“If I said a bear attacked me, at least people would believe me.”

I just can’t imagine hearing such an overwhelming response from women and then just being like, “Well I guess that makes me the real victim.”

We discuss the man or bear in the Forrest at length in this week’s episode -

Follow Chesko, The Speech Prof:

[cuiveirwin]

This somewhat reminds me of a famous quote from Steve Irwin: “Crocodiles are easy. They try to kill and eat you. People are harder. Sometimes they pretend to be your friend first.”

[westcoastweaver]

As someone who knows someone that was attacked by a bear, the guys saying they could take on a bear are really fucking deluded.

[brantorrence]

If the bear is brown, lay down.
If the bear is black, fight back.
If the bear is white, you're entering the light.
If there's a person, run!

[betht]

There was a recent thread with a police report of a guy from my hometown who fired shots at a building or something. It was about 50/50 of people saying he was a POS and some guys saying that he was always decent to them, defending him.

Then there were others talking about how he had SA'd a few girls. Another woman, who was essentially ignored, told of how he harassed her 14 year old little sister. The guys defending him said it was just rumors etc UNTIL one of his victims had to identify herself. She had to reveal her name and her trauma for the defenders to stfu. Even then, none of them apologized or even acknowledged that they were wrong about this "decent guy".

[Baccatube]

Actually: have you tried fighting an angry GOOSE? After that, you'll never think about an "apex" predator again.

[kibaliziosa]

The family reunion comment was a punch to the gut

[enravotaboyadjiev]

I mean, if you survive a bear attack, no one's gonna tell you the bear has a "bright future" so you should keep quiet about the attack ://

[onbearfeet]

As a bear myself: we welcome you to our woods as long as you leave the cubs alone (wearing bear bells helps too). Please bring snacks and drop them at regular intervals. 😋

Fun bear fact: adult male humans in a really bad mood usually have a particular smell (it's a hormone thing) that most of order carnivora, including bears, can pick up. It's not a pleasant smell, so if you're a PO-ed "alpha male", you might want to stay out of the woods. Bears, like dogs, tend to dislike the smell, and while most of us avoid anything that smells like that, females with cubs can interpret the smell as a threat. The outcome tends to be unpleasant for everyone.

[LisaArmstrong-sf]

A long time ago I watched a documentary on people who had been attacked by wild animals or a loved one had been killed by a wild animal. In all the cases the animals were forgiven, and they felt no hate, vengeance or need for Justice. They were at peace. They accepted what had happened, and understood they were acting on instinct. Women choosing the bear makes all the sense in the world to me.

[maem]

I’m so glad that he brought up the comment of the person who said “if I was attacked by a bear at least they’d believe me.” I saw that comment on the more silly video and it’s so true. It gives so much perspective to this situation

[LibraryAce]

The classic first step in getting a bear to go away is to make noise. If I yell "No, leave me alone, " the bear probably will even though it doesn't understand English or tone of voice. It takes seconds to learn and remember that, not an hour long self defense class, endless articles on safety tips, and a special straw to check for drugs.

[charlieleonaitis]

I mean, at least I know the bears intentions.

I seriously appreciate that you aren't afraid to use your platform to talk about these things. Men tend to actually listen to other men. I hope they stop and listen to you.

[joray]

I said I would take the man. But it is more like the Apex predator thing. Daddy taught me how to 86 a man as a kid, a wild animal can take me out. But if you were to ask me which is more dangerous, also the man.

[abbienormals]

So, I recently moved from a city to a small rural town. I'm a mail carrier now, it's a good job, pays well. But last christmas, when I was out delivering packages alone on a Sunday, and it got dark out, I hadn't finished. I faced being written up or, less likely, being fired, to take the rest of the packages back to the post office because being a woman alone at night delivering packages to strangers' doors TERRIFIED me.
Team bear for me.

[theundone]

Seriously, I thought about getting a concealed carry for hiking in the Colorado mountains. Not once have I thought about needing it because of a bear or a mountain lion. Only men.

[starstorm]

Both my mom and sister were SA by men they thought they could trust, and now I live in fear that I might be next. Men are the most dangerous animals to have ever lived, and no bear encounter will ever change my mind about that.

[jeanping]

I figure a bear is 99.9% likely to ignore me since I wouldn't do anything to bother it. No such guarantee with a dude.

[AndyCroat-vd]

The number of comments from men that I've read saying we don't mean what we said on choosing the bear is astounding. Hope they take you more seriously. Team bear for me.

[billiereyna]

“At least if I were attacked by a bear, people would believe me.” 🥺😢 That was powerful and relatable!

[heartofdawnlight]

i think my favorite part about people thinking they could fight a wolf, is that they clearly dont know what a wolf is.... Like they have Lil ol huskies on their brain, and not the Beasts that are closer to the size of a horse than a housedog