The writer has good intentions and the article seems rather appropriate from her perspective I guess. But wow...is “Will this man rape me” actually her first thoughts??
Still...I can sympathize with having unique challenges & concerns to face each day just by leaving the house. Except in my case, instead of it being “I would rather not be killed or assaulted”, it’s more like “I would rather not be assumed a thug, degenerate, thief, uneducated, dirty, angry, violent person today by strangers (of *all* colors)...in addition to (the default assumption of) potential murderer or rapist since I’m also a man”, all because I’m also naturally sun kissed lol. It’s a unique challenge being "man + brown".
“Men must be aware of signals”, she says? Pfft I gotta wear a human billboard with all of the additional messages I have to broadcast daily! Clutched bags with a hint of the evil-eye as I walk by in public places wearing the wrong clothes, VERY frequent “routine” traffic stops in a nice car, being blinded by a patrol’s spotlight if I take out garbage at night in my gated community; c’est la vie.
Dark alleys and poorly lit underground garages are especially dangerous for me too when walking to my car. You got car key-wielding women lurking around every corner lol (wink Grace)!
What’s REALLY difficult is if my car’s next to hers (driver doors on same side) and she gets to hers first. At that point I go through some pretty advanced calculus thinking “ok...if I continue to approach her she could freak out and I could get stabbed...but if I stand back and wait till she gets in her car I look like a criminal plotting a crime against her, she could freaked out and I could get shot (CC permit). Hmmm...SOO what’ll it be, Josh?”
You wouldn't believe how many times I've been in these “lose-lose” situations
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So I don’t approach any strange women (whether for conversation or to simply to get past her to my car)...not until they've gotten a nice good look at me first and have given a sign of interest.