So, I’m just assuming we’ve all seen the discussions about the bear.
Personally I feel that this is an opportunity for everyone to stop and think a little about it.
The knee-jerk reaction from many men seems to be something along the lines of “You would choose a dangerous animal over me? That makes me feel bad about myself.” which results in endless comments of the “Akchully… according to Bayes theorem you are much more likely to…” kind.
It should be clear by now that it doesn’t lead to good places.
Maybe, and I’m open to being wrong, but maybe the real message is women saying: “We are scared of unknown men.”
Then, if that is the message intended, what do we do next? Maybe the best thing is just to listen. To ask questions. What have you experienced to make you feel that way?
I firmly believe that the empathy we give lays a foundation for other people being willing to have empathy for the things we try to communicate.
It doesn’t mean we should feel bad about ourselves, but just to recognize that someone is trying to say something, and it’s not a technical discussion about bears.
What do you think?
Fuck off.
If a woman tells you you threaten her more than a wild bear does, fucking listen, then fuck off. She is actively telling you you frighten her more than a fucking polar or grizzly. Why would you stick around? Do you enjoy terrifying people? Show some fucking respect and leave her alone forever, like she literally just asked you to. As a free bonus, you’ll never have to hear her say it to you again.
But she’s not telling me, is she? She’s telling every man everywhere, forever. I can’t do anything with that information, except wonder if she’s calling for all men and women to be strictly segregated for women’s safety. At which point you’ve gone so far into nth-wave feminism that you’ve arrived at Saudi society as as model.
It’s woman specific, because she can’t speak for any woman but her, and her rights matter no more than yours do, if you’re concerned about situations where you both want or need to be in the same space.
IME the women who do this are the one who are the predators.
so yeah, if a unhinged lady goes off on me how i’m a huge threat to her, i do fuck off, because she’s probably a psycho. normal, well adjusting folks don’t go off on random strangers minding their own business.
I hike all the time. Nobody says more than a polite hi, or a wave or nod. men and women, solo, or in groups.
Maybe it depends on the type of bear.
If it’s brown, lay down. If it’s black, fight back. If it’s white, say good night (RIP).
On the other side of things, there’s probably the context. Some women would never go into the woods at all, so if they’re there with a strange man, things are probably going to get bad.
But if there’s a bear, they’re probably alone, and just need to leave the area. The bear lives in the woods (unless it’s a polar bear), and it’s probably minding its own business.
Maybe what depends on the type of bear? Because the context is what a man should do when a woman tells him she’d rather be near a bear than him.
I’d love to hang out with a sun bear.
Definitely would rather be in the woods with a strange sun bear than a strange man. What if he tries to get me into Magic The Gathering?