If men are just making conversation when they talk to women on the street, then why don't they say the same things to other men?

Ever since a video of a woman getting catcalled all over New York City went viral, people on the internet have been debating between whether catcalling is really a destructive expression of misogyny or a flattering dialogue between strangers Some defended the men in the video, saying they were chastised for harmless greetings.

Im so confused as to why dudes are complaining about not being able to say hi to women. Go say hi to other dudes if you need to so bad. Elon James White@elonjamesFollow Im so confused as to why dudes are complaining about not being able to say hi to women. Go say hi to other dudes if you need to so bad. 3:40 PM - 29 Oct 14ReplyRetweetFavorite

Thus, the #DudesGreetingDudes hashtag was born, meant to shine a light on the hypocrisy of men saying that they're just "saying hi" when they talk to women on the street.

"I'm just saying. I'm a nice guy. I just want to say HI. And you're going to accept this greeting whether you fucking like it or not." Elon James White@elonjamesFollow "I'm just saying. I'm a nice guy. I just want to say HI. And you're going to accept this greeting whether you fucking like it or not." 3:22 PM - 02 Nov 14ReplyRetweetFavorite

"After the now-infamous video came out last week there was a flood of critiques around the idea that dudes were just greeting women and I found them to be disingenuous at best," White told BuzzFeed News. Though he found the video "problematic," White said he still felt like the concerns being expressed about catcalling were legitimate: "A woman was just killed for not accepting a man's advances, but we're going to pretend that our right to engage women unsolicited outweighs their right to feel safe? No."

The hashtag took off over the last few days, with people all over the world tweeting things that men should say if they spoke to other men the same way they talk to women.

"Listen, my boys and I watched you when you came out of the train. Your kicks is bangin' son. Can i give you my number?" #DudesGreetingDudes Elon James White@elonjamesFollow "Listen, my boys and I watched you when you came out of the train. Your kicks is bangin' son. Can i give you my number?" #DudesGreetingDudes 3:52 PM - 02 Nov 14ReplyRetweetFavorite

Many hashtags were spawned out of the catcalling conversation, including #NotJustHello and #ThatsWhatHeSaid , but none pokes fun at the irony quite as well as #DudesGreetingDudes. The divide in the dialogue, White explained, was largely about "privilege." "The right to approach women at any point in time no matter where they are is seen as a right by some men," he said. "And some of these dudes lack the most basic form of empathy to understand that our desire or intent doesn't negate what that woman might be going through. Walking to the grocery store or to go pick up your kid shouldn't be a gauntlet that you have to gear up for."

The tweets not only capture the ridiculous way that men will hit on strange women, but how they can quickly turn vindictive if the woman declines to reply — another way that men don't speak to other men when they're just "saying hi."

White also experienced his share of hate from men who didn't agree with his satirical social justice. "Dudes who were arguing for the right to greet women against their will were very annoyed with me. I've been called all sorts of names, yet nothing as bad as many of the black women that have been doing this work for years," he said, adding that he also got plenty of positive feedback. "[T]he support for this has been amazing. Every day I'm getting more and more thank-yous from women for simply listening to their concerns and attempting to support them."