CaptainChip said:
I think the issue some people, such as myself, have with it is that it's a stupid quote.
Not saying that OP is bad for using it, but the quote itself is just silly.
Not a fan of Margaret Atwood then? Still bitter from reading the Handmaiden's Tale in highschool?
You guys realize that the quote is a joke, right? It's dark humor - an intentional oversimplification of the situation. Also, the quote is specifically about when one person asks another person out on a date, not overall life fears.
The point of the joke is that when one person asks another person out, usually the worst a man has to fear is rejection - ie, being laughed at. The worst a woman has to fear is being fucking murdered, as is the exact situation described in the articles posted by the OP.
Every single person posting that their worst fear isn't being laughed at is missing the damn point - of course that isn't the worst fear of every man ever. But "worst fear when asking/being asked out" - ie, a fear about the reaction of the other person - is the worst thing that is going to happen to them. There aren't any cases (as far as I'm aware) where a woman murdered a man after while being asked out.
Thus, when asking someone out, the worst thing a man has to fear is rejection - that is the worst possible outcome.
When asking or being asked out, the worst thing a woman has to fear is being fucking murdered. It isn't likely, but it is a possible outcome - case in point, the links presented by the OP.
That is the dark humor of the joke. Because it's ironic, and true.
AND, being a joke, it doesn't apply to everyone. The joke entirely non-cis relationships. I'm sure homosexual individuals occasionally murder one another as well (although I've never heard of a case) but the joke generalizes gay people out of existence entirely.
The point being, you can not like the quote, but if you don't like it because it isn't 100% accurate, then you're missing the point because it isn't trying to be. It's a joke. A dark, sad joke.