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We're not talking about plane customers here, we're talking about the pilots. Finding trusted drivers in a situation where safety is important because people ar
by kyledrake 12y ago
We're not talking about plane customers here, we're talking about the pilots. Finding trusted drivers in a situation where safety is important because people are in a unique position to trust that driver with their lives, with a startup that has to be extra-careful to prevent major controversies while they are under a heavy spotlight doing ambiguously legal things (or in the case of Portland a few days ago, just outright, unambiguously breaking the law and then trying to pass the legal buck to their drivers).
The notion that women are filing police reports and potentially going to court over something so serious is not really something I would describe as a simple way to ruin someone's life. Nor would Uber rejecting an application due to a sexual assault allegation really qualify to me as a life ruiner.
Law very often fails justice, particularly in sexual assault cases. When laws don't work, it's the job of a company to recognize when and how that failure occurs, and manage that risk. Uber failed to manage that risk, and most disturbingly, I can't even figure out if they care.
- tomp 12y ago> When laws don't work, it's the job of a company to recognize when and how that failure occurs, and manage that risk. OK, we can agree to disagree. Companies (and most other institutions) care much more about publicity and their reputation than about justice; the recent UVA "rape culture" scandal shows that pretty clearly that mob "justice" very often has nothing to do with actual justice.
- rgbrenner 12y agoExactly. When a person is put in a trusted position over another, we often have these higher standards.. teachers for example. A cab driver -- who's capable of locking the doors and taking their passenger to wherever they want -- is in such a trusted position, and there should be a higher standard for those positions. This doesn't mean they are being prevented from working. They're being prevented from working in this position. They are free to go do something else where other people aren't trusting their lives to them.
- tomp 12y agoWhat if somebody who already is in a position of power/authority/trust is accused of something like that? That's what I meant with "easy to ruin people's lives" (e.g. Strauss-Kahn).
- rgbrenner 12y agoWell, here in the US at least, that very often leads to them losing their job. And I'm not just referring to rape--even more minor offenses... for example, teachers have been fired for their offensive facebook comments. That isn't ruining their lives. They are free to go work elsewhere where other people's lives aren't put in their hands. I'll be more specific. This man was accused of rape and worked as a cab driver, where other people trust their lives to him. Instead, he could work as a truck driver transporting goods. That isn't ruining his life. Truth is, it would barely change.
- im3w1l 12y agoTruckers are always away from their families. It is a very different life.
- rgbrenner 12y agoYou've completely missed the point. There are other jobs a driver can do. He can deliver food or packages; transport goods locally; or drive buses or other public transportation. There is NO way that "cab driver" is the only type of position he is capable of doing. And there are plenty of people qualified to drive a cab that are capable of doing it without raping anyone.
- pyre 12y agoHow is ruining a teacher's teaching career the same as this? Most teachers spend a not insignificant portion of their time working towards the goal of becoming a teacher. That is now the case for someone learning to be a cab driver.