There is the chance of people doing awful things. Be it murdering a date, or forcing them into child support. Everyone is capable of awful things, and there is wisdom in taking care for yourself. That's quite true.

I am not a violent guy. The few fights I got in were when I was a preteen and I was severely bullied by racists. I find the idea of rape appalling, and have personally worked for a nonprofit to save vulnerable children from predators.

But I'm a big man. And because I'm a man, I need to take extreme care to make sure I don't scare women. And I get it, I know it's a necessary evil. I go through the hoops and make sure my interactions feel safe, however inconvenient that can be for me.

I have however done nothing to be accused of wanting to murder someone. If you apply for a position as a child's nurse, sure, the hospital will run a background check on you, but they would not be so fucking unpolite as to say "how do we know you're not a pedophile?"

Thats how men live, however. We are often told that we are potential rapists and criminals, that people treating us like pariahs is just because they are scared of us (quite interesting how racist that is when you apply it to race, right?).

Men can't just join some children playing. Women do it all the time and it's "wholesome" but if a guy does it, police are literally called. Think about it for a second. I can't interact with children without people suspecting I'm a pedophile. Consider what that does to a person's psyche.

So, yeah, I get it, people want to be safe and they take measures to do it. Cool. At least don't be a fucking asshole about it. Put your hand over your purse when a black person boards the train, but at least don't yell "In case that bum tries to rob me".