I had a similar but far more brief experience in London. I was 23 and turned left on Fitzroy St onto Euston Road and as I turned and lifted my head up to look ahead I saw a red haired, bearded man who was obviously homeless and trying to get attention. He was jumping up and down, making gestures with his arms like he was miming his bad situation and as I walked past him he started talking to me. I don’t remember what he was saying but he started following me (and when I stopped, he stopped), and he kept going between saying he was going to smash my face in if I didn’t respond to him and saying “can I get some acknowledgement ployze?”. Once I approached the BBC building and I went into a crowd of people he disappeared.

I wonder if our two friends were on drugs or just mentally ill.

Although I did see a pair of teenagers harass a young women walking in front of me once. One of them asked her if she wanted an umbrella as it was beginning to rain and when she ignored him he turned his head over his shoulder and called out “stuck up bitch!”. Even before I saw this stuff I never thought it was okay to say random stuff to strangers, especially women. I think it just has to do with your childhood and how you were brought up.