Mentally twisted, ill, fucked up people will always exist, and both women and men need to have the appropriate psychological and physiological response to prepare for such a threat, particularly when we are alone and vulnerable in the dark. Striving for a world where women (or more generally, everyone) can roam freely at night is unrealistic.

I regularly hear that women should not have to feel unsafe walking alone at night, as a result of the patriarchy and men preying on vulnerable women. Apparently it's a common assumption that men do not feel this pressure whatsoever, which is entirely bullshit. Everyone should feel this way when walking alone at night. Anything can happen to anyone.

I'm a white male and have been assaulted walking home from work last year, when a group of drunk men asked me to have a drink with them, I declined and they yelled slurs at me and threw empty glass bottles at me. One of my male school friends, who is a bodybuilder, was stabbed walking late at night.

We all feel that way because we need to be psychologically and physiologically prepared to flee a threat. Sketchy, fucked up people will always exist, unfortunately. They prey on vulnerable targets, and night time is the peak for these twisted fucks as it is isolated and dark, and when most are drunk.

If we hypothetically reach a state where people can feel entirely safe walking alone at night, they are more vulnerable and unsuspecting to possible attacks. We need to be alert. It's our natural response to trying to stay the fuck alive.

Edit: I probably used 'unsafe' and 'alert' interchangeably when they have different meanings. This is poor phrasing on my behalf, what I mean is that we should be alert. We shouldn't feel unsafe at all times, but rather we should recognise that the environment can be unsafe.