Follow-up should be about becoming the manager of a McDonald's and realising that this small amount of authority over people allows you to make their lives miserable.
Back in the day I lived in the outskirts of the city where buses would run rarely. Many times when I arrived home late a woman would also drop off. They mostly reacted in the same way as OP describes.
I tried to imagine having to be afraid like that all the time and it's horrifying. The planet is populated by animals larger and stronger than you who might, or might not behave violently without provocation.
As a tall man who likes to walk at night, I have long understood that women alone at night do not wish to encounter me. So when I happen to find myself following a woman down the street, I will either slow down, cross the street, or stop and look at a sign or something for a minute to give her some space.
In a dangerous and shitty world, a person has to find subtle and quiet ways to express care, compassion, and solidarity. It costs me nothing to make a woman feel safer.
While working i am occasionally in parking garages which can be dark and creepy. If i see a woman walking alone I'll try to make some noise like pulling out my keys. People with bad intentions will be stealthy, hopefully they get that I'm not a threat
So everyone here is saying fuck anon and I agree, but I agree because they are aware of it and intentionally doing things on purpose to exacerbate the situation.
But like, if you're a physically larger dude (maybe even cursed with a hint of melanin), and you've got to walk behind a woman at 2am.. it's just a shitty situation for both people, where both of you feel like you have to do something you shouldn't have to do (women feeling the need to run, defend themselves, or cry for help, and men feeling the need to change their route, stand around and wait until she leaves, or do something awkward and potentially more scary like announce their presence).
I'm definitely not advocating for women to be less cautious on the streets at night or anything like that at all, it's an unfortunate reality that they need to stay vigilant and aware to remain safe. It just really sucks that the way it comes across a lot of the time does little to protect anyone from any actual harm, and just makes normal people feel like shit for making someone feel like they're about to get raped.
As a physically large man who used to work a job that meant he was walking home late at night in the city, just cross the road to overtake. If you're walking that much faster than the other person, you will overtake pretty soon.
Shit, I cross the road to overtake because I'm a smoker and don't want to inconvenience non-smokers with my addiction. Never even crossed my mind that may make people feel safer.
Hear hear! As a bigger guy with a faster pace, I have yet to find a way that doesnât make everyone uncomfortable while also making me frustrated as hell because I canât walk at my own pace.
Even worse, Iâm probably walking with my dog, who likes an even faster pace, and sheâs a rescue who looks scary and isnât yet well behaved
Wear a reflective vest. It makes it obvious you're just trying to safely walk your dog, makes you less likely to be hit by a car and signals safety because dangerous people don't usually want to be conspicuous
If it makes you feel any better, a large person walking with a scary dog seems much less likely to be a psychopath than just a large person by themselves (to me, at least).
Obviously not to say that large people are psychopaths đ just that someone with an animal they're caring for doesn't strike me as someone who is going to attack me.
I think (as a white dude, so take your grains of salt as you please) that a dog would make you less threatening. Makes it clearer what you're up to, and people bringing their dogs along to mug or rape someone is exceedingly rare.
If youâre a big guy and you find yourself walking behind a woman at 2am AND, unlike anon, youâre not a complete sociopath, you have two options in a nutshell. One, you move your ass and overtake, walking fast. Two, you change the side of the road. Both minor inconveniences.
just not changing pace is good enough in my opinion, that makes it look like he was actually chasing her
if he takes the same road and she is scared it's more of a she problem since he's just going home
imo the solution is just not to do anything sketchy, and teach younger people what's right and wrong, so that the problem can get solved with a better society in the future
this doesn't just go on gender lines either. i am tall and broad and probably scare people, especially women, in the dark. i hope my appearance at least protects me from being assaulted as well... no one asks for ur gender, when they see u walking around at night.
I've never even considered this perspective before. It's frustrating enough for guys to get lumped in with shitty guys, but to be a woman lumped in with shitty guys, that's gotta be aggravating as hell.
I'd wager you're probably right, though; you've probably got a better buffer against weirdos than a dainty little flower might.