The Off Topic Topic

[crazy canuck]

Jury awarded 15 million. 5 in punitive, but there's a 350k cap for punitive damages.

Headline from the Beaverton "Jury finds Depp is the bigger celebrity"

[The Minsky Moment]

The headline is "Depp wins" but Heard also won on her essentially identical counterclaim.

"Depp wins" because the damages awarded on his defamation claim were much greater than the damages awarded to Heard on her counterclaim.

But why is that?  The short answer is that Depp is the bigger and more bankable star and thus his reputation is worth more.

There is something troubling by that result.  It follows from the logic of defamation as a personal action in tort, which is seeking compensation for personal injury in the same way as a physical assault.  But the outcome is that it values the reputation of rich people more than poor people and thus (because people's actions are guided by the threat of litigation) a person's ability to control what people say about them is proportional to their income.

The one saving factor in US defamation cases is the "actual malice" rules for the public figures - which means the rich and famous may be able to get more in defamation damages but face a higher standard of proof on intent.  Something to consider given that the rule has faced recent attacks from figures on the right - including Trump and Justice Thomas.

[crazy canuck]

But why is that?  The short answer is that Depp is the bigger and more bankable star and thus his reputation is worth more.

You could have just read the Beaverton headline - they nailed it.

[HVC]

Is it reputation or earning ability? (Which I guess is sorta tied when you're a celebrity)

[Josquius]

I find it bizzare Johnny Depp is apparently mates with Sam fender and they spent last night in a pub I know.

[crazy canuck]

Is it reputation or earning ability? (Which I guess is sorta tied when you're a celebrity)

Defamation is damage to reputation, that may have an effect on earning ability.  So for example, in Canada and I think also the US, if you defame someone in their profession you can bring an action against the defamer without proof of financial loss.  The damage is to their professional reputation.

I always wonder about that when sports casters make less than complimentary comments about professional sports players...

[The Larch]

So, is anyone here following #Swedengate? 

[The Brain]

So, is anyone here following #Swedengate? 

Saw it mentioned but I don't know what it's about. What's the deal?

[The Larch]

So, is anyone here following #Swedengate? 

Saw it mentioned but I don't know what it's about. What's the deal?

ROTW freaking out about Swedish people not offering house guests food during visits.

[The Brain]

So, is anyone here following #Swedengate? 

Saw it mentioned but I don't know what it's about. What's the deal?

ROTW freaking out about Swedish people not offering house guests food during visits.

Which Swedes don't offer house guests food?

[The Larch]

So, is anyone here following #Swedengate? 

Saw it mentioned but I don't know what it's about. What's the deal?

ROTW freaking out about Swedish people not offering house guests food during visits.

Which Swedes don't offer house guests food?

Plenty, it seems:

#Swedengate: Twitter explodes over Swedish custom of not feeding houseguests

#Swedengate is the latest Twitter hullabaloo. What started as a conversation about some Swedish people not offering dinner to houseguests erupted into a debate about the culture and history of Sweden as a whole.

Of course, it all began with a Reddit thread.

"What's the weirdest thing you had to do at someone else's house because of their culture/religion?" a Reddit user queried in the r/AskReddit subreddit on May 25.

Of the thousands of replies to the question, one became the match that sparked an excavation into the Nordic nation, its cultural norms and its history of racism and colonization.

"I remember going to my Swedish friend's house. And while we were playing in his room, his mom yelled that dinner was ready," another Redditor replied the following day. "And check this. He told me to WAIT in his room while they ate."

'How're you going to eat without inviting your friend?'
Soon after, a self-proclaimed "guy on Twitter" tweeted a screenshot of the response, writing, "Not here to judge, but I don't understand this. How're you going to eat without inviting your friend?"

It is here that the #Swedengate hashtag seems to have originated and, as of Tuesday, the tweet has generated over 140K likes, thousands of retweets, hundreds of replies, and confusion over how quickly attitudes towards the country have changed.

"I cant believe Reddit and Twitter have changed the entire outlook of how people look at Sweden," one user tweeted. "Over 100 years of Sweden being seen as such as a good place to live and a screenshot has ruined them."

Most of the comments are sympathetic to the Reddit user's experience, with many sharing similar accounts of being excluded from family dinners in Swedish households in which they were guests.

"Laughing at twitter finding out that Swedish people will not feed strangers," tweeted Lovette Jallow, an author who emigrated to Sweden from Gambia when she was 11. "As a kid growing up here we knew to just go home around dinner time. On the flipside, my mom would feed Swedish kids though."

Even Swedish pop star Zara Larsson weighed in: "Peak Swedish culture," she tweeted.

"hi Swede here," another person replied. "This happened to me multiple times growing up. It was always the upper (white) middle-class parents of my friends that made me sit and wait (one time in the hallway) until they finished eating. My mom heard about it and never let me go back. She was right."

That's the gist of it. Then the discussion spiralled out of control into a wider range of issues, but the anecdotal part is the one quoted.

[The Brain]

Never experienced it or heard of anyone who did.

[celedhring]

I don't think I ever had dinner at a friend's house when growing up, unless it was pre-arranged. Kids were expected to eat with their families.

[Josquius]

Yeah, that's totally normal. If you just showed up at a friend's house then you're expected to go home to eat unless it's been pre arranged you're eating at their place.

I saw a map about this on reddit the other week. Apparently countries where you'll be fed and not with the nordics in the fuck no category. Which isn't my experience at all. Swedes are much more likely than Brits to roll out the cake. Albeit fewer of the far preferable biscuits.

[Duque de Bragança]

(...)
Of the thousands of replies to the question, one became the match that sparked an excavation into the Nordic nation, its cultural norms and its history of racism and colonization.

(...)
That's the gist of it. Then the discussion spiralled out of control into a wider range of issues, but the anecdotal part is the one quoted.

Seems the colonisation is a recycled soundbite of US/British/whatever identity politics not exactly relevent here.
Sweden was always a minor coloniser.

As for having food at a friend's place, being offered something to eat or drink yes, but a full meal unless pre-arranged seldom (offered sometimes however).