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I'm a creep. I'm sorry

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Re: I'm a creep. I'm sorry

#41

Post by adriand »

daenz wrote: post #24

Is it just me, or is committing public seppuku like this really necessary? If what he did was illegal, he should face prosecution. If he's compelled to apologize and admit his guilt, he should reach out to the people he actually wronged. This kind of public self-flagellation ("I'm such a creep. Please forgive me, world.") feels really over the top, phony, and symbolic.

Totally agree. There's something very weird about this post. If I were truly faced with the sudden realization that I was a deeply shitty person, I can't imagine writing a post like this. I'd be off the grid entirely, probably drinking in a ditch some place. I know I can't speak for others and everyone is different, but the human element is missing here somehow. It does feel very PR.

Re: I'm a creep. I'm sorry

#42

Post by throwcatch »

You have to assume all of these apologies are written with the help of PR firms and crisis management teams. Sacca’s was the most obviously phony, which makes sense since he’s trying to protect his new TV career.

There are way more of these creeps than these stories will let out. It really depends how well connected you are to the media machine in SV. Binary Capital and 500 are both too small and irrelevant to cause problems for the reporters breaking these stories, but what about Peter Thiel’s friends? You can’t even talk about them without worrying about going bankrupt.

There are a lot of women out there who are watching these stories and saying absolutely nothing, because they know the odds are still stacked against them. Exposing a couple mid tier guys doesn’t mean anything.

Re: I'm a creep. I'm sorry

#43

Post by nnfy »

It sounds like people are underestimating the pervasive lonileness that even successful young males experience in tech. This does create an incentive for women to play a little loose with their professional behavior, and we only see one side of the story here.

No, I don't mean to excuse McClure's behavior entirely; however, the fact that many of these women did not immediately cease contact after innapropriate advances, and continues to take advantage of funds and mentorship, suggests that these women are at least partly culpable. This isn't victim blaming; when you have hundreds of applicants to choose from/compete with, it isn't a surprise that people use/accept sexual flirtation (and sometimes favors) to get ahead/judge applicants.

People have been selling sex for thousands of years. The only novelty here is the outrage.

Re: I'm a creep. I'm sorry

#44

Post by slg »

cylinder wrote: post #8

I've got to wonder, why do coworkers go out for drinks if it's not a social setting? I don't understand the logic of mixing alcohol with colleagues if you're still under the "workplace" umbrella.

The inappropriateness of McClure actions has no relationship to whether they occurred in a bar over a mixed drink or in an office over a bottled water. The "workplace umbrella", as you put it, follows him wherever he interacts with coworkers due to his position of power over them even if they are interacting in a social setting.

Re: I'm a creep. I'm sorry

#45

Post by smoyer »

ceejayoz wrote: post #5
cyberferret wrote: post #2

I don't know the guy aside from what I have read in the press (both good and bad), but I'd like to think he wrote this with genuine sincerity. Hopefully this is the start of a groundswell trend of traits such as 'accountability' and 'taking responsibility for your actions' becoming fashionable and an expected part of human behaviour again.

Call me cynical, but I suspect all these apology posts are written largely by the poster's PR firm.

I'm also cynical by nature but ... I'm also hopeful that his behavior does change and that we see that he was sincere by the lack of further examples of bad behavior.

Re: I'm a creep. I'm sorry

#46

Post by [deleted] »

quaunaut wrote: post #32
[deleted] wrote: post #22

[deleted]

You can be yourself, be human, be flexible, and not make sexual advances toward those you have power over. In fact, if you can't do both, it's you who cannot survive in today's world. It's time for us to all get better at being more aware of our position.

[deleted]

Re: I'm a creep. I'm sorry

#49

Post by rdiddly »

daenz wrote: post #24

Is it just me, or is committing public seppuku like this really necessary? If what he did was illegal, he should face prosecution. If he's compelled to apologize and admit his guilt, he should reach out to the people he actually wronged. This kind of public self-flagellation ("I'm such a creep. Please forgive me, world.") feels really over the top, phony, and symbolic.

It does seem an awful lot like the same old narcissism that probably played a big role in the harassment and maybe even the drive toward entrepreneurship and investing in the first place. They're all just different faces of the same thing.

Business narcissism is a matter of making much of one's own achievements.

Sexual narcissism is a matter of making much of one's prowess/attractiveness (and being tone-deaf to what, to everyone else, would be obvious signs of disinterest on the part of the other party).

Narcissism in disgrace is a matter of making much of one's own mistakes, and one's own suffering. I realize the following is reaching a little bit, like your high school English teacher, but: Notice who appears (twice) in the title.

Re: I'm a creep. I'm sorry

#50

Post by LeoNatan25 »

blatherard wrote: post #26
cylinder wrote: post #8

I've got to wonder, why do coworkers go out for drinks if it's not a social setting? I don't understand the logic of mixing alcohol with colleagues if you're still under the "workplace" umbrella.

There are many workplace cultures where it is expected of employees to socialize after hours if they want to get ahead. Individuals in those systems are generally following their self-interest.

In most cases that "self-interest" is wanting to be in contact with people you like. Usually, that also helps "getting ahead" in life in general.
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