This crap is everywhere

[rug]

Sep 9, 2013

One question I got at my CFI-DC talk was about the prevalence of sexist/misogynistic scumbags in the atheist movement — aren’t they just a minority? And my answer was that I don’t know what percentage they are, but that it’s a mistake to dismiss it as a fringe phenomenon; it’s too common, and the people who are doing it aren’t some bizarre handicapped aberrant group, they’re people you wouldn’t look at twice if you saw them in the street. And some of them are your friends and family.

And then I get home to discover the latest misogynistic screw-up in the tech industry: a conference called TechCrunch which features presentations about quick hacks had a couple of, to put it generously, inappropriate presentations, including one called “Titstare”. This is the entirety of the talk.

Let me just say that not only was it grossly sexist, but it was unimaginative, uncreative, incompetently done, and terribly presented. These two guys ought to be deeply embarrassed to have thrown up such a pathetic joke on a public stage — even if it hadn’t been a sad attempt at a breast joke, it was a total failure.

These people are all over the place. There’s just something wrong with the culture.

http://freethoughtblogs.com/pharyngula/2013/09/09/this-crap-is-everywhere/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+freethoughtblogs%2Fpharyngula+%28FTB%3A+Pharyngula%29

[cbayer]

1. The writer is correct. It is everywhere.

Which is why it's incumbent upon progressive organizations to directly address it and eliminate it whenever possible.

[rrneck]

2. Whenever I see

the word "culture" preceded by a noun, I'm immediately suspicious.

[skepticscott]

3. And the point here

has what, exactly, to do with the validity of a lack of belief in gods?

A lot of men are sexist.

Some atheists are men.

Some atheists are sexist.

Not news. Any more than the fact that some chefs, environmental activists, weightlifters and poets are sexist.

[rug]

4. Ask PZ.

[skepticscott]

5. If he'd posted it here, I would

But he didn't.

[rug]

6. He takes comments at the link.

[edhopper]

7. My question is

are their sexists and misogynists within the atheist community (no doubt) or is the organized atheist community, or communities, by their nature sexist. The evidence points to the opposite, as opposed to say the Catholic Church and probably the majority of religions which are misogynistic at their core.

[rug]

10. The OP was about misogyny in atheist organizations.

Feel free to start one about misogyny in religion.

As with most fallacies, tu quoque doesn't add anything to discussion.

[edhopper]

11. My question is

are there sexists and misogynists within the atheist community (no doubt) or is the organized atheist community, or communities, by their nature sexist?

I was comparing to other organizations which have a misogynistic foundation.
Feel free to continue to defend the Catholic Churches treatment of women.

[SecularMotion]

8. Still waiting for the flood of class action lawsuits against the atheist community for sexism.

[rug]

9. If this is half true, you will see sexual harassment lawsuits.

[skepticscott]

12. Against who?

[rug]

13. Who do you think?

Basic tort law casts a wide net.

[skepticscott]

14. Why are you evading a simple and direct question?

Who exactly will be the object of the sexual harassment lawsuits you predicted in post 9?

But if you just threw that out there and don't really have any clue, feel free to evade the question again.

[rug]

15. I'm not. Give me the tort and I'll give you the range of defendants.

Unless you want me to predict the future.

But take elevatorgate for a real example. Suppose something more happened in the elevator. Who do you think should be sued?

[skepticscott]

16. You did predict the future

If this is half true, you will see sexual harassment lawsuits.

It's your prediction, but you seem unable to say who such sexual harassment lawsuits would be against if that story were "half true". And you named the content of the suits (sexual harassment), which you couldn't have done without having specific torts already in mind, so your request can be dismissed as more evasion.

And "something more" is not actionable.

[rug]

17. You haven't answered a direct question.

Could it be . . . . evasion?

Lawsuits are not speculative. I repeat: give me the tort and I'll give you the defendants.

And I will tell you this again. If the harassment as described continues, there will indeed be lawsuits.

[skepticscott]

18. Well, you're 0 for 3

in trying to answer a simple and direct question. As expected.

But you seem to have no trouble predicting the future.

[rug]

19. Oh, I think I know exactly what the future holds.