He wasn’t associating being black with being creepy, he was comparing the unfairly profiled minority categories. Whether that’s fair or not is a different discussion, but there’s no intent to label young black males as inherently creepy, as your statement seems to imply.
Ding ding ding. We have a winner! “Looking creepy” typically ties into behavior, what they are doing, that makes them more than just looking out of place or dirty or wearing a trenchcoat in the summer.
The stories this thread started over were accounts of being followed, groped, and chased. Not stories of seeing an older guy with toddlers and assuming he’s abducting them. I think from further reading you agree that the first things actually happen, and far more frequently than the polite male is aware.
Sadly, I work in a store where policy is that hourly workers cannot confront assumed wrongdoers, but must get a salaried staff member. The most we can do is ask if we can help them.
I do look at children and try to ID who they are with. I did have an incident with a very small child who looked confused, and I helped him find his parents. I was at work in my vest at the time. And it was clear the parent was just an aisle away, and the kid had wandered a tad too far and couldn’t see over the stuff in the aisles. But yes, it does cross my mind that someone could misinterpret my actions.
Assuming I’m a reasonable man, my first reaction was that the Facebook post does escalate from “being followed” to “grab a can of green beans and smack him in the face” and even “Choke him with a belt from the accessory aisle.” I also felt the hyperbole in that statement. Seeing some other posts of actual creepy behavior that was more than just seeing the same guy several times in a row, but had actual assaults involved, and I got perspective on the Facebook poster’s mindset.
I do think that DrDeth is overreacting to the post. I don’t believe women are chomping at the bit to start assaulting men who might be following them around a store. I think there’s simply an element of “Confront the creepy dudes rather than hope someone will rescue you,” in that meme.
I think there are reasonable levels of reaction and unreasonable ones. If he rubs up against you or grabs your ass, a punch to the nuts is sufficient. No need to shoot him six times. If he’s chasing you out of the store and running after you, then pulling the gun is warranted.