This was not a conspiracy between predators. One flaw in good people is that they can't fully grasp that other people are bad. Clark probably did think a stern talking-to solved the problem, because if the roles were reversed, it totally would have! Clark would have been mortified to be on the other end of that talk. The only way Clark would do what McCreepy did is by accident, so to him, that explanation makes perfect sense. The idea that a true creep knows to repress his grabby tendencies for a few weeks before going full tentacles again would never have crossed the mind of an honorable guy like Clark.

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But here's the end result of Clark's well-meaning attempt to manage the situation: Women learned not to even try talking to him the next time McCreepster went full grabby, figuring their only options were to suffer in silence or leave. Clark would surely be repulsed at getting lumped in as part of the problem and would swear he hates that the women feel that way, but none of those feelings change the outcome.

The thing is, it actually takes a huge amount of effort to protect people, because predators plan their whole lives around these opportunities. There are creeps who literally chose their careers based on who it'd let them be alone with. I've known people -- both guys and girls -- who've carefully arranged a night out and everyone's transportation in just such a way so that they'd wind up alone with the (drunk) person they wanted to make a move on.

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So what the women needed was for Clark to not neglect that basic level of protective shit. Save her a seat before he can slide his slimy ass beside her. Offer to walk her to the bus. Show up where and when he said he would. Have her back while she figures out what she wants to do about it, and don't make a hard situation any harder for her than it already is. If she told you she was allergic to shellfish, you wouldn't hand her a Delights from Under the Sea sandwich and expect her to pick all the prawns out of the mayonnaise, no matter how stern a conversation you'd already had with it.