FreakingPenguin's recent activity

  1. Comment on Israeli Christians protest artwork depicting Ronald McDonald as ‘McJesus’ in ~humanities

    FreakingPenguin
    Link
    I'm sure there's a debate to be found in the artistic value of McJesus, but behavior like that should never be tolerated.

    Some protesters threw fire bombs and stones at the museum and attempted to enter the building to remove the sculpture.

    I'm sure there's a debate to be found in the artistic value of McJesus, but behavior like that should never be tolerated.

    6 votes

  2. Comment on A new "short film" by razor company Gillette has called for men to be the best they can be, sparking a significant backlash in ~life.men

    FreakingPenguin
    (edited )
    Link Parent
    See above comment. Edit: Also see Algernon_Asimov's comment. It has a lot more examples.

    See above comment.

    Edit: Also see Algernon_Asimov's comment. It has a lot more examples.

    2 votes

  3. Comment on A new "short film" by razor company Gillette has called for men to be the best they can be, sparking a significant backlash in ~life.men

    FreakingPenguin
    (edited )
    Link Parent
    Source. Keep in mind this is for official police reports. With social media, where there's far lower barriers and a disconnect with reality, it is very very hard to argue that this would be lower....

    4% of cases of sexual violence reported to the UK police are found or suspected to be false. Studies carried out in Europe and in the US indicate rates of between 2% and 6%.

    Source. Keep in mind this is for official police reports. With social media, where there's far lower barriers and a disconnect with reality, it is very very hard to argue that this would be lower.

    You asked for an example of this happening. I gave a well documented and confirmed example where someone's livelihood was destroyed by repeated false sexual harassment claims from multiple people, and you say that's not enough? How many more do you think go unreported? Not everyone is a famous theater director. The ball is in your court, not mine.

    And besides, my original comment is talking about the public's perception and why it would cause such a backlash. I've shown that 57% of adults have reservations about the #MeToo movement, and as such why they might have similar reservations about a commercial that paints it in a positive light without acknowledging the potential pitfalls.

    Edit: Phrasing. I can never seem to type these right first try.

    4 votes

  4. Comment on A new "short film" by razor company Gillette has called for men to be the best they can be, sparking a significant backlash in ~life.men

    FreakingPenguin
    Link Parent
    Here's an article about a Swedish man who committed suicide after facing repeated accusations of sexual harrassment (and worse). The city had later done an investigation into these claims and...

    Here's an article about a Swedish man who committed suicide after facing repeated accusations of sexual harrassment (and worse). The city had later done an investigation into these claims and "found no evidence of sexual misconduct by Fredriksson".

    It's also apparently common enough for a law firm to dedicate part of their website to it. (Of course, that deals with officially being accused of the crime alongside a public accusation.)

    In regards to the public's reaction to this video, 57% of adults have said that the "#MeToo movement has made them equally concerned for young men facing false accusations".

    Edit: )

    6 votes

  5. Comment on A new "short film" by razor company Gillette has called for men to be the best they can be, sparking a significant backlash in ~life.men

    FreakingPenguin
    Link Parent
    It's not like they simply namedropped #MeToo partway through. Their commercial started out with it. This shows Gilette views it as a core part of the message their trying to get across.

    It's not like they simply namedropped #MeToo partway through. Their commercial started out with it. This shows Gilette views it as a core part of the message their trying to get across.

    9 votes

  6. Comment on A new "short film" by razor company Gillette has called for men to be the best they can be, sparking a significant backlash in ~life.men

    FreakingPenguin
    Link
    I think that the backlash that this ad receives shows that it failed at its purpose. It didn't spark a discussion, at least among those men who do exhibit some/all of these behaviors. Maybe you...

    I think that the backlash that this ad receives shows that it failed at its purpose. It didn't spark a discussion, at least among those men who do exhibit some/all of these behaviors. Maybe you might say "They're mad at the "radical" message, lol. Radical as in telling men not to be assholes", but I would say exactly! You can't get a message through to a group by insulting them. (Not to say that everyone who dislikes this message is an asshole. But I'd imagine that the assholes do dislike this ad. A square-rectangle deal.)

    This comment on Reddit does a better job at expressing my reservations than I seem to be able to write. Relevent snippet for the lazy.

    However, that simply defines good masculinity as not toxic masculinity. It doesn't mention male behaviour that isn't defined in these terms. It never mentions achievement, competency, healthy sexuality, brotherhood...all male-male interactions in the advert are portrayed negatively and in need of being called out. [...] given this over-focus on toxic masculinity, it inevitably loses men along the way. Male behaviour is to be challenged and changed constantly. Only some men are being good parents, only some men don't mansplain, only some men don't sexually harass...its infantilising.

    Edit: '

    10 votes

  7. Comment on A new "short film" by razor company Gillette has called for men to be the best they can be, sparking a significant backlash in ~life.men

    FreakingPenguin
    Link Parent
    The opening of the ad starts with fictional covering of a #MeToo movement. It's also being reported as supportive of #MeToo pretty much everywhere. (Business Insider, Forbes, WSJ) Maybe Gilette...

    The opening of the ad starts with fictional covering of a #MeToo movement. It's also being reported as supportive of #MeToo pretty much everywhere. (Business Insider, Forbes, WSJ) Maybe Gilette hadn't intended to link themselves so closely with #MeToo, but starting with a newscast and being reported as such does just that.

    Edit: ()

    6 votes

  8. Comment on A new "short film" by razor company Gillette has called for men to be the best they can be, sparking a significant backlash in ~life.men

    FreakingPenguin
    Link Parent
    Some of the outrage can be partially explained by Gilette showing unconditional support for the #MeToo movement. Don't get me wrong, it has done wonderful things and given victims a voice. But...

    Some of the outrage can be partially explained by Gilette showing unconditional support for the #MeToo movement. Don't get me wrong, it has done wonderful things and given victims a voice. But there are justified concerns that it can ruin someone's reputation by baseless accusations. The thinking goes that a career built up over a lifetime can be torn down in an instant, solely by someone deciding to accuse a man of sexual harrassment, regardless of it its true. The court of public opinion does not care about innocent until proven guilty, and we would do well to consider that.

    5 votes

  9. Comment on Rahaf Alqunun granted asylum in Canada in ~news

    FreakingPenguin
    Link
    That is a fair point. Obviously it worked out well for Rahaf, but Saudi Arabia is notoriously bad about human trafficking. It's largely a destination country, sure, but I'm curious how many...

    In a statement late Saturday, the group’s director, Muftal al-Qahtani, slammed alleged political motives of some countries and said attempts to encourage these women to disobey their families leaves some vulnerable to abuse and trafficking [...] Al-Qahtani insisted women facing abuse in the kingdom can turn to Saudi authorities and local organizations for assistance.

    That is a fair point. Obviously it worked out well for Rahaf, but Saudi Arabia is notoriously bad about human trafficking. It's largely a destination country, sure, but I'm curious how many unreported escapees are abducted while trying to flee abuse.

    As for the second statement, Saudi Arabia seems to be working to reduce domestic violence, but the systems in place fail to provide adequate protection for women.

    [W]omen in social protection units generally are barred from leaving these facilities without a guardian or mahram to receive them. [...] The authorities continue to refuse service to women at police stations and informally request the permission of their guardians.

    So all in all, a bad situation to be in.

    Edit: Phrasing

    1 vote

  10. Comment on The future of the minimum wage is alive in Seattle in ~finance

    FreakingPenguin
    (edited )
    Link
    It's worth noting that the CPI-U (Consumer Price Index for all Urban Customers, basically the price for common goods) rose more in the Seattle area than the national CPI-U. (2.8% vs 1.9% over the...

    It's worth noting that the CPI-U (Consumer Price Index for all Urban Customers, basically the price for common goods) rose more in the Seattle area than the national CPI-U. (2.8% vs 1.9% over the past year). This partially mitigates some of the effects of a higher minimum wage and also hurts those earning above minimum wage more.

    Edit: On average, Seattle metro wages & salaries rose 3.7% from Sept. 2017 to 2018, as opposed to 3.1% nationally. Source.

    With the CPI-U increasing .9% more than the national average, but wages & salaries only increasing by .6% more, people in Seattle had slower real wage growth than if they lived in the average U.S. city. This isn't a perfect comparison (the first statistic tracks from Dec. 2017 to 2018 and the second from Sept. 2017 to 2018) but it's still interesting to consider.

    I'm sure the armchair economist did something wrong in his analysis, so feel free to correct me.

    2 votes