Firstly: I’m reasonably sure these women are just kvetching. I often say ‘I’d rather drink piss’ to express that I don’t like something. Obviously I’m not actually going to drink piss.
Secondly…I do agree it’s a bit much to compare men to a deadly 1200 pound predator. I would be a bit fed up of hearing that too if I were a guy.
Thirdly…that said…I understand WHY women say that even if it’s a bit ridiculous. I’ve had a male friend completely turn on a dime and send me rape threats while drunk. I pleaded and tried to reason with him for about 20 minutes before I completely snapped and threatened to do things to him with a hunting knife that I won’t detail because there’s no need to make people vomit. Only then did he back off and switch to making excuses and blaming his autism. It was terrifying because there was no reasoning with him. He LIKED that I was frightened and freaked out. It gave him a pleasurable power rush. The only reason he backed off was the threat of said hunting knife.
A bear isn’t malicious. A bear just wants to eat. A bear can be redirected or avoided. You can do things such as wear a bell or carry mace or put up an electric fence around a tent. A man isn’t necessarily malicious but IF he is…those precautions won’t do jack poopsies because he consciously knows the woman doesn’t want it and LIKES the act of stomping on boundaries.
I think you’d be surprised at how effective those sprays can be at disabling a person. It does require “proper application” (i.e. hitting them near the eyes/nose) but when it works it works very well.
That said, I 100% support women (women in particular, but people in general) getting trained on proper firearm handling and then doing daily carry. When my (prior Army) wife brought this theoretical situation to me, my first response was about how the hand gun she is set up with is far better suited to take down people and would probably do little damage to a bear (she got mad cause that’s apparently not the point, but I hope you get where I’m going).
The Gods created all people; Sam Colt made them equal.
I absolutely agree and I wish Ireland had a second amendment. Situational awareness and a gun is the best equalizer.