Would you rather run into a bear or random man in the woods?

[Quagmire]

Surely you have seen this question storm social media

But if you haven't, the question is posed to women, would they rather be alone in the woods with a bear or a man?

I 100% get and support the bear over man choice, and I absolutely love how triggered some fragile men get over women answering bear.

What's your all's take?

 

[TD]

My wife legit was talking to me about this yesterday.

Bear.

Easily.

Men are sick fucks. Bears are warm and fuzzy.

 

[MC74]

My wife legit was talking to me about this yesterday.

Bear.

Easily.

Men are sick fucks. Bears are warm and fuzzy.

This.

 

[Quagmire]

Men are sick fucks. Bears are warm and fuzzy.

Can confirm, I'm a man!

What if the man is a bear? Though he'd leave her alone as he'd have no interest in the woman

 

[TD]

Can confirm, I'm a man!

What if the man is a bear? Though he'd leave her alone as he'd have no interest in the woman

Well now you're just calling me and my bear costume out. Thanks a lot.

 

[shortkut]

People are unpredictable. Unless the bear is starving or there are young cubs around, the bear likely wants to avoid/ignore you

 

[Mark]

Surely you have seen this question storm social media

But if you haven't, the question is posed to women, would they rather be alone in the woods with a bear or a man?

I 100% get and support the bear over man choice, and I absolutely love how triggered some fragile men get over women answering bear.

What's your all's take?

Also marked sensitive because I can see this getting into some heavy topics

Realistically, it’s a loaded question. If some woman thinks walking into the woods and running into a bear is safer than any dude, she needs to reevaluate her thought process. I get the risk of running into the wrong dude, but there’s no such thing as the right bear you’d want to encounter.

Now, I’m sure someone might come along and point out a red panda or a docile bear, but no one’s going to be threatened by a red panda standing up because how they square up on you is fucking adorable, and you’re a fool if you think that docile bear doesn’t have the potential to rip your face off if it feels like it… just like a man.

I get the apprehension towards certain men, and why women feel this way after their own encounters or second-hand experiences from friends and family, but generalizing all men and all bears is dangerous for two entirely different reasons.

 

[TD]

I get the risk of running into the wrong dude, but there’s no such thing as the right bear you’d want to encounter.

I mean - if we want to get more specific I'd argue that there are definitely the right kind of bear you can run into.

During spring-fall, I come across several black bears a month, they aren't something to be worried about unless you're an idiot. I actually like bumping into them, it's a fun experience (genuinely). They're generally more scared of you.

Brown and grizzly bear are a mixed bag, they get a reputation as being deadly but again, if you aren't an idiot you'll probably be fine.

...polar bears? Well I mean, you won't come across in the woods but you might as well just give up cause you're dead.

 

[The Flame]

I'm not going to pretend that there aren't bad men or women have no reason to be apprehensive in some situations, but I find this kind of constant generalization and demonization of men in certain online circles to be very tiring. And it's incredibly silly to say that you would rather be around one of the world's most dangerous predators than a random human who you could much more likely take on in a fight or flight scenario. Women are not fragile compared to the average man, but against a giant wild animal everyone is.

 

[Crystal]

Can confirm, I'm a man!

What if the man is a bear? Though he'd leave her alone as he'd have no interest in the woman

This was my answer.

 

[TD]

What I find fascinating about criticizing the generalization about men in this defense is that you happen to generalize and perpetuate the stereotypes of bears in which despite what the media would have you believe and what you think you're taught - bears are not that dangerous?

Here's a statistic for you:

The 750,000 black bears of North America kill less than one person per year on the average, while men ages 18-24 are 167 times more likely to kill someone than a black bear.

Source: North American Bear Center

Statistically speaking, you are way more likely to get hurt by a man than a bear.

 

[Jawneh]

For me as a man, I'd go with either. I'm fairly certain I am able to deal with either in a random situation. Probably less so a bear if it's being protective or hungry. The man, unless he has a gun or similar, probably isn't an issue for me.


Hey, lets expand this thought experiment. What if we reroll the question slightly. What if it's a choice between a bear and a random woman?

 

[Quagmire]

This also isn't a who would you rather fight, it's who would your rather come across

 

[Quagmire]

Hey, lets expand this thought experiment. What if we reroll the question slightly. What if it's a choice between a bear and a random woman?

Woman, but woman on man violence is far less prevelant than the other way around.

The amount of women I know who have suffered sexual assault or worse is disgustingly high and that's those who felt comfortable sharing that with me.

Also just play wrestling with my wife, I don't have to put that much effort in to over power her. It's scary how much stronger I am than the average woman

Also my favorite comeback I've seen is this is a made up situation and some men still can't take no for an answer

 

[TD]

What if it's a choice between a bear and a random woman?

I'd still rather encounter the bear - far more predictable than a human.

 

[The Flame]

What I find fascinating about criticizing the generalization about men in this defense is that you happen to generalize and perpetuate the stereotypes of bears in which despite what the media would have you believe and what you think you're taught - bears are not that dangerous?

Here's a statistic for you:



Statistically speaking, you are way more likely to get hurt by a man than a bear.

It's still a giant wild animal that is functioning only on survival instincts. Most rational people don't want to jump into a bear enclosure at the zoo, but we all function being around men in society every single day without constant traumatic incidents. The reason you're more likely to be hurt by a man than a bear is because there are billions of men in the world and we don't all hang out in the wilderness all day long.

Regardless if it's fighting them or just coming across them I'll take a strange man any day over a bear. I may be creeped out and keep my distance if I'm in the woods at night, but I'd much rather take my chances that it's just a dude on a walk/hunting/whatever over something that can easily kill me if it wanted to.

 

[TD]

It's still a giant wild animal that is functioning only on survival instincts. Most rational people don't want to jump into a bear enclosure at the zoo, but we all function being around men in society every single day without constant traumatic incidents. The reason you're more likely to be hurt by a man than a bear is because there are billions of men in the world and we don't all hang out in the wilderness all day long.

Regardless if it's fighting them or just coming across them I'll take a strange man any day over a bear. I may be creeped out and keep my distance if I'm in the woods at night, but I'd much rather take my chances that it's just a dude on a walk/hunting/whatever over something that can easily kill me if it wanted to.

Serious question.

How many bears have you encountered?

If it's greater than 0 - what happened?

 

[The Flame]

Serious question.

How many bears have you encountered?

If it's greater than 0 - what happened?

Zero. But I've encountered a coyote and I don't want to be around that either. I'm not saying I'm going to walk up to a random man in the wilderness and trust him. I'm on edge just being around strangers at the gas station at night, regardless of sex. But people are acting like bears are just big cuddly pillows. I don't want to be around anything that could see me as a threat and attack me if I find myself too close to it, even if it's a raccoon or something. I feel like I have a better chance of survival with a random human than a random bear personally.

 

[TD]

I figured it was zero based on the way you were talking - but thank you for confirming.

As someone who has been around at least a couple hundred bears and at worst been growled at and/or stamped at - bear attacks are generally avoidable and most probably happen from human stupidity.

They are defensive and territorial creatures. Bear safety is a pretty easy practice which can be taught and is very predictable. Humans are the most dangerous creatures on this planet due to their inherit unpredictably.

I carry bear spray with me regularly, I've never once had to use it but it's a precaution I take. Anyone venturing into the woods, especially alone, should carry some kind of defense and quite frankly - all women should carry pepper spray for unpredictable encounters with other humans.

It's not sexism, men are more comfortable targeting women than men. That's not speculation, that's fact.

I find it personally amusing how up-in-arms so many men get about this debate. If you're not gonna assault a woman, good on you. But the statistics and the reason why women feel this way are incredibly valid, backed up by years of statistical data and better yet - personal experience, something men just don't have a comparable to.

 

[Mark]

I mean - if we want to get more specific I'd argue that there are definitely the right kind of bear you can run into.

During spring-fall, I come across several black bears a month, they aren't something to be worried about unless you're an idiot. I actually like bumping into them, it's a fun experience (genuinely). They're generally more scared of you.

Brown and grizzly bear are a mixed bag, they get a reputation as being deadly but again, if you aren't an idiot you'll probably be fine.

...polar bears? Well I mean, you won't come across in the woods but you might as well just give up cause you're dead.

Generally speaking, though, if some idiot is wandering through the woods and encounters a bear, they’re not necessarily gonna know what to do and could potentially put themselves at risk by doing something stupid.

Meanwhile, women encounter plenty of men in the wild and get by just fine without having to do anything at all. This doesn’t excuse the creeps and predators, but they’re far outweighed by regular dudes like us that don’t bother them.

To touch on what @The Flame said… there is an accountability issue at stake when all men are generalized with the broad stroke that we’re apex predators looking for a mate rather than singling out the individuals committing these acts against women and people in general. Horny Henry doesn’t get held accountable for his fuck-ups if all of us guys are sitting around saying “we need to do better”, instead of saying “you need to do better” and using our position in society to single out and force accountability on individuals like that.

 

[TD]

Why are some of you guys acting all defensive like the problem is that you're being unfairly generalized?

The problem is that women don't feel safe around men.

Wow this is fucking mind blowing.

Shit like this is exactly why they feel that way too.

 

[Jawneh]

Also my favorite comeback I've seen is this is a made up situation and some men still can't take no for an answer

Our fragile egos, nooo!

It's all still messed up. I understand why women feel the way they do about this. There's a good number of scummy men out there, and the others tend to be thinking with their dicks. Even if not actively pursuing anything with it. After thinking about this more, there is a part of me that does feel a bit upset as I personally wouldn't do anything unbecoming of me to the woman. But then again, if I met a random woman in the woods and they said leave her be, then all power to her and I'd be away doing my own thing.

This also isn't a who would you rather fight, it's who would your rather come across

Still either for me. I'd be equally confused and intrigued for a moment before minding my own business. Though I'd probably grab a picture of the bear which is a win in itself.

Statistically speaking, you are way more likely to get hurt by a man than a bear.

As a slight stats nerd, where as the numbers are probably accurate, it's not really properly used in this situation. We'd have to find numbers of people killed out in the woods by bears vs. people kill by people in woods. The numbers are still most likely worse for people, but at least the contrast isn't as stark. And it would be more applicable.

 

[TD]

We'd have to find numbers of people killed out in the woods by bears vs. people kill by people in woods.

I want this to exist but sadly I feel like it would not.

 

[Mark]

Why are some of you guys acting all defensive like the problem is that you're being unfairly generalized?

The problem is that women don't feel safe around men.

Wow this is fucking mind blowing.

Shit like this is exactly why they feel that way too.

I could give a shit less if I get generalized, because every woman that knows me knows where I stand on these kind of issues. My issue is not holding the individuals accountable and instead making it a gender issue. We all aren’t like that. You’re not. I’m not. We don’t deserve to be lumped in with those pieces of shit no more than those women deserve to be harassed or worse by them. By generalizing, the dudes that do this shit think it’s acceptable because “if everyone’s doing it”. Hell no. We need to start holding those people responsible for their actions and leave it at that. I would say the same thing if the genders were reversed or if we were talking about any other set of circumstances that would be equivalent.

 

[TD]

I could give a shit less if I get generalized, because every woman that knows me knows where I stand on these kind of issues. My issue is not holding the individuals accountable and instead making it a gender issue. We all aren’t like that. You’re not. I’m not. We don’t deserve to be lumped in with those pieces of shit no more than those women deserve to be harassed or worse than them. By generalizing, the dudes that do this shit think it’s acceptable because “if everyone’s doing it”. Hell no. We need to start holding those people responsible for their actions and leave it at that. I would say the same thing if the genders were reversed or if we were talking about any other set of circumstances that would be equivalent.

...except I know I'm not one of them so I'm not offended? How hard is that to do?

Instead, I empathize with women who feel like they can't trust men. The fact that so many men are selfishly making this about them is part of the problem.

There's no universal way for someone to identify who is bad and who is not. There's statistics and there's experiences - both point to women feeling unsafe around men.

Why is that so difficult?

Held accountable or not, how does that make women feel safer with men?

That is the issue. Not that "men are all getting lumped together".

 

[Mark]

...except I know I'm not one of them so I'm not offended? How hard is that to do?

Pretty easy, because neither am I. Like I said.

Instead, I empathize with women who feel like they can't trust men. The fact that so many men are selfishly making this about them is part of the problem.

You’re mistaken. It isn’t about me, or you. It’s about forcing the individuals that make women feel this way to be accountable for their actions. That’s it, that’s all. In generalizing, it takes blame away from those clowns and shares it with innocent people. Would you rather share the accountability with those clowns, or would you rather single them out for what they are? That’s what I’m posing to you, not some kinda blame game on women for generalizing or some pity party for men because of the bad apples.

There's no universal way for someone to identify who is bad and who is not. There's statistics and there's experiences - both point to women feeling unsafe around men.

That comparison is just silly to begin with, though. Unless you’re a woman living in the wilderness, you’re going to encounter more men than bears and therefore more bad men than bad bears. That’s simple math.

Why is that so difficult?

It’s really not, we’re not on the same page, but we’re in the same book, in a different chapter, where the alternative is narrowing down the plot to the root cause. The bad men.

Held accountable or not, how does that make women feel safer with men?

Because if more of us put more of those dudes in check, said “you know what, this isn’t cool, knock it the fuck off or get knocked the fuck out” instead of “boys will be boys” or the equivalent… maybe we’ll see some corrective action. The whole problem stems from accountability, and just being complacent with the “boys will be boys, guess women will just have to be safer with bears now” attitude means nothing gets resolved because we’re not addressing the root of the problem. That random theoretical frat boy that drops GHB in his date’s drink? Incarcerated. Sex offender for life if he’s released. Actions have consequences, and when we excuse the men committing these actions by generalizing them with all men, we’re all left paying the consequences for something that only certain individuals should, meanwhile you and I are left pointing fingers at each other while that guy is off committing his next fucked up act.

Trust me dude, I have a sister, a daughter, a step-daughter, and plenty of women in my life I cherish dearly. The things I’d do to anyone that even thought about laying a finger on any of them won’t be typed out here, that’s for sure. But, we, as innocent men, gotta direct the blame and the consequences where they should go to protect women in the future. If we keep letting shit like this go on and blaming ourselves instead of actively doing something to stop it when we see it, then we will have ourselves to blame. Until then, I’ll continue to be that guy that gets out of the car to grab up a dude if I catch him putting his hands on a woman, or that guy that his female friends call when they need a guy straightened out because he crossed the line. Because, you know, actions speak louder than words. I’ve no issue stepping up for all women and singling out those kinda assholes, because what better way to show them that we’re not all the same by not being the same?

 

[Fool's Requiem]

I'll take my chances with a dude, thx.

 

[The Flame]

I understand your point of view and agree that it's an issue. I hope you don't misinterpret me as seeing this question and turning into some raging incel or something. I just think the reason a lot of people find this sort of thing annoying is that it lifts up and addresses one group's concerns while unnecessarily putting down an entire other group when the vast majority aren't the problem. The latest "men bad" twitter circlejerk isn't going to make the actual bad men be like "ya'know what, maybe I won't assault women anymore", and it won't make women feel any safer around men. It just drives a wedge between the genders even further. And god knows the last thing the internet needs is more hostility. It's easier to make progress when nobody is catching strays and people can discuss the roots of the problem peacefully.

 

[TD]

Mark. We ain't even in the same book. I fail to see how accountability is going to solve what this problem dictates.

Do you really think a man with the mindset of "I'm going to assault this woman because she's alone with me" is going to be like "but wait, I might go to jail! - I better not". They're going to do it. Period.

I'm sure everyone knows a woman who has been sexually assaulted, the process therein after that is a nightmare filled with doubt and scrutiny that quite frankly they don't need to be subjected to after a traumatic experience.

In terms of the bear not being a good example, you're missing the overall point of this exercise. The question was directed at women. The result? Women don't feel safe around men.

The reaction by a lot of men?
Well that's fucking preposterous, I would never do that!

Everyone knows somebody that's been through that.

Your world of Accountability that you're calling for (which will also never happen) does not solve the fact that bluntly put - men have absolutely no idea of a woman's perspective and the amount of men in here, let alone the whole internet that scoff and be like "yeah, give me the man", fail to see what the actual issue is.

It's not an exercise in how dangerous is the bear. It's an exercise in how much shit women have to go through with men.

 

[Mark]

Mark. We ain't even in the same book. I fail to see how accountability is going to solve what this problem dictates.

Do you really think a man with the mindset of "I'm going to assault this woman because she's alone with me" is going to be like "but wait, I might go to jail!" - I better not. They're going to do it. Period.

I'm sure everyone knows a woman who has been sexually assaulted, the process therein after that is a nightmare filled with doubt and scrutiny that quite frankly they don't need to be subjected to after a traumatic experience.

In terms of the bear not being a good example, you're missing the overall point of this exercise. The question was directed at women. The result? Women don't feel safe around men.

The reaction by most men?
Well that's fucking preposterous, I would never do that!

Everyone knows somebody that's been through that.

Your world of Accountability that you're calling for (which will also never happen) does not solve the fact that bluntly put - men have absolutely no idea of a woman's perspective and the amount of men in here, let alone the whole internet that scoff and be like "yeah, give me the man", fail to see what the actual issue is.

It's not an exercise in how dangerous is the bear. It's an exercise in how much shit women have to go through with men.

Because accountability is what created this mess. When frat boys get away with date rape because it’s written off as boys being boys, or how a girl is dressed, or whatever people want to say to look away from the root cause of the issue, you’re going to see it happen more and more. When you see CEO’s sexually harassing their secretaries because they can get away with it, you’re going to see more CEO’s sexually harass their secretaries. The sooner we start putting these fools on blast and making it known that it won’t be accepted, they will be exiled from the rest of us, and they will stand alone to face their consequences, the sooner we’ll see it stop.

I have read every single word in this thread to a sexual assault survivor that is sitting right across from me, if you must know how close my knowledge of the subject is. Trust and believe, she sleeps better at night knowing I will take care of every threat she may face, because she’s seen me do it, because that’s what a good man does, and it sickens her to see the good men she knows get dogged because of the bad ones DESPITE her being well aware of the threats men pose to her.

 

[TD]

And god knows the last thing the internet needs is more hostility. It's easier to make progress when nobody is catching strays and people can discuss the roots of the problem peacefully.

We're good.

It's just a topic that I feel so many people are missing - the continued sexism that women face every single day. Even when they're trying to make their opinion known on this theoretical exercise, they're subjected to scrutiny and being chastized for the way that they feel.

People just need to get better at accepting that everyone is allowed to feel what they feel.

 

[TD]

I have read every single word in this thread to a sexual assault survivor that is sitting right across from me, if you must know how close my knowledge of the subject is. Trust and believe, she sleeps better at night knowing I will take care of every threat she may face, because she’s seen me do it, because that’s what a good man does, and it sickens her to see the good men she knows get dogged because of the bad ones DESPITE her being well aware of the threats men pose to her.

And that's fine - and I know dozens of them.

But how does that help in this theoretical exercise where that woman is alone in the woods with the man?

The act still happens and then all the follow through.

 

[Mark]

And that's fine - and I know dozens of them.

But how does that help in this theoretical exercise where that woman is alone in the woods with the man?

The act still happens and then all the follow through.

A theoretical exercise with a theoretical man that happens to be a sex offender and a theoretical woman in the theoretical woods doesn’t exactly leave much room for liberties, does it? That’s what I initially meant when I said that it’s a loaded question, because it truly is. There’s no “right” answer, there’s just different ways to be wrong. A woman in the woods with a territorial apex predator is in just as much danger as a woman in the woods with a sex offender, and only one is practically guaranteed a quick death… making the bear scenario the obvious “safer” alternative to a life-altering traumatic experience. I get that construct. It’s not lost on me one bit, but, accountability is the first step to resolving this, and that’s what I’d rather aim for than the blame game.

 

[TD]

Going to just say we disagree and move on. Accountability won't do shit toward stopping something in a societel culture where the word of a man is held with more value than the word of a woman.

 

[TD]

But I will say one of my biggest takeaways - holy shit do a lot of people have an incredibly misplaced fear of bears.

 

[Mark]

Going to just say we disagree and move on. Accountability won't do shit toward stopping something in a societel culture where the word of a man is held with more value than the word of a woman.

Why is a man’s word held with more value, dude? Lack of accountability, it was “I’m the man, I said so”, no explanation or nothing for the longest time. One day, some guy decided “hey, maybe it’s not right to drag her to the cave by her hair to make my dinner”, years later another guy says “maybe we should let them vote, they’re not going through female hysteria after all…”, and now years later we’re at a point where we need to do the same with those kinda assholes that like to beat or and prey on women. We can agree on that, right? The only way change happens is by proactive measures. If we see something, we do something. We don’t allow these assholes to run around terrorizing our daughters. We do have the power to put a stop to it, just like we put a stop to so much other shit in our evolution.

 

[TD]

K I'm done here, this is fucking lunacy.

 

[TD]

I suppose though if I squint really hard from the perspective of a White American Male, I can see that perspective.

 

[Mark]

K I'm done here, this is fucking lunacy.

I definitely think you’re misunderstanding where I’m coming from now if you think that’s lunacy. I’ve done nothing but give you two examples widely spread apart in human history of shitty behavior men exhibited towards women that have changed by the very same type of proactive measure I’m suggesting to eliminate, or, at least, highly discourage sexual predators. Anything else you take away from that is a misinterpretation.

 

[TD]

I definitely think you’re misunderstanding where I’m coming from now if you think that’s lunacy. I’ve done nothing but give you two examples widely spread apart in human history of shitty behavior men exhibited towards women that have changed by the very same type of proactive measure I’m suggesting to eliminate, or, at least, highly discourage sexual predators. Anything else you take away from that is a misinterpretation.

The part I'm struggling with is how you think a cultural issue comes down to accountability. I don't see how accountability solves a damn thing - but then I think it hit me that because you're American, your country has such a massive problem with accountability that criminals of all sorts are celebrated because they're a celebrity in some way. This is not a knock on you, genuinely trying to understand that but I think maybe it's an American thing?

 

[Mark]

The part I'm struggling with is how you think a cultural issue comes down to accountability. I don't see how accountability solves a damn thing - but then I think it hit me that because you're American, your country has such a massive problem with accountability that criminals of all sorts are celebrated because they're a celebrity in some way. This is not a knock on you, genuinely trying to understand that but I think maybe it's an American thing?

The way I see it is the lack of accountability is a part of the culture, or at least it is here. I can’t remember the kid’s name, but there was a college frat boy years back that got busted for raping a girl at a party. When the trial went down, his lawyers blamed everything from the fact that the girl was intoxicated to the clothing she chose to wear. In my other example, look no further than the Oval Office. Bill Clinton was getting blown by an intern when we were in elementary school, and he not only got to keep his job, but has remained a prominent figure in politics since. We saw that shit unfolding when we were in school, before most of us even hit puberty. Granted, that was a consensual act between two adults, but he definitely used his position to assert himself in that situation. It’s no surprise that you’re hearing about this kinda shit happening more and more because the bare minimum is being done about it. Yes, it’s bad. Yes, we’re aware. Yes, we punish people for it, sometimes. Okay, now what? That’s where my stance comes into play with this… I don’t have any respect for or tolerance for woman beaters or sexual predators of any kind. So, naturally, I’m going to want to single them out and deal with them in the harshest way possible. Men behave like pack animals in a social setting. They egg each other on to do dumb shit. They brag about their sexual conquests and pat each other on the back for hooking up with a drunk girl that passed out on the couch. If you eliminate that kind of co-signing and if the pack suddenly stops tolerating certain behaviors, it’ll change no different than the caveman that stopped dragging his wife to the cave. Consider it… the next step towards civilization.

 

[Jawneh]

My few pennies on the matter. I'm more with Mark on a lot of the above.

What I noted from the exchange between TD and Mark is that this, like many other things, isn't purely black and white. Whereas a crazed sex offender will do their offending regardless of any potential consequences. Same could be said of a killer bear out eating all the long pork it wants. That doesn't mean every other bear out there is a man killer, not does that mean every "potential" sex offender is acting up on their thoughts. We've long learned that deterrence helps curb opportunistic people as well as those who can still think rationally. And seeing the consequences of those actions on others cements that.

Is a woman getting killed by a bear one in a million? Almost. 1 in 750,000 from what I saw above. For black bears.

Is a woman getting assaulted by a man in woods one in a million? According to a 2015 survey, it comes down to somewhere less than 1 in 1000.

(Derived some from here -> https://www.nsvrc.org/statistics . About 1.5m cases of attempted or successful rape within 12 month period, and out of those 8% were not intimate partners or acquaintances. US population in 2015 was 320m, of which roughly half women. All rough math, but gives us something to go with.)

Disclaimer: The above is not to try to undermine anything. I was trying find out how likely it was for a random man to attempt anything in a random woman in the woods.

More to Mark's point, thanks to that one guy out from 1000, everyone else gets a bad rep as well. Even if we bring back all the other cases, of intimate or acquaintances, it comes to around one in 100. One guy does some shit, the other 99 get dunked on. Those people obviously know themselves that they'd never do it and are fine, but it surely doesn't sound great to them when they're lumped with that one guy. I'm of the same mindset.

 

[Kat]

For this question, I'm making a couple of assumptions that might change my answer if they were to be different:
1. "Meet in the woods" means to be close enough that you both know the other is there, but not close enough to be startle each other. Think like when you go hiking and you see another person coming down the path from the opposite direction.
2. "Alone in the woods" means alone. Nobody will hear you scream and they will likely not even find your body if you die. We're not talking a popular trail where you happen to be alone for the moment but another person is likely to walk by at any moment.

And yeah, I'd choose the bear unless polar bears are on the table.

And it's incredibly silly to say that you would rather be around one of the world's most dangerous predators than a random human who you could much more likely take on in a fight or flight scenario.

If I consider my chances of winning a fight or flight scenario against a random man or a bear who means to do me harm, I would say they are both zero. Yeah, there are some men who I could beat in a fight, but it's close enough to zero to not matter much.

Hey, lets expand this thought experiment. What if we reroll the question slightly. What if it's a choice between a bear and a random woman?

I'd probably choose the woman over a bear, though maybe a black bear over a random woman. That one is closer because I would have a good chance of successfully defending myself against a woman, but there are still violent women out there, and bears aren't likely to want to hurt me.

I think this variation would be interesting for guys to answer: if you had to choose between meeting a random bear in the woods or a man who was much bigger and stronger than you, which would you choose? What if the man who can easily overpower you is likely to be sexually attracted to your gender?

Meanwhile, women encounter plenty of men in the wild and get by just fine without having to do anything at all. This doesn’t excuse the creeps and predators, but they’re far outweighed by regular dudes like us that don’t bother them.

It's rare for me to be alone with an unknown man with nobody around. I can't even think of the last time it happened, and I certainly wouldn't be in that situation voluntarily.

After thinking about this more, there is a part of me that does feel a bit upset as I personally wouldn't do anything unbecoming of me to the woman.

It's not a claim that all men are predators, just that enough are that I feel I'm more likely to be attacked by a random man than a random bear.

I also don't think a bear would attack me though. There aren't psychopathic bears that hurt or rape people for fun. They only attack if you give them a reason to.

The only way change happens is by proactive measures. If we see something, we do something. We don’t allow these assholes to run around terrorizing our daughters.

Sure, that's all good, but what bearing (get it?) would that on a random guy in the woods? Nobody will be around to hold him accountable.

 

[TD]

Men behave like pack animals in a social setting. They egg each other on to do dumb shit. They brag about their sexual conquests and pat each other on the back for hooking up with a drunk girl that passed out on the couch. If you eliminate that kind of co-signing and if the pack suddenly stops tolerating certain behaviors, it’ll change no different than the caveman that stopped dragging his wife to the cave. Consider it… the next step towards civilization.

So all we gotta do is stop men from looking at women like some prize to be won or thing to be conquered.

...sounds simple enough.

 

[Fool's Requiem]

I feel like this conversation should be moved from Chit Chat. Not to the T-Dome because I don't think anything is indicating that is where this convo is going, just... not in a what is supposed to be a more casual discussion, and not super serious stuff which is what I think this thread has become.

 

[TD]

I think this variation would be interesting for guys to answer: if you had to choose between meeting a random bear in the woods or a man who was much bigger and stronger than you, which would you choose? What if the man who can easily overpower you is likely to be sexually attracted to your gender?

For the record, I'm stealing this for any future debates I have about this. This is such a good counter.

 

[TD]

I feel like this conversation should be moved from Chit Chat. Not to the T-Dome because I don't think anything is indicating that is where this convo is going, just... not in a what is supposed to be a more casual discussion, and not super serious stuff which is what I think this thread has become.

Fool's dropping by and just being like, shit guys this is a middle topic. Do we actually have a place for that?

 

[Fool's Requiem]

Fool's dropping by and just being like, shit guys this is a middle topic. Do we actually have a place for that?

I mean, this is surely more than just "chit-chat", no?

 

[Fool's Requiem]

tis a debate

 

[Mark]

I think this variation would be interesting for guys to answer: if you had to choose between meeting a random bear in the woods or a man who was much bigger and stronger than you, which would you choose? What if the man who can easily overpower you is likely to be sexually attracted to your gender?

I’ve been in countless situations with men bigger and stronger than me that weren’t sexually attracted to me, but wanted to cause me harm nonetheless. I’ll still take my chances with the human, not only is the animal well outside of my weight class, you don’t bring claws to a fist fight. That’s just rude.

It's rare for me to be alone with an unknown man with nobody around. I can't even think of the last time it happened, and I certainly wouldn't be in that situation voluntarily.

That’s fair enough, I’m a grown ass man and I know better than to place myself in certain scenarios. It’s risk assessment, part of how we’ve survived as a species. But, it’s fair to say you’ve passed by many men in your life that never said or did anything untoward you, and plenty of men that set off no alarm, right? You instincts let you know when something is awry, but you’re clearly aware of the potential for danger at all times.

Sure, that's all good, but what bearing (get it?) would that on a random guy in the woods? Nobody will be around to hold him accountable.

Perhaps that guy wouldn’t be a creep if he was taught better growing up? Both of my points show two different generations of males avoid consequences for their actions by not being accountable. That sets a terrible example and precedent. It’s gotta start somewhere… perhaps we string up a few rapists in our generation, we can raise the next generation to know that that kind of exploitation is reprehensible and isn’t acceptable for society.

So all we gotta do is stop men from looking at women like some prize to be won or thing to be conquered.

...sounds simple enough.

That’s like rewrapping the “so, we’ll just tell women to wear burlap sacks” argument, dude. Come on. I’m stoned as fuck, it’s a lot simpler than that. We teach men that it’s unacceptable to sexually assault women by removing them from our society. It won’t eliminate all of the sexual assaults, but it will make it to where someone will pay for it if they do commit the act. Why we’re so lenient as a society AND a judicial system on sexual predators yet we imprison people for life who commit tax fraud is something I’ll never comprehend.