Sooo... women in Canada are scared to walk the streets because Canadian society is based on hate? And therefore any and all communication must be initiated by the woman? OP is most definitely a paranoid bitch.

I had to create an account just to say that your comment is one of the stupidest things I've ever read. Paranoid much? Please don't reply, since I am also living in a society of hate and directing words at me will be interpreted as a violent attempt to ruin my life. I will let you know when I am ready for you to let me know that you are ready for me to speak to you.

at #79 As a feminist I must say you are very wrong and one of the reasons why people don't take feminists seriously. I hope you know I made an account just to reply to this. You can't just assault people who look creepy or who talk to you. Had the OP been persistent and not left her alone when she specifically asked him to then maybe the pepper spray would have been appropriate. Or if the OP had gotten violent then the pepper spray would be appropriate. Yes there are creepy people and women have to be wary of that sort of attention but assaulting someone for receiving a compliment is wrong. Hey if this is ok then next time someone asks me for a dollar for bus fair i'll just pepper spray them and be like oops, I thought you were a mugger.

#79, Thanks for adding some hard truths that many here are unable or unwilling to face. As others said, there seems a lot to this story that we don't know. Women carry sprays because they are disproportionately disadvantaged by size and weight (and sometimes by high heels). Sprays are tricky (can blow back in own face), so they aren't used unless the perceived threat is worse than the possible back-spray. This woman was more scared of OP than she was of getting the pepper in her own eyes.

"How about you leave women the **** alone? If they want you to talk to them, they will let you know." Yes, because no couple in the history of the entire planet was ever created by a man managing to suck up his fear of rejection and going over to talk to that chick they don't know, but would like to. It is absolutely ridiculous to say don't talk to us unless we talk to you. It creates a world where men are treated like criminals to enact such a standard and that is bullshit. I've been in several horrible scary situations involving people on the street but I refuse to act like all men are guilty of being scum just to avoid the few that actually are.

Thank you, a lot of these comments were making me nauseous.

#79 - goddamn that might be the stupidest ******* thing ive read in a while. women scared to walk the streets? how about we lleave them alone, and only speak when spoken to? funny that, considering that when men thought that should be the policy for women, we were called sexist chauvinistic pigs and women got all politically active for equality. now, im not saying it didnt need to be changed, it did, but im saying think about what the hell you just said, and quite frankly, if there werent such strict gun laws for law abiding citizens, the rape rates would go down, the southern united states is proof of that. im from arkansas, and rape is a rarity here, because getting your dick wet isnt really worth the risk that the 110 pound wisp of a woman youve been eyeing might be packing a snub nose .357