I took my trash out tonight, I ran into a man

 Continuing from the man vs bear thing, I had a random thought tonight. I actually went out to take the trash out. And as I do, I had that all familiar thought that I sometimes have about being robbed. I don't live in a safe area. I live in a full on gunshot neighborhood. And as I was taking my trash out, I was being mindful of my surroundings. And I could hear a man approaching. I knew because he was talking. And I was just like, yeah I hope this doesn't end badly. Because, you know, being outside in a bad neighborhood at night, you never know. But I also figured there was like a 99% chance nothing would happen.

...and nothing did. Dude just kept walking past my house whole talking on his cell phone, and I finished taking my trash out and going back inside. 

I just felt like it was an apt analogy.

Now what if I ran into a bear? Well, I might be in the hospital or dead right now. Because bears are dangerous, and if im taking trash out, maybe they smell something good. I know from going to places like gatlinburg tennessee that bears arent actually uncommon, and there are strict standards for disposing of trash to discourage them from wandering into the city and raiding your dumpster for some sweet rotting second hand food. Ya know? Because bears are dangerous and people don't want to encounter them.

Would I rather run into a man or a bear? A man. Because if I run into a man, even in my gunshot neighborhood, odds are, they WILL be benign. Not saying that it can't happen. I know that I've had neighbors beaten up and robbed as close as less than a block away. BUT, if I had to chance an encounter where all things being equal, I could encounter a random man or a random bear, man all the fricking way. While a man CAN kill me, odds are they PROBABLY won't. A bear however? I would suspect that there is a pretty high chance of being injured or killed around a bear.

Either way, keep your guard up and use street smarts. People can be jerks. I just think this weird "OMG MEN ARE SCAWY!" mentality that some women have is over the top. Yes, rapists exist, but it doesnt mean every man (or even most of them) are gonna wanna rape you. Most probably won't. And even being a man myself, I have every reason to fear other people going outside in my city at night. Being a 200+ lb dude doesn't stop bullet. And it doesn't stop 3-4 people from ganging up on you. So yeah. I know what it's like to fear other people. I can "check my privilege", blah blah blah. 

Can we stop the ridiculousness of this stuff sometimes? Jesus Christ. I know SJWs are trying to make a point but sometimes it's a really bad one that just devolves into man hating.