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?

    • UnpluggedFridge@lemmy.world
      7·
      6 months ago

      You hate the “man or bear” conversation. Imagine how much women must hate it, knowing that you and other “good men” will bemoan their feelings as soon as they express them. Think about how chilling that is to their concerns; how they have to walk on eggshells even around “good men” when they want voice legitimate concerns.

      You know who won’t get offended? The bear.

    • pmk@lemmy.sdf.orgOP
      6·
      6 months ago

      What you write resonates with how I feel too. It’s not fair, is it? I think there’s a discussion that must happen, in the future. But right now, it’s too inflamed, it’s not possible. Then the question is, how do we get there? Can we get there without losing ourselves?