The professor of the #distractinglysexy fame loses his job

[merithyn]

Do you honestly do not get my concerns at all here? I get where you are coming from you don't need to capitalize things and go constantly. There is something about it that makes me feel uneasy.

I get your concerns, but they aren't warranted in this particular case. Which I said, ages ago. That on a case-by-case basis, it may or may not be fair to fire someone based on what they say in social media. This wasn't on social media, so it doesn't apply, which is why I'm confused on why you are complaining about what happened to the guy.

As for your other concerns regarding social media, I like the "Right to be Forgotten" bills that are being put forward. I don't think that someone should be "unhireable" forever due to a single lapse in judgment, no.

[Valmy]

I get your concerns, but they aren't warranted in this particular case. Which I said, ages ago. That on a case-by-case basis, it may or may not be fair to fire someone based on what they say in social media.

Cool then perhaps we are done here. Except I don't think the mob is capable of making careful and just determinations based on a case-by-case basis. But it sounds like we basically agree. I am shedding no tears for this particular dude he is retired and had a non-job.

[derspiess]

As for your other concerns regarding social media, I like the "Right to be Forgotten" bills that are being put forward. I don't think that someone should be "unhireable" forever due to a single lapse in judgment, no.

Those bills sound like "Right to Misunderstand Technology" to me.

[merithyn]

Then maybe women aren't as strong as I thought.  I guess I've just been spoiled by the women in my life, all of which would be strong & thick-skinned enough not to let a bad joke like this get to them.

The dude made a bad joke that he shouldn't have made-- I will agree with that much.  But all the shrieking & outrage (faux or otherwise) surprises me even in this day and age.

You're missing the point. This isn't about how strong or otherwise women are or are not. This wasn't a bad joke, and he never said it was. (His wife called it that; he didn't.) This is about an institutional record of women being treated poorly in the workplace, so why go into that workplace? This is about creating a hostile work environment, and then saying, "You just have to be tough." Why do that to yourself when there are other options?

As for the "shrieking" (which is a term you reserve for women and gays being upset, I should note), there is systemic sexism in the sciences. Numerous studies have shown this. Perhaps if it's brought up and fought against, it will stop, and women will be able to go into the sciences without going into a hostile work environment. I see no problem with that.

[Valmy]

Well I am not necessarily disagreeing. I am just concerned about where that might lead or what the implications might be.

East Germany.

I do think about how much they would have loved the internet age. If only they could have stayed around for a few more decades.

[Legbiter]

Well I am not necessarily disagreeing. I am just concerned about where that might lead or what the implications might be.

East Germany.

I do think about how much they would have loved the internet age. If only they could have stayed around for a few more decades.

Aye, STASI would have made Twitter usage mandatory, for instance. 

[The Brain]

I think it is a common part of human nature: to be continually lauded as an absolutely top expert in one field swells the ego, until the person starts to assume he's an equal genius in everything else - including whatever cranky bigotry he or she may develop on completely unrelated topics.

Fuck you.

[DGuller]

then are you arguing employers shouldn't be allowed to dismiss employees when an employee brings about public embarrassment?

I doubt that would work, but may be better than nothing.  Right now it's all too easy for employers to take the easy cowardly way out rather than stick up for what could've been a very valuable and loyal employee.  Even if the whole reason the company is brought public embarrassment is because some Twitter sociopaths bring the company into it to get the victim fired.

lynching is a mob bypassing a court system to execute a person. what has the social media mob bypassed?

Congrats on picking out the least relevant aspect of that comparison.  The point is that the person is being judged by a crowd in the heat of the moment, rather than in an organized process that lets the accused defend himself, and lets people meting out the punishment consider what is fitting.

[DGuller]

You're missing the point. This isn't about how strong or otherwise women are or are not. This wasn't a bad joke, and he never said it was. (His wife called it that; he didn't.) This is about an institutional record of women being treated poorly in the workplace, so why go into that workplace? This is about creating a hostile work environment, and then saying, "You just have to be tough." Why do that to yourself when there are other options?

To be fair, the first story I read about this devoted the second half of it to the accounts of women scientists who actually were working for him or with him.  They all has positive things to say about him, and claimed that they were treated very fairly, and were sad that one incident like that would define his career.

[Valmy]

To be fair, the first story I read about this devoted the second half of it to the accounts of women scientists who actually were working for him or with him.  They all has positive things to say about him, and claimed that they were treated very fairly, and were sad that one incident like that would define his career.

People are not judged by what they actually do. They are judged by whatever sound byte goes public.

[Valmy]

Congrats on picking out the least relevant aspect of that comparison.  The point is that the person is being judged by a crowd in the heat of the moment, rather than in an organized process that lets the accused defend himself, and lets people meting out the punishment consider what is fitting.

Yep.

[The Brain]

Women being treated unfairly in a professional scientific setting can have horrible results: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zs10Bd2zh8U

[Valmy]

It is not like women were better treated in fields they now are doing very well in. I don't think it is a matter of scientists just being extraordinarily more viciously misogynistic than lawyers or doctors ever were. But I don't really have a good explanation.

[LaCroix]

then are you arguing employers shouldn't be allowed to dismiss employees when an employee brings about public embarrassment?

I doubt that would work, but may be better than nothing.  Right now it's all too easy for employers to take the easy cowardly way out rather than stick up for what could've been a very valuable and loyal employee.  Even if the whole reason the company is brought public embarrassment is because some Twitter sociopaths bring the company into it to get the victim fired.

lynching is a mob bypassing a court system to execute a person. what has the social media mob bypassed?

Congrats on picking out the least relevant aspect of that comparison.  The point is that the person is being judged by a crowd in the heat of the moment, rather than in an organized process that lets the accused defend himself, and lets people meting out the punishment consider what is fitting.

then your complaint is with the companies that fired him rather than those that complained about his actions. do you think the companies that fired him didn't consider the punishment fitting? how do you think they reached their decision to fire him - do you think it was a different process than they use in other situations? to me, it sounds like they used the same process they would use if an employee was indicted with murder or rape. the only difference is you seem to dislike the result this process reached in this particular instance. that's your personal opinion rather than an anything objective.

re: your first comment, do you think it's a good idea to remove companies' ability to fire someone for statements he makes in public?

[KRonn]

Yeah he should have been made fun of for that, that is hilariously stupid, but fire him? So much for wanting gender to be a conversation. If you say something wrong in the conversation you will have your life ruined.

Agreed. It happens with many issues.