Political Correctness Strikes Again

[Thomas]

So far none have won a Nobel Prize so I would say the bar is much lower.

 

You DON'T know me!

[mtangelsfan]

He didn't really get fired for one mistake.  He got fired because the company probably didn't want to deal with the backlash.  People are fired for stupid PR reasons every day.

 

That is just semantics.  The so called backlash would be from one mistake.

 

The companies have every right to fire him, I just think the reasoning is horrible and speaks to a time on this planet when words seem to mean more than actions.

 

 

 

And that is a crappy, crappy thing.

[yk9001]

So far none have won a Nobel Prize so I would say the bar is much lower.

 

That makes no sense.

[Blarg]

The Standard he is judged upon is a Nobel Prize laureate in science, not a beer drinking champion. His bar is a bit higher than the AW fanbase in expectations.

[Adam]

The Standard he is judged upon is a Nobel Prize laureate in science, not a beer drinking champion. His bar is a bit higher than the AW fanbase in expectations.

 

Jerk

 

I think

[Blarg]

No really, the bars in England are much higher.

[Jay]

liberal fascism

[red321]

Please, did you or nate even read the article?  Even other women scientists think the results of this have gone too far.

 

Have we really come to a point in society where one mistake should cost you everything? 

 

Yes, I read the article..did you? This isn't some woman who is recognized in a video and fired from her job which has nothing to do with her job. He didn't make the comment in a private forum...he didn't make a facebook post...he stated, in a public forum, in an official capacity, that girls cause trouble in labs because men can't keep their libido in check...or somehow women are inferior to men in a lab setting.

 

 

Hunt's fall followed a speech Tuesday at the World Conference of Science Journalists in South Korea in which he said that girls cause trouble in labs because "you fall in love with them, they fall in love with you, and when you criticize them, they cry."

 

 

Should it cost him everything? Probably not. Should he continue in a position of leadership where has an significant influence? Probably not, at least without being out of the limelight for a period. It's easy to be a man and say to yourself...oh...he made a dumb comment...it's another thing to be a woman who has struggled and toils for years to get these positions in labs and then be told...you're too damn sexy...you cry...because some men can't control themselves you won't get those opportunities.

[mtangelsfan]

Yes, I read the article..did you? This isn't some woman who is recognized in a video and fired from her job which has nothing to do with her job. He didn't make the comment in a private forum...he didn't make a facebook post...he stated, in a public forum, in an official capacity, that girls cause trouble in labs because men can't keep their libido in check...or somehow women are inferior to men in a lab setting.

 

 

Hunt's fall followed a speech Tuesday at the World Conference of Science Journalists in South Korea in which he said that girls cause trouble in labs because "you fall in love with them, they fall in love with you, and when you criticize them, they cry."

 

 

Should it cost him everything? Probably not. Should he continue in a position of leadership where has an significant influence? Probably not, at least without being out of the limelight for a period. It's easy to be a man and say to yourself...oh...he made a dumb comment...it's another thing to be a woman who has struggled and toils for years to get these positions in labs and then be told...you're too damn sexy...you cry...because some men can't control themselves you won't get those opportunities.

 

Yet his history and all public speeches before had nothing like that. 

 

What matters more red, actions or words?

[Thomas]

The Standard he is judged upon is a Nobel Prize laureate in science, not a beer drinking champion. His bar is a bit higher than the AW fanbase in expectations.

 

Clearly you have never been to Los Alamos

[Adam]

There's a reason why the only speech nerds give is the valedictory. 

[red321]

Yet his history and all public speeches before had nothing like that. 

 

What matters more red, actions or words?

 

Overly simplistic viewpoint of things.

 

But I would agree that if he were to make a concerted effort to change hiring practices, start a dialogue on giving qualified women more opportunities in labs, etc. etc....that would go a long way towards addressing the situation and rehabbing his reputation.

[mtangelsfan]

speaking of oversimplification, I do find it amusing that a man is partially dismissing my opinion on this because I am a man.

 

Kind of funny.

[yk9001]

I wonder if this person has ever been involved with hiring at his work:

 

Sore vagina?

 

 

And I know there are many other examples.  Going back to Troy Glaus sitting out games.

[red321]

I never dismissed your opinion...I stated how it's much easier for men to try and dismiss it as compared to women who have to compete in such an environment. I think that's actually a part of the uphill struggle that women have competing in some of these environments...not just the attitudes, but the thought process of others who say..."oh, he just said something dumb...he doesn't really believe it and that doesn't really happen".

[mtangelsfan]

I never tried to make an argument about his motives.  My points are that society has become so burdensome with how people are watched, recorded and publicized.  So much so that one very small portion of one speech out of hundreds of speeches can wipe out a lifetime of exemplerary work.  So much so that even though there was absolutely no history of mysoginistic behavior from this person he is now a misogynist.  70 plus years of seemingly doing the right thing for one small comment.  I think we as a society have become too sensitive.  I fear we will get to a point where only stupid people will ever speak out in public because all of the smart ones know better than to do so.

 

The only part of society where it doesn't seem to matter what you say or do is politics.

[red321]

And I would say that context means everything. As I said, he's not making those comments as some yokel on facebook, or even some blowhard on a "news" program. He's an influential person, who was speaking in a professional capacity, reinforcing an opinion or belief that it's pretty apparent hit a strong nerve with a lot of people in his industry. The article certainly reference some women who stood up for them, and I think that speaks well for him. There was also a meme, including many professional women in the scientific community who took extreme umbrage with his comments...in large part because it expressed a viewpoint that they've had to struggle and fight against their entire career.

[Tank]

My point isn't that what this guy said is ok, but that usually one mistake should not cost somebody everything they have worked for.  Especially someone with such a great record.

Agree. The punishment needs to fit the crime. That hasn't happened here in this case.

[InsideThePark]

Way too overly PC.

[yk9001]

A bunch of you guys sound like sh*theads.  I hope that doesn't get me fired.

[AngelsLongBall]

A bunch of you guys sound like sh*theads.  I hope that doesn't get me fired.

If you don't point the finger at me for my AWAD dealings, I'll pretend this never happened

[InsideThePark]

After reading the first reply to this thread about how he should resign, I was expecting to see something pretty bad. As Adam said, it was nothing more than a bad joke.

[Glen]

It's a "bad joke" that reflects what he was really thinking, or else he wouldn't have said it.  I hate that namby-pamby shit: "lighten up, I was just joking."  It's a safety net for trying to broadcast stupid opinions.  If you're going to fall back on something you say being a joke, you should give a hint before saying it that it is a joke.  

 

That said, perhaps the punishment was indeed too harsh.  

[InsideThePark]

That said, perhaps the punishment was indeed too harsh.

Regardless of your other interpretations, that was my point.

[Blarg]

There seems to be a lot of sensitive men revealing their feminine side in this thread.