is the man or bear thing rhetorically or optically the perfect feminist meme that is beyond criticism? no.
but is it leaps and bounds better at getting men to understand the material consequences of patriarchy on the physical and emotional health of women than that stupid “kill all men” meme from last decade? definitely.
in a critical situation like this, finding another human at all is probably riskier than any animal.
most animals will just fuck off while humans will remember you and find a way to fuck you for their gain. all that in a smart way that you wont be able to stop with just a pointy stick or something.
If I was lost in the woods, a human would be more likely to have cell phone service or know the way out. And realistically, it’s just going to be some hiker or birder, which from what I’ve seen are generally welcoming groups.
i was thinking more of a survival type situation, but in most cases you are probably right.
I gotta disagree. In my experience, most humans will also fuck off.
But its a numbers game. We meet a lot of humans and some of them provoke intense experiences that are deeply memorable. However, we almost never meet any bears.
Honestly most humans will be centered at escaping the forest if they don’t know where to go, or guiding you out if they do. That’s it.
I’d choose the bear. A bear would probably leave me alone if i yell at it and make myself look big. A human would probably cry if i did that to them.
edit: also, can i just stay in the forest? Do I have to find a way out?
You absolutely can stay in the forest. There is literally nothing stopping you from going and staying right now but your own lack of courage.
I mean this is mostly not true, though? Without identifying information, like say, being in the forest, it’s pretty easy to lose track of someone if you both live in anything above a small sized town, and then just never see someone again.
Also, you are in a forest. It is expected to see wild animals, it is unexpected to see humans. If you were in a seemingly empty office, would you rather see another person or a fucking bear?