Resilience is not enough to save us

Given the choice between man or bear, BE the bear.

The woods are church-quiet except for the crunch of dry leaves under my feet and the tags jingling on Rangeley’s collar. It’s November 6, 2024. I crave silence.

Since it’s stick season, my line of sight is clear, and I don’t bother to sing my usual show-tune repertoire to alert bears to our presence. Then, I hear the hounds.

I’m instantly brought to that early scene of television’s Handmaid’s Tale, where June is running through the woods, desperate to escape to Canada with her physical and social freedoms and to protect her daughter. We see the sweep of flashlights and hear dogs bay and men bark until she’s captured—exhausted, injured, and separated from her child.

I’m sweating—it’s freakishly warm for November, and nothing feels right. But I’m not afraid.

It’s early in the hunting season, and in Vermont, it’s legal to use dogs to pursue bears and other animals. Hounds wearing GPS collars are set loose in the woods to stalk and corner their prey. Hunters follow behind for miles, and when the dogs have exhausted the bear, they jump out of their trucks to celebrate the assault.

Bears are usually shot and killed, but sows with cubs are off-limits. Small favor. By the time she is released, the dogs have separated the mother bear from her cubs, and she’s burned precious calories she’ll need to sustain herself and her babies over the long winter.

I’m simplifying the so-called sport of hound hunting for the sake of this metaphor, but I haven’t altered the facts. You can look it up. Besides this isn’t an opinion piece on hunting—per se.

Man or Bear?

Women know in our bones what it is to be hunted. To walk with keys splayed in our fists, take self-defense lessons, smile more. We’ve learned to be afraid of men since we were little girls—they hold the power, and we are the “weaker” sex. It’s exhausting.

This spring, the Man v Bear debate went viral. The premise was this: if a woman hiking alone in the woods faces a bear in one direction and a strange man in the other, which direction is her safer choice?

First of all, the question is patronizing, casting the woman as victim, no matter what direction she chooses. Secondly, why should we have to choose?

We’ve fought, been jailed, and sometimes died for every “woman’s right” we have. We’re making progress, but seriously, WTF? Why must we celebrate “winning” a small percentage of the rights men have entitled themselves to since time began?

I’m tired of jubilant timelines styling women’s rights as achievements. We won the right to vote! And own property! Our husbands can no longer rape us. These are basic human rights that men never had to fight to gain.

And those same (let’s be clear) white men still want to withhold basic human rights from women—and black and Indigenous peoples, and gays and lesbians, and transgender and queer people, and immigrants (the list goes on).

For every right codified into law, there are endless battles yet to fight. It can feel like we are the quarried bear. We’re gutted. Blood-let, stuffed and gutless, placed on our pedestals and silenced—yet again.

I’m afraid our resilience may be the death of us.

Let’s change the debate: You're a man in the woods, and you see a bear in one direction and a powerful, confident woman in the other. What do you do? One will maul you; the other will do worse—she’ll wound your ego.

Strong women (especially those childless cat ladies) are what weak men fear most.

That’s why they burned us as witches and left us out of the Constitution. It’s why they pass “pro-life” laws to hold us down. It’s why they elect a President who calls us bitches and dogs and defends his right to grab us by the pussy (his word, not mine).

I half-hoped to see a bear in the woods yesterday—maybe behind that maple or under a pile of leaves. I thought maybe we could strategize. We have so much in common.

Bears are intelligent, curious, and protective. They form social bonds and share resources to enhance their security. They protect their children and have excellent memories.

Like women, bears are majestic and resilient. They are also strong and powerful predators. It’s time to turn against the hounds, stop waiting politely for our turn, and running ourselves to exhaustion. It’s time to be the bear.

Work hard. Be brave. Believe.

Catherine

Resources for the resistance

We’re all still in shock and grieving, but waiting isn’t an option. This list of resources is in no particular order and incomplete, but it’s something.

Indivisible. org We’re a grassroots movement of thousands of local Indivisible groups with a mission to elect progressive leaders, rebuild our democracy, and defeat the Trump agenda.

National Organization for Women Dedicated to a multi-issue and multi-strategy approach to women’s rights, and is the largest organization of feminist grassroots activists in the United States.

Vote Save America An initiative to mobilize people from all walks of life into meaningful action on legislation, issues, and elections to advance progressive ideals, candidates, and causes committed to creating a just world.

Planned Parenthood Action Fund Championing the fight to protect, restore, and expand access to abortion and reproductive rights.

Find your (new) member of Congress and make your positions known.

Freedom of the Press Foundation Protecting and defending a free press when we need it most.

Human Rights Campaign fight to make equality, equity and liberation a reality for all lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer people.

Rangeley, November 6, 2024