As a girl I was often harassed and bothered walking home from school, so I thank you for this piece and for making it clear just how much our society tolerates things like this. You are absolutely correct that the dominance hierarchy is designed to protect and uphold the needs of those nearer to the apex of the pyramid of power and that those who are socially "below" them are conditioned to accept abuse from "above" with their only recourse being to in turn abuse someone with even less social power.

It is a well known fact that our public schools were designed to raise future factory workers who would be compliant and orderly and jump to attention at the sound of the bell. Of course we want to raise kids to be good citizens who contribute to the peaceful functioning of anything they are involved in, but that's entirely different than teaching them to blindly comply with someone perceived to be "in authority" when it is not in the best interests of their safety. Good piece!