The Line

It's 2008,

How should a woman react when she feels someone has crossed "the line", be it subtle or overt? The line being an uncomfortable, too-friendly exchange between members of the opposite/preferred sex.

(I'm going to have to be vague in hopes of not defaming some one's character.)

I sent an e-mail yesterday asking a person (we'll just call them "Dude"), who is being appointed to a committee, for some information to include in their bio. I asked what their spouse's name was, and if they had any children, if so what their names and ages are. When I arrived to my office this morning, this was in my inbox

Hi XXXXXXX(I don't put my name in my blog),

No, not married!
But I'm looking. Are you interested? LOL

Dude

OK, I'll tell you my thoughts in the form of questions that i hope you'll answer...They might be a little scrambled. Although the (unprofessional) LOL adds an element of humor, am i supposed to think this is funny? Am I reading too deeply into this? Why do i feel uncomfortable with my own feelings of discomfort? Has society made me THINK that i should be numb to these types of advances?

Don't get me wrong, it's not like he whipped his dick out on the keyboard and described it to me, but in a professional environment i believe this to be easily comparable. I should also mention, i don't recall ever meeting this man. But i meet a lot of old crust balding white guys so he might have just blended into the canvas. Does he know who I am? Did he write this with a clear idea of exactly who i was? Did he picture me? If he did, that's down right creepy. But I am pretty sure he knows who i am. I know we've been at a few of the same events, and i might have been the only person of color at some of these, and it's Pittsburgh. By the end of the last event I'm sure everyone knew exactly who the fuck i was.

He crossed the line. I'm not going to ignore that.

P.S. No Dude, I'm definitely not interested.