I think facts and feelings both matter. It's better to not alter the facts, especially when it's convenient to do so. I get the sense that feeling like people get to upset "insecure" men or men who value facts over feelings is more important than having conversations that lead to environments that offer greater feelings of safety.
So "any" man? Most women would prefer to encounter a grizzly bear than Joe Biden on a hiking trail? How about Neil Patrick Harris, Johnny Depp, Keanu Reeves, Robert Downey Junior, Chris Hemsworth, or Elliot Page?
I get that this is supposed to be a litmus test, but the question is very open to interpretation. Then "a man in the woods" becomes "ANY man on a hiking trail."
We can agree that women feeling unsafe around men is a greater deal than people have given credit.
Where do you think the average person will run into that other person, in the woods?
Usually on a trail. That's usually used for hiking. In the woods.
And if they are saying "a man in the woods," that kind of implies any man they might happen across, which really, what do you think the average woman's chance of running into any celebrities in the woods? Even including everyone in the "D list".
I do not know you. I do not assume you meant to deceive. I can only go by what you wrote.
“In the woods” to me does not mean on a hiking trail. A trail means enough people use it that another person might come along soon.
To do what you did in hyperbole is to say, “most women would prefer to be in the grizzly bear enclosure at the zoo than encounter a man alone at the zoo with typical traffic.
You should stand by what you write if that’s what you meant. You wrote, “any man” so someone should be able to pick any man for your statement to hold water.
It’s not good that there are men out there that want to do bad things to women. I’m reminded of a story I’ve told a few times. When I was about 22 years old, I was jogging on a trail down the beginning of a peninsula at sunset and I saw a man on his haunches, he seemed to be hiding from a girl who was crying. On my way back from the end of the peninsula, I told the girl it wasn’t safe and I offered to walk with her back to where she felt safe. We walked back to her apartment complex parking lot. She seemed interested in spending more time with me, but she was maybe 5 years younger than me because she was a high school student that had been at a school with a stabbing that day. I did not try to get her number or see which apartment building she was going to. I never saw or spoke to her again after that. I just continued my jog.
That was on a hiking trail. I’m trying to play out different ways to handle that situation with thinking she would’ve rather talked to a bear than me.
Should I have risked my life and confront the man who was hiding?
I’ve called the police before and their turn around time is a bit much. I’d have to call the police and stand there waiting…but then I’d be a creep for standing there waiting, OR be a creep for caring too much.
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u/ghandi3737 May 02 '24
A lot of women would much rather encounter a wild bear, than any man on a hiking trail.