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Say the introduction referenced her passion for the St. Louis Cardinals, weird attachment to the Cookie Monster, or insistence on always ordering pad thai. Suc

Say the introduction referenced her passion for the St. Louis Cardinals, weird attachment to the Cookie Monster, or insistence on always ordering pad thai. Such remarks would be equally irrelevant to her professional qualifications, easily understood as humorous and rounding out the person, and forgotten. I listened to the remarks, they weren't particularly well thought out ("one of the smartest ladies i know"? that's an interesting sub-set) and so fell short of the courtesy I'd hope to offer. But they're just sloppy and clearly the introducer was quite enthusiastic about her credentials. In this society, to be called "sexist" is pretty close to excommunication. So maybe we ought to be more careful about how we use the term.

jdp23 15y ago
> In this society, to be called "sexist" is pretty close to excommunication. Nonsense. Larry Summers, Michael Arrington, and tons of other guys have done just fine after being called sexist. > So maybe we ought to be more careful about how we use the term. Or, maybe we ought to be more careful about saying sexist things!
- chernevik 15y ago
  Impressive zealotry, comrade.
- pyre 15y ago
  >> So maybe we ought to be more careful about >> how we use the term. > > Or, maybe we ought to be more careful about > saying sexist things! Reworded in the context of McCarthyism: >> In this society, being labelled a "Communist" >> is pretty close to excommunication. So maybe we >> ought to be more careful about how we use the >> term. > > Or, maybe we ought to be more careful about saying > Communist things!
rmc 15y ago
That's apples and oranges. There are lots of little things you bring up "attachement to Cookie Monster" etc., there is not a history of people being oppressed based on that. There is a not a bias against people who like pad thai. However there is a history of oppression against women. There are not enough women working in tech and start ups. We can rag on st-louis-cardinal fans all day and it probably won't affect things too much. But if we only judge women based on sexual reasons then that will drive women away. It's not the same. In this society, to be called "sexist" is pretty close to excommunication. Hardly. There is lots of sexism in the world and this society and people are doing fine.
- chernevik 15y ago
  So you've got a list of ideologically significant incidentals, and any reference to them is, necessarily and always, Thought Crime. If you want to damage your brain that way it's your business but don't expect me to do the same. "But if we judge women based on sexual reasons then that will drive women away." WOW I DID NOT KNOW THAT. Listen, sanctimonious repetition of platitudes does not constitute an argument that any particular incident is a platitude violation.

jdp23 15y ago

> In this society, to be called "sexist" is pretty close to excommunication. Nonsense. Larry Summers, Michael Arrington, and tons of other guys have done just fine after being called sexist. > So maybe we ought to be more careful about how we use the term. Or, maybe we ought to be more careful about saying sexist things!

chernevik 15y ago
Impressive zealotry, comrade.
pyre 15y ago
>> So maybe we ought to be more careful about >> how we use the term. > > Or, maybe we ought to be more careful about > saying sexist things! Reworded in the context of McCarthyism: >> In this society, being labelled a "Communist" >> is pretty close to excommunication. So maybe we >> ought to be more careful about how we use the >> term. > > Or, maybe we ought to be more careful about saying > Communist things!

rmc 15y ago

That's apples and oranges. There are lots of little things you bring up "attachement to Cookie Monster" etc., there is not a history of people being oppressed based on that. There is a not a bias against people who like pad thai. However there is a history of oppression against women. There are not enough women working in tech and start ups. We can rag on st-louis-cardinal fans all day and it probably won't affect things too much. But if we only judge women based on sexual reasons then that will drive women away. It's not the same. In this society, to be called "sexist" is pretty close to excommunication. Hardly. There is lots of sexism in the world and this society and people are doing fine.

chernevik 15y ago
So you've got a list of ideologically significant incidentals, and any reference to them is, necessarily and always, Thought Crime. If you want to damage your brain that way it's your business but don't expect me to do the same. "But if we judge women based on sexual reasons then that will drive women away." WOW I DID NOT KNOW THAT. Listen, sanctimonious repetition of platitudes does not constitute an argument that any particular incident is a platitude violation.