues we have been discussing for the past few weeks. Do I go on a rant about why street harassment is a form of sexual harassment and how this perpetuates rape culture in our society? If you haven’t met me, rants aren’t really my style. Do I explain how street harassment is a way men control us? To most, I would probably sound like a crazy feminist.

In this specific situation, I simply told my friend about the work I’ve been doing at Hollaback! and how our organization hopes to end street harassment. I briefly told her about our discussions about sexual terrorism and how when we step out on the street, we have an expectation that no one will bother us. I said you can respond to street harassment if you feel so inclined, as long as you feel safe in the particular situation.

My friend found some validity in what I was saying and the conversation continued. However, I realized that her trivial mentality with regards to street harassment is one that I admittedly had just a few years ago. I didn’t understand how the man on the street telling me I’m sexy perpetuates our patriarchical society.

Every day that I walk around the city, or even campus, I am witnessing examples of injustice, whether it be harassment on a subway platform or discrimination in a classroom. As I become more aware of these issues, I am able to recognize them more and more and realize why they are a problem. In my everyday life, I am zoomed in on the sexism I experience and other forms of discrimination I witness. To fully understand how these examples are microcosms of what’s actually going on in society at large, I have realized that I need zoom out. I must (metaphorically, of course) head to the 86th floor of the Empire State Building. I need to take what I have experienced at ground level with me to connect the different vantage points. While it feels like such a long way down, it’s just a quick elevator ride up. You’ll see it too–just don’t let the millions of lights blind you.