| |||||||||||||
Aurora: DEFCON: Why conference harassment mattersAurora: DEFCON: Why conference harassment mattersPosted Aug 15, 2012 16:15 UTC (Wed) by louie (subscriber, #3285)In reply to: Aurora: DEFCON: Why conference harassment matters by slashdot Parent article: Aurora: DEFCON: Why conference harassment matters but that's kind of fixable by bluntly saying "I don't like you" or the like You didn't really read the article, did you? Say, the part about conference organizers having a contest encouraging people to say "show me your boobs"? The part about guys licking women at a bar? The evidence is quite strong that saying "I don't like you" is not even close to starting to solve the problem. Men have to take responsibility for the atmosphere they create, not create an atmosphere where assault is tolerated and then say "take it to the police if you have a problem." (And of course it should go without saying that blaming the victim ("just wear something non-revealing") is so wrong that I don't even know where to start critiquing it. But apparently it has to be said, so here, I'm saying it.) (Actually, here is how I will critique it: your statement is so offensive that it makes me want to punch you in the face, because you are part of the problem. However, our (quite correct) social norms are that it would be my fault if I punched you in the face, because I'm an adult and I can control my own behaviors, even when provoked by outrageously offensive statements. So the correct response to "your offensive statements make me want to punch you in the face" is not "you should stop saying things I find offensive"; the correct response is "I should not punch you in the face based on how offensive your statements are." Similarly, devaluing someone as a human being based on what they wear is something that you, as an adult, can control. So the correct response to "your clothing makes me devalue you as a human being" is not "you should stop wearing clothing that makes me devalue you as a human being," but "I should not devalue you as a human being based on what you are wearing.")
(Log in to post comments)
Aurora: DEFCON: Why conference harassment matters Posted Aug 15, 2012 17:48 UTC (Wed) by rahvin (subscriber, #16953) [Link]
I think the "take it to the police" statement is quite funny actually, because were the women actually to do that he would be screaming bloody murder. A few of the actions described would actually qualify as a sex crime in most states. That puts you on the sex offender registry for life in most states and also means you can't live within 1000' of a park or school and lots of other nasty consequences like disclosing to all potential employers that you are a sex offender and having neighbors posting your picture on telephone polls to warn people their is a sex offender in the neighborhood.
There would be a dramatic change in atmosphere after a few attendees ended up in jail but I doubt anyone wants it to reach that level (including the women) but I have to say if they don't listen to what she's saying that exactly what might happen. This isn't a joking matter, just like the other articles have said if this atmosphere continues this will mean not a single company will attend or participate if for no other reason then being associated when the inevitable bad press hits.
Aurora: DEFCON: Why conference harassment matters Posted Aug 16, 2012 8:33 UTC (Thu) by eliezert (subscriber, #35757) [Link]
If it's either "a few (guilty) attendees end up in jail" or " many (innocent) women will be harassed and stop coming" I prefer the former.
There should be a zero-tolerance policy, as in "we will cooperate with law enforcement so you go to jail, if you can't keep your hands to yourself". It is a criminal offense, people should not have an expectation of getting away with it.
Aurora: DEFCON: Why conference harassment matters Posted Aug 16, 2012 8:47 UTC (Thu) by dgm (subscriber, #49227) [Link]
In that sense it should not be different from stealing, or any other serious offense.
|
|||||||||||||