So there was this female speaker on an elevator

[The Central Scrutinizer]

You're wrong.

No, I am not.

It was the height of unprofessional behavior and unethical argumentation.

She wasn't participating in a debate.

Watson is a bully, and she knows it. Fortunately for her, she is a bully with powerful defenders, and will likely get away with it.

"Get away" with what, exactly?

 

[Darat]

Or being hit on by the wrong people, i.e. "creepers".

That does seem to be the definition.

 

[johnny karate]

You know, somewhere there's probably a perfectly innocent - if socially awkward - man thinking what a presumptuous egomaniac Rebecca is for assuming that because he offered coffee and a chat, he must have been sexually attracted to her.

 

[gnome]

@Darat, TCS, What gives you that impression?

 

[Information Analyst]

Hmmm.. to me from the same side of the atlantic 'Don't take this the wrong way' is up there with 'I'm not a racist/sexist/homophobe/prude but...' as a weasel phrase which actually means the opposite of what it says.

Oh, sure, it could be in some cases, but I just think that generally it wouldn't be.

 

[Skeptic Ginger]

Wasn't she banned for sock-puppeting?

I believe the permanent ban was after abusing inadvertent access to the super secret Mod Controls.

 

[Antiquehunter]

You know, somewhere there's probably a perfectly innocent - if socially awkward - man thinking what a presumptuous egomaniac Rebecca is for assuming that because he offered coffee and a chat, he must have been sexually attracted to her.

He's stuck in an elevator in Dublin, still trying to get it up... er... to go down...

Oh, nevermind.

 

[3point14]

Wow, talk about a storm in a teacup.

I'm afraid that men are allowed to speak to ladies. Even in elevators.

I'm afraid that men are allowed to attempt to pick up ladies for casual sex. Even in elevators.

Women are afforded the same privilidges.


This whole thing is not even remorely gender based, just a clumsy, unwanted social interaction, they happen all the time. If there was this much fuss every time someone made an unwanted sexual advance we'd have to clear the internet of porn to make room. (Yes, I realise the irony in commenting myself)


Just because someone was offended by something someone said it doesn't mean that they have no right to say it. Of course, the offended party has every right to be offended, but it doesn't make the authour of the offensive comment a bad person.

Oh, and if someone has a particular problem with being alone with a stranger in elevators then perhaps they should use the stairs.

 

[The Central Scrutinizer]

@Darat, TCS, What gives you that impression?

What impression?

 

[Darat]

Let's support the cause of feminism! Women are every bit as capable as men, and every bit their equal. Of course, we should be careful how we act around them, especially in enclosed spaces, because they're a bit delicate and scare very easily.

That is going too far as we do know for a fact that women in some circumstances are at a much higher risk of harm than a man would be. (That is also the case for males - there are situations in which a man would be at more risk of harm than a woman.)

So having a fear based on facts is not irrational and I think then there could be changes made to behaviour - of men and women - to address that fear. For example there was something locally here about increasing the lighting in a carpark; the result was that it increased the number of women using the car park and decreased the number of women being harmed. So a fear of a dark carpark may not be irrational for a woman. (The article I read did not talk about the safety of men using the carpark so they may have been at equal risk I just don't know.)

 

[Starthinker]

Rebecca once lamented over topics like this...

 

[AvalonXQ]

She wasn't participating in a debate.

No, she was a keynote speaker.
She should have acted like one, rather than a bully.

 

[Darat]

@Darat, TCS, What gives you that impression?

That terribly unscientific "life experience"!

 

[slingblade]

Let's support the cause of feminism! Women are every bit as capable as men, and every bit their equal. Of course, we should be careful how we act around them, especially in enclosed spaces, because they're a bit delicate and scare very easily.

I've been working very hard lately, physically and mentally. I've brought decades of experience to bear, and have, frankly, worked minor miracles.

My brother-in-law, who is my employer, took note of my efforts recently. He did not praise either my physical strength or my intellect. Instead, he told me I'm "beautiful."

I'm 52. I'm overweight, toothless, and wrinkled. I have bags and dark circles under my eyes. My skin is scarred all over. I'm a wreck. I'm not beautiful. I'm not even attractive anymore.

But the one thing he thought I would like to hear was not that I'm a hard-worker, or that I have a decent intellect. He thought I'd like to be flattered.

I'm not equal to a man in this situation. Not even close.

Not all men are this stupid. But as long as there are some who are, I'll always be something "less than."

 

[The Central Scrutinizer]

No, she was a keynote speaker.
She should have acted like one, rather than a bully.

Oh well.

 

[AvalonXQ]

You know, somewhere there's probably a perfectly innocent - if socially awkward - man thinking what a presumptuous egomaniac Rebecca is for assuming that because he offered coffee and a chat, he must have been sexually attracted to her.

I find that pretty likely myself.

 

[AvalonXQ]

I
Not all men are this stupid. But as long as there are some who are, I'll always be something "less than."

No, they are something "less than". You are the person you are, whether some idiot can recognize it or not.

I'll never understand why some people find it so difficult to see good qualities in others.

 

[Skeptic Ginger]

I think what Watson was trying to get at, is that in the past being hit on and feeling objectified has been a constant problem at atheist conventions, and actually has acted as a deterrent for many females that might have otherwise attended. She was using this as an example of the sort of conduct she wants to see stop, as part of her effort to create an environment where female skeptics feel comfortable coming to skeptic activities.

An anecdotal example is not supporting evidence of her conclusion. I would guess maybe Rebecca has had some women reinforce her conclusion but that would represent a biased sample.

The conclusion that women are deterred from attending remains unsupported.

 

[AdMan]

Is anyone else reminded of that Seinfeld episode where George turns down a late-night offer of coffee from a beautiful woman because coffee keeps him up at night? Only later does he realize what he did:

George: She invited me up. Coffee's not coffee, coffee is sex.

Elaine: Maybe coffee was coffee.

George: Coffee's coffee in the morning, it's not coffee at twelve o clock at

night.

Elaine: Well some people drink coffee that late.

George: Yeah, people who work at NORAD, who're on twenty-four hour missile

watch.

 

[slingblade]

No, they are something "less than". You are the person you are, whether some idiot can recognize it or not.

I'll never understand why some people find it so difficult to see good qualities in others.

You try 52 years of putting up with this. Then we can talk.