New Bedford Woman Fed up With Personal Space Offenders at the Gym

I'm not sure who has to hear this, but personal space should and needs to be respected at all times.

Allow me to paint the picture of the latest case of personal space invasion.

It was a Wednesday night and 28-year-old New Bedford resident Melody Aguiar had finally mustered up the motivation to make it to the gym. I've been given permission to tell her story in hopes that it spreads awareness.

Over at WOW! Workout World of New Bedford on Kings Highway, Aguiar dropped off her belongings and noticed that the treadmill section was pretty empty. She jumped on a machine that was far away from anyone else and just as she was about to get into the zone, she noticed an older gentleman walk slowly behind her and begin looking her up and down.

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No harm was done, but what happened next was where he crossed a line.

Let's just say there were 25 treadmills in a row and no one was on them besides Aguiar. You'd think that there would be plenty of space to spread out. Without a care in the world, this guy decided to jump on the treadmill directly beside her.

He knew what he was doing. There's no coincidence here.

Now, if this guy's intention was to shoot his shot, then go for it, but it's weird when there are plenty of available treadmills and you decide to park yourself within a foot of someone else who's clearly trying to focus on bettering herself.

There's an unwritten rule in life that clearly defines respecting someone's space and this is a strike against it. The same goes in the men's room: If possible, leave a urinal space in between. There's no need to make things weird while relieving.

Some of you will read this and say that Aguiar is in the wrong for complaining about a guy finding her attractive, and that's your opinion. I witness way too many creeps on the prowl and it's as cringe as it gets.

If you feel attacked by that statement, then maybe you're part of the problem.

I just know that there's a time and a place and when I'm at the gym, I don't want to talk to anybody. Get in, get out, get on with the day. That's my motto.

Respect others' space. Sorry, not sorry.

Massachusetts Laws You Don't Even Know You're Breaking

There are a lot of strange laws still on the books in Massachusetts, many that also carry actual punishments and fines. Though we're pretty sure no one has been arrested for the crimes we're about to list, we're also pretty sure you have violated at least one of these laws in the last month or so.