The sky is low and heavy, stripes of dark gray among the lighter. It looks like a storm is coming. And it’s not just the sky.
The last few days, we’ve seen another wave of misogyny, we get them, like a tide rising, first a little here and there, and then the next thing you know it’s a swell. Initially it felt like people–mostly men–were just forgetting themselves, relaxing into saying what they thought.
But this time I have to say it feels a little coordinated. I don’t know if it’s all the new users on Spoutible, with some working to change the tone of the site, but I have seen more casual despising of women than I have in a while.
It happened before the influx too, so it’s not fair to imagine it’s only them. At this point, bad actors also have to be trying to figure out how to curdle what’s working on Spoutible.
But it is a site where we can plant our feet and say “no.” Where we can call things out for what they are, call people out for what they’re doing to serve the patriarchy. On Spoutible, you are not the problem for calling the problem out.
The problem is the problem.
And the problem is burgeoning misogyny.
Of course it’s better than other sites, like twitter, where apparently men are threatening violence against women for not trusting them not to be violent. Not the proving the point they intended I guess. Or maybe it is.
Even memes of actual rape as a means of “punishing” women for thinking a strange man in the woods would rape them. Again creating greater confidence in the bear.
But here’s the truth: Not all bears are going to attack. There are scientifically-proven ways to ward off a bear attack, which a woman can prepare for and no one will blame her for doing so. And if the bear is scared off, it’s not going to stalk her online for years and then murder her.
As an example.
The problem, I think, for these men is that the polite fiction has fallen apart. We are supposed to pretend that each man is OK, each man is honorable and trustworthy. And not because of how they look, but because of how they can access victims. Because what is it they assume the strange man will do? Do they view themselves as the strange man?
Meanwhile, as one commenter in a video pointed out, how many men themselves would choose the man?
It’s not equal and it’s not women too because most violence is committed by men. That’s a statistical fact. And changing that is more important than men’s feelings. It should be more important than men’s feelings to men too.
Anyway, that’s it for today, have a great Monday and be careful in the woods.
A Bit to Read 
This idea that we’re supposed to trust all men all the time because the predators are few and far between is mythology that men prefer in order to feel better about themselves. Which is obviously more important than women being safe in this world.
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And it’s also a tool predators use to get access. Other men know it, they gaslight to help even if they don’t take direct action themselves.
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