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I am surprised not to see the word misogynist on this page. Here, a SVP is not only threatening a reporter and her family (which is truly repugnant) and repor

I am surprised not to see the word misogynist on this page. Here, a SVP is not only threatening a reporter and her family (which is truly repugnant) and reporters generally, he's also discussing sexual assault in such a trivializing way: "He said that he thought Lacy should be held “personally responsible” for any woman who followed her lead in deleting Uber and was then sexually assaulted." The top comment on this page talks about a "visceral" feeling, I had the same one. I had the same feeling I had when I heard things like Todd Akin (a politican in the US) talking about "legitimate rape." Do we really want people like this shaping our future?

andy_ppp 12y ago
Uber has now been deleted from my phone. I hope others consider doing the same.
- caractacus 12y ago
  Ditto.
  - fown9 12y ago
    I took 2 uber rides this morning; I just uninstalled Uber and installed Lyft. They have the same amount of cars down in here in San Jose.
    - onewaystreet 12y ago
      Lyft only exists because Uber cleared the way and they continue to benefit from Uber doing the hard work of fighting the taxi industry and regulators. If you don't want to be a hypocrite you will need to walk.
      - drivingmenuts 12y ago
        It just so happens that in almost every possible industry, there are some who clear the way and others who benefit from them clearing the way. Some of them even manage to do it without threatening reporters.
- imanaccount247 12y ago
  I just downloaded it to support them. The more absurd the PC bullshit gets, the more the rest of us will push back just to spite you. I can't wait for my new shirt to arrive.
  - andy_ppp 12y ago
    It's not PC it's called the free market? If I don't like Uber I have the choice not to use them. Anyway, watch this :-D https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bmsV1TuESrc https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bmsV1TuESrc
    - imanaccount247 12y ago
      I didn't say you had to use them. I said that when you come out and say "I'm boycotting X because they violated SOCJUS law" you help them more than you hurt them. Because the number of people who think the PC/SJW nonsense has gotten absurd is much higher than the number of people who think it is cool.
      - scott_s 12y ago
        I think far, far more people will find Emil Michael's statements unacceptable than not. Including, I think, Uber itself.
        imanaccount247 12y ago
        I think if the majority of people would find his statements unacceptable, then people would not feel the need to deliberately misrepresent his statements to make them seem less acceptable.
  - mipapage 12y ago
    Well, its not PC is it? It is holding oneself to a standard. It is clear that this man - and Uber it would seem - are not behaving to a standard that people would support. A concept so simple that is lost on so many.
nailer 12y ago
It's possible he's pissed of at Sarah Lacy for reasons other than that she's a woman.
- thesystemis 12y ago
  I don't think he's pissed off because she's a woman, he's pissed about because she's critical. Still, when he says someone will be "personally" responsible for someone's sexual assault, he's essentially trivializing sexual assault. It's like saying that a rape victim is "partially at fault", it's wrong, indefensible and misogynistic.
  - nailer 12y ago
    That is not in any way 'like' blaming people for being raped.
    - scarmig 12y ago
      It's a world apart from blaming victims, obviously. But the Uber exec is clearly suggesting we should blame the journalist for other people's sexual assault.
    - thesystemis 12y ago
      sorry I respectfully disagree -- here a SVP of a company is essentially saying, "by recommending people to not use my product, you are responsible if they get assaulted" -- it's essentially shifting the blame around a sex crime in a way that to my eyes really minimizes who is responsible for such crimes, the perpetrators. It's also such a flippant remark that it seems to me to show a callous indifference to what it means to be a victim of such a crime. ps, agree with scarmig's point -- he's not "blaming the victim" but it does feel like shifting the blame, which minimizes what these crimes mean.
      - nailer 12y ago
        Lacy says Uber make her feel unsafe. Using the same deeply flawed logic, doesn't that feel like shifting the blame around a sex crime in a way that really minimizes who is responsible for such crimes, the perpetrators?
personZ 12y ago
he's also discussing sexual assault in such a trivializing way While I hardly want to be in a camp that defends him in any way, he was specifically addressed her claims. How is it misogynist for him to argue that the risk of sexual assault are lower in an Uber vehicle, or vice versa?
- thesystemis 12y ago
  I don't think it's wrong to argue that point, ie, "I wish this reporter would understand how we work to create a safer environment, look at the stats, etc" but I think it's far out of line to go beyond that and assign "personal responsibility" to someone who is arguing against your product, especially around these sort of crimes. To me, that seems like taking the argument to a really personal place and also, trivializing what should be a serious discussion.
wpietri 12y ago
> I am surprised not to see the word misogynist on this page. Yeah. When a prominent dude is so upset by a woman accusing his company of sexism and misogyny that he publicly talks about spending a million dollars to destroy her life, it's hard not to see this as systemic misogyny in action. Especially telling to me is that his CEO was there at the dinner. If one of my employees was talking like this in public, let alone to other journalists, his goose would be cooked. "I'm sorry, Mr. Michael has clearly had a little too much to drink. The press has an important role to play in our society, and Uber would never do anything like this." Then, the next morning Michael would announce that he was leaving to spend more time with his family. But instead we get some mealy-mouthed damage-control PR.
- lazy_nerd 12y ago
  +N. Its equally telling about the CEO as it is about Emil Michael.
qq66 12y ago
Well, Nixon used to be equally vindictive with reporters (conplete with typed up master plan), most of whom were men (only one woman made it onto his infamous "Enemies List.") It's very dangerous when people in power cannot maturely handle conflict and disagreement.

andy_ppp 12y ago

Uber has now been deleted from my phone. I hope others consider doing the same.

caractacus 12y ago
Ditto.
- fown9 12y ago
  I took 2 uber rides this morning; I just uninstalled Uber and installed Lyft. They have the same amount of cars down in here in San Jose.
  - onewaystreet 12y ago
    Lyft only exists because Uber cleared the way and they continue to benefit from Uber doing the hard work of fighting the taxi industry and regulators. If you don't want to be a hypocrite you will need to walk.
    - drivingmenuts 12y ago
      It just so happens that in almost every possible industry, there are some who clear the way and others who benefit from them clearing the way. Some of them even manage to do it without threatening reporters.
imanaccount247 12y ago
I just downloaded it to support them. The more absurd the PC bullshit gets, the more the rest of us will push back just to spite you. I can't wait for my new shirt to arrive.
- andy_ppp 12y ago
  It's not PC it's called the free market? If I don't like Uber I have the choice not to use them. Anyway, watch this :-D https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bmsV1TuESrc https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bmsV1TuESrc
  - imanaccount247 12y ago
    I didn't say you had to use them. I said that when you come out and say "I'm boycotting X because they violated SOCJUS law" you help them more than you hurt them. Because the number of people who think the PC/SJW nonsense has gotten absurd is much higher than the number of people who think it is cool.
    - scott_s 12y ago
      I think far, far more people will find Emil Michael's statements unacceptable than not. Including, I think, Uber itself.
      - imanaccount247 12y ago
        I think if the majority of people would find his statements unacceptable, then people would not feel the need to deliberately misrepresent his statements to make them seem less acceptable.
- mipapage 12y ago
  Well, its not PC is it? It is holding oneself to a standard. It is clear that this man - and Uber it would seem - are not behaving to a standard that people would support. A concept so simple that is lost on so many.

nailer 12y ago

It's possible he's pissed of at Sarah Lacy for reasons other than that she's a woman.

thesystemis 12y ago
I don't think he's pissed off because she's a woman, he's pissed about because she's critical. Still, when he says someone will be "personally" responsible for someone's sexual assault, he's essentially trivializing sexual assault. It's like saying that a rape victim is "partially at fault", it's wrong, indefensible and misogynistic.
- nailer 12y ago
  That is not in any way 'like' blaming people for being raped.
  - scarmig 12y ago
    It's a world apart from blaming victims, obviously. But the Uber exec is clearly suggesting we should blame the journalist for other people's sexual assault.
  - thesystemis 12y ago
    sorry I respectfully disagree -- here a SVP of a company is essentially saying, "by recommending people to not use my product, you are responsible if they get assaulted" -- it's essentially shifting the blame around a sex crime in a way that to my eyes really minimizes who is responsible for such crimes, the perpetrators. It's also such a flippant remark that it seems to me to show a callous indifference to what it means to be a victim of such a crime. ps, agree with scarmig's point -- he's not "blaming the victim" but it does feel like shifting the blame, which minimizes what these crimes mean.
    - nailer 12y ago
      Lacy says Uber make her feel unsafe. Using the same deeply flawed logic, doesn't that feel like shifting the blame around a sex crime in a way that really minimizes who is responsible for such crimes, the perpetrators?

personZ 12y ago

he's also discussing sexual assault in such a trivializing way While I hardly want to be in a camp that defends him in any way, he was specifically addressed her claims. How is it misogynist for him to argue that the risk of sexual assault are lower in an Uber vehicle, or vice versa?

thesystemis 12y ago
I don't think it's wrong to argue that point, ie, "I wish this reporter would understand how we work to create a safer environment, look at the stats, etc" but I think it's far out of line to go beyond that and assign "personal responsibility" to someone who is arguing against your product, especially around these sort of crimes. To me, that seems like taking the argument to a really personal place and also, trivializing what should be a serious discussion.

wpietri 12y ago

> I am surprised not to see the word misogynist on this page. Yeah. When a prominent dude is so upset by a woman accusing his company of sexism and misogyny that he publicly talks about spending a million dollars to destroy her life, it's hard not to see this as systemic misogyny in action. Especially telling to me is that his CEO was there at the dinner. If one of my employees was talking like this in public, let alone to other journalists, his goose would be cooked. "I'm sorry, Mr. Michael has clearly had a little too much to drink. The press has an important role to play in our society, and Uber would never do anything like this." Then, the next morning Michael would announce that he was leaving to spend more time with his family. But instead we get some mealy-mouthed damage-control PR.

lazy_nerd 12y ago
+N. Its equally telling about the CEO as it is about Emil Michael.

qq66 12y ago

Well, Nixon used to be equally vindictive with reporters (conplete with typed up master plan), most of whom were men (only one woman made it onto his infamous "Enemies List.") It's very dangerous when people in power cannot maturely handle conflict and disagreement.