261–270 of 277 posts
The real problem is that this is necessary. This same thing that keeps on happening when we try to reinvent things "without all that stuff that just adds friction." As with software, one should understand the underlying reasons for constraints in the old system before building the second one. Banking -> crypto and NFT "without all that stuff..." -> wash trading. Taxi service -> Uber "without all that employer stuff..…
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In places where unisex bathrooms is the norm, it not that uncommon to see men's only bathroom while the other rooms are unisex. Is that discrimination?
Yes. I'm rather curious where this is actually the case, particularly as you claim it's not uncommon. My experience has been the opposite, though I'd hardly claim it to be representative. My prior employer had all single-occupant, unisex bathrooms originally, until one woman high up the management chain demanded there be women's only bathrooms. So, a women's only placard was placed on a couple of the unisex bathrooms…
We are reinventing, from first principles, the discrimination we fought so hard against in the 20th century.
If there wasn't a need for this then I might agree with you, but there is a need and that's the much bigger problem here.
Sex is a protected class under Title VII of the civil rights act. And the supreme court recently said that even majority classes (men) are protected by this. Since Uber involved in the decision to send more business to female drivers than male drivers, this would seem to me to run afoul of employment discrimination (sorry we don't need as many men workers today, too many of you competing so market forces mean we're g…
> How long till "I don't want a black/white/gay/etc driver" options show up? Slippery slope fallacy. > "All animals are equal, but some animals are more equal than others." — George Orwell, Animal Farm Women being harassed by Uber drivers isn't a necessary part of life, and wanting to address this issue isn't equivalent to literal Soviet communism . This quote is waaay out of place.
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When faced with the choice of trusting a stranger, you turned it down, then made the decision about the lack of trust in the world? Trust in strangers has never been easy in the US. If something is to change, it has to start individually.
I understood it as "there cannot be trust anymore" - mostly because different people are at risk of becoming a victim in different ways: from a crime itself, or from being falsely accused of committing a crime.
Individuals will act in a way that makes sense for them. Asking them to "just trust more" does not solve the problem - it needs to be addressed at the root (education, communities), which goes far beyond the individual level.
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Happy that you were honest about it, but paranoia is not healthy.
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Men disproportionately commit violent crimes, and women are the victims a lot of the time. Culturally, the response has been to celebrate reactive perceptions, like women proudly declaring that they'd prefer to encounter a bear in the woods over a man. Or just generally dismissing or subverting the desire to be masculine. This imbalance enables women to be socially transgressive (even criminally so) with impunity. Th…
I think it's much simpler: People who have power can blithely ignore the problems of others and then say those people are 'overreacting'. Also the powerful react very strongly to any threat to the status quo that gives them power; it is an outrage to them. In the West it happens with males, white people, religious groups, political groups, and much more. > enables women to be socially transgressive That usually means…
Because it's just not the world we live in. I don't care to enumerate this here.
But I agree with you that part of the problem is politics of power. I just happen to think there is more nuance.
Criminality, there are a handful of stats we could looks at. For example gendered differences in sentencing.
> When examining all sentences imposed, females received sentences 29.2 percent shorter than males. Females of all races were 39.6 percent more likely to receive a probation sentence than males. When examining only sentences of incarceration, females received lengths of incarceration 11.3 percent shorter than males.
https://www.ussc.gov/research/research-reports/2023-demograp...
But instead of arguing about stats, in general -- and this goes back to the social transgression bit. In the real world, women can do things to men that men can't do to women. This is largely due to the politics of power. Im not particularly preoccupied by it, but I do acknowledge that it exists.
Your response is _precisely_ what I'm calling out: two people talking past one another. I do not feel that youve interpreted anything I've said with grace. Instead it's more along the lines of, "yeah yeah yeah, but it's really about power"
Maybe. Hacker news is probably disproportionately powerful white males. I try not to assume bad intent with these things.
I'm merely pointing out that culturally, we will only get worst by trying to shame "normal" people (men) into feeling ways. In fact, I think the "cultural moment" as they say is indicative on how much that has failed.
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I think it's much simpler: People who have power can blithely ignore the problems of others and then say those people are 'overreacting'. Also the powerful react very strongly to any threat to the status quo that gives them power; it is an outrage to them. In the West it happens with males, white people, religious groups, political groups, and much more. > enables women to be socially transgressive That usually means…
We can't have an honest conversation from the basis of, "people can do whatever they want as long as they don't hurt people." Because it's just not the world we live in. I don't care to enumerate this here. But I agree with you that part of the problem is politics of power. I just happen to think there is more nuance. Criminality, there are a handful of stats we could looks at. For example gendered differences in sen…
Whether or not you enumerate it is irrelevant. Individual liberty is the foundation of the modern world. Of course there are exceptions, complications and imperfections, but the principle and the widespread practice are very clear and well established.
(Edit: Also, if we are talking about right and wrong rather than legal principles, liberty is what's 'right' to me (and most others). Everyone should have the same liberty, not merely the powerful.)
> sentencing
> shame
Victimhood is irresponsible (and a tactic used almost universally by the powerful to change the subject). The overwhelming amount of actual harm done between genders is men harming women, and it has been for as long as anyone can remember. That is the responsibility of men generally and the problem that needs solving. In some societies, they do address it.
If that makes you feel ashamed, that's your problem. When someone points out a problem to me, I feel responsible for solving it and get to work. 'I'm ashamed' is an obvious excuse.
> politics of power
The same behavior has very different outcomes because of differences in power between powerful and vulnerable parties: Bad behavior itself isn't dangerous, bad behavior + power is the problem.
If in a white suburb a black person says to a white person, 'we don't want your kind here', it's a bit crazy, but it's not especially dangerous. If a white person says that to a black person, that is real danger because white people have power, including government, law enforcement and the courts.
Similarly, imagining healthy, normal-sized adults, if a woman says to a man, 'I'm going to kick your ass', it's a bit threatening but not too serious. If a man says that to a women, it's very serious, dangerous to her, and he probably should be arrested.
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You seem afraid of non-hetero sexuality at every turn. Even if lesbians are just as likely to be dangerous creeps - which I doubt because it seems like relative physical strength is a major factor - the number of lesbians relative to the number of hetero males makes the risk far lower. The number of trans people is an order of magnitude less. > you don't even really know if the person driving was born as a man or a w…