"...Like a Bear!" (Patreon)

If you've been on the internet at all the last few weeks, you've probably run across the "Bear in the Woods" meme running around. The premise is that a woman walking alone in the woods would rather encounter a bear than a random man. The implication is, a lot of women see a random man as potentially more problematic than a ginormous bear.

To be a bit of a buzzkill about the whole thing, let's remember that most wildlife wants to avoid humans as much as possible. They've pretty much learned to fear our approach, and there's a reason for that-- we're kind of dangerous.

Any person hiking alone --man or woman-- will probably scare off any bear before they even see it. I've been hiking, backpacking, camping and hunting in the woods of Idaho for decades and only saw one bear, at a far distance. Bears will attack under certain circumstances --such as threatening their cubs-- but otherwise they're more likely to try and avoid you.

Meanwhile, let's face it: humans are pretty much the most dangerous things out there. Encountering a random person in a remote location when you're alone can make anyone wary, especially if the stranger is acting weird. Even other men can be in danger of random weirdos out in the wild... whether the wild is a wilderness of trees or one of concrete and back alleys.

Perhaps what it really comes down to is that there hasn't been a lot of trust among people lately. Maybe that's the core of the issue, and everything else is just window-dressing. Any person can be a danger to any other person, albeit in different ways, and we should recognize that and maybe try to de-escalate ourselves in society a bit. People seem way too hair-triggered these days.

Whereas if a bear attacks you, it's nothing personal.