‘I’m really trying not to cry’: Black woman hit by NYC puncher says she was treated differently than white victims
A man who previously claimed he is the descendant of Jamaican activist Marcus Garvey has recently dedicated his life to walking around Manhattan and allegedly punching women in the head. 40-year-old Skiboky Stora was charged with assault and would often throw his name in contention to become Mayor of New York City.
After reports of his arrest surfaced online, along with his photograph, more women came forward about being punched by a man. One of them was a TikTok user named Jess (@jesslovesblueberrybagels), who said that there was a clear discrepancy between the comments and sympathy, or lack thereof, that she received when she posted about her assault versus the treatment that white influencers faced sharing their encounters with the "NYC Puncher."
Jess believes that the dichotomy is rooted in racial preferences, claiming that, in general, people are reluctant to believe black women's stories of assault when compared to white women.
Jess discusses the "Puncher Situation" she was involved in while walking through New York City on 7th Avenue, detailing that the assailant in question attempted to harm her while she was holding her Kindle tablet. While he didn't strike her directly, she says he did hit her mobile reading device, and then proceeded to spit and yell at her.
Jess says that after the attack, she "ended up getting a bus ticket" and made a subsequent video that seems to have been received poorly by some TikTokers.
"People were saying the homeless man should have had better aim and swung harder," she says. "People were messaging me calling me just about every slur in the book and saying really terrible things."
Jess, teary-eyed, recounts how some comments even claimed she should have been sexually assaulted, which she calls "literally insane."
She mentions how the New York women have been coming forward over the last few days and how their experiences with viewers have been starkly different from hers.
"It seems like there were two separate people but one of the men who is doing this, somebody posted a picture of him...and that man is the man who assaulted me," she says. "After I made the original post and people were leaving me all the comments and sending me rude messages, I made a post saying that people don't believe black women and people were just commenting on it being like race card, like you're being dramatic."
She says how the difference in white influencers' comments section has been "insane," claiming the story of her getting a bus ticket was a "story for another time."
"Just is really frustrating the way that the world doesn't believe or protect black women ever," she says. "So I just wanted to come on here and share my story, everybody please be extremely safe when you're walking around, woman or not, white or not, be safe, the world is f--ing scary."
@jesslovesblueberrybagels #nycpuncher #nyc ♬ original sound - jesslovesblueberrybagels
The "bus card video" she's referring to is a short clip where she records an NYPD officer giving her a ticket for not purchasing an MTA transfer card from the subway to the bus.
@jesslovesblueberrybagels trying not to cry #nyc ♬ original sound - gia
"A homeless man just swung and spat at me but thank god they were here to catch me not getting a transfer card to the bus from the subway," she wrote in an overlay for the video.
Several commenters didn't appear to have any sympathy towards Jess' plight, with one writing, "Because you didnt pay, thats your karma balancing out. Maybe pay next time."
Another quipped, "Girl be careful, a homeless lady coughed on me once and I got tuberculosis."
However, some called out TikTokers who seemed to care more about the fact cops weren't there to stop her from getting assaulted but were right around the corner when she didn't buy a bus ticket.
In another video that Jess posted about the racial contradictions that occur between white and black women when it comes to assault, she responded to a comment that suggested her making race the subject of her video would surely cause an outpour of anti-white hate on TikTok.
Jess refuted this comment, saying her "intention was to never put down white women as a whole."
Some folks responded to Jess' original video and supported her notion that there is an inherent racial bias when it comes to traumatic stories of assault.
"People don’t pay attention until it happens to a white blonde woman," one wrote.
"You are very brave to even speak on it again," someone else said.
Another wrote, "I’m so sorry that happened to you. You deserved better! I hope they catch that red jacket man (and any other evil f*ckers out there)."
While another TikToker suggested ways she can filter out comments she would rather not see online: "I’m glad that you are ok. Please block hateful people. No one deserves to be assaulted."
The Daily Dot has reached out to Jess via TikTok comment and the NYPD via email.
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