On Sunday, Rho Bashe posted a viral video on social media that documented her allegedly being hit by a brick after she refused to give a man her number. What was even more disturbing is that Bashe claimed a group of men simply watched her be viciously assaulted instead of intervening. They can be seen in the background as she was recording.
Though Bashe has been vilified on social media, the only question that should be asked after this horrifying incident is this: How was something like this allowed to even happen?
“Y’all, this man just hit me in my face with a brick and all these Black men just watched. This man...grabbed a rock and hit me in my face because I wouldn’t give him my number,” Bashe said in the footage. “What have I ever done to anybody in my life to deserve this?” she continued, now recording herself from a hospital room.
“I have never done anything in my life to hurt anybody. Literally a man asked me for my number and I said, ‘No.’ And he picked up a brick, in front of so many men, and was like, ‘What are you going to do?’” To be clear, this isn’t about blaming Black men for a Black woman being attacked. It’s about how the energy drastically changes when Black women need physical protection.
Bashe could have been killed—her injuries are unbelievably horrific—and the moment that she needed to be safeguarded the most is when she was left to fend for herself. The internet rejoiced when Black folks rallied together to go blow for blow against racists in Montgomery. However, when a Black woman needs help—help which literally could have meant the difference between life and death—her pleas are ignored.
Shortly after Bashe’s story gained national attention, folks scoured the internet to find reasons why she deserved to be hit. Black women are used to always having to defend our humanity and Bashe’s case is no different. It’s just another tragic and gross reminder that our lives are constantly deemed expendable.