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Uber banned from operating in Indian capital after rape accusation

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Re: Uber banned from operating in Indian capital after rape accusation

#181
post #110

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I would urge you to re-think your writing. "The rape wouldn't have even been an issue" indicates that you haven't thought very deeply about rape; if this woman was raped, it is certainly still an issue whether Uber can legally cover its ass or not. It is unfortunate how popular your opinion is among young men: rape really isn't an issue; lots of "angry ex-girlfriends" and "intoxication" skewing those reports (factual…

While the grandparent comment didn't claim his statement as a fact, you are mentioning your contradictory statement as a 'fact' (factually incorrect? What?) Being raped really sucks, yes, and IMO the rapist should get the most severe punishment imaginable, but being falsely accused of rape is even worse - it destroys the whole career and life of an innocent man - and this is something that happens a lot in India and…

> Being raped really sucks, yes,

> but being falsely accused of rape is even worse

Wow. Just wow. I'm pretty disgusted by this comment. Hopefully you've just phrased it badly, and can edit it to make it less like you're saying that men get a bum deal in India.

Re: Uber banned from operating in Indian capital after rape accusation

#182

Earlier quoted context omitted.

No sexual offenses From the article: "Uber, which had employed the driver even though he had been arrested on allegations of sexual assault three years ago" THe implication there is that he had not been convicted of any offense - which means no sexual offense was [in the eyes of the law...] committed. I'm of two minds on this. On the one hand yeah, he was arrested for it and convicted or not, that's probably a risk U…

There really ought be no two minds about this. If he was acquitted and you don't give him a job soley because of that fact it would be unfair discrimination.

Not necessarily acquitted though - could be the case hasn't come to trial yet, or some pressure was applied somewhere along the way that would never show up in a background check.

Re: Uber banned from operating in Indian capital after rape accusation

#184
post #12

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Agreed. It's also not as if these sexual assault cases are not well documented already. I wonder what Uber will say about this.

So what then, an Uber customer would have to just say "yeah ok rapes happen so let me keep taking Uber"? The point is, Uber is claiming to be better than cabbies in that they screen drivers, etc. Clearly they aren't doing anything of the sort. So they are as unsafe as taking any other cab.

I'm not a fan of Uber's tactics, but it's not "clear they aren't doing anything". Just because they're offering a safer alternative doesn't mean that nothing bad could ever happen.

There's something to be said for the user rating system as well in instances of grey areas. My (American) sister-in-law swears by Uber specifically because she's experienced unwarranted advances when taking both regular cabs and Uber cabs, but in the case of Uber she felt she had more recourse when something went awry.

Re: Uber banned from operating in Indian capital after rape accusation

#185

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Uber hired drivers in India who does not even have a valid Delhi Transport commercial driver license required for all cab drivers in Delhi. Edit: > and the amount of rape happening in india is crazy, the government needs to do something about that, something more than blaming uber. Do you know that more women are raped every year in UK & US than in India? You hear a lot more about rapes in India because Indians are m…

According to some surveys, 20% to 25% girls on American colleges campuses suffer sexual assault. Given that you believe this, I take it you will do everything you can to prevent your daughters from attending college? (For similar reasons I'll attempt to keep my sons out of jail.)

[deleted]

Re: Uber banned from operating in Indian capital after rape accusation

#186
post #110

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I would urge you to re-think your writing. "The rape wouldn't have even been an issue" indicates that you haven't thought very deeply about rape; if this woman was raped, it is certainly still an issue whether Uber can legally cover its ass or not. It is unfortunate how popular your opinion is among young men: rape really isn't an issue; lots of "angry ex-girlfriends" and "intoxication" skewing those reports (factual…

"The rape wouldn't have even been an issue [for Uber]"

It would still be an issue for Uber -- if nothing else, it's bad customer service and indicative of poor quality control. Can't people even admit that?

If someone was complaining about being overcharged, everyone would accept it without question and wouldn't say "it's not an issue" for Uber/consumer/whoever. But it seems that being overcharged is a complaint that is legitimate because men believe that it happens without the customer being in the wrong. Rape, on the other hand...

Re: Uber banned from operating in Indian capital after rape accusation

#187
post #41

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Plenty of countries don't have guns in every purse without rampant rapists. I think there are different solutions to the problem, like promoting a culture where women are equal.

Which do you think will reduce rape right now ? A bunch of rapists showing up at hospitals with holes in them, or some sort of education campaign to change the culture? If things can get better in 10 years that's great. I'd also like the women I care about to be safe tomorrow. A few dead rapists is a small price to pay for that.

We have many jurisdictions in the US where open or concealed carry is legal, and even someone with an unlicenseed gun would likely face only a minimal sentence on a weapons charge if it were used for self-protection in a violent confrontation. While Google does turn up some reports of women shooting would-be rapists, it doesn't seem to be that common. We could generalize fromt hat to observe that we still have other forms of crime like mugging, assault, etc. despite the widespread availability of guns, and at considerably higher rates than many other developed countries.

Lastly, you only seem to be considering the sudden-assault-by-stranger sort of rapes, whereas many rapes (and other crimes) are committed by someone who has established a degree of trust, either by default (as a relative or some other social context) or by design (as in date rape or some sort of 'long con' predatory behavior).

The problem with your approach is that it can be used to sideline people who choose not to carry weapons, as well as normalizing the carrying of weapons in every context - 'shouldn't woman take guns with them into the shower, just in case? Isn't it a bit irresponsible to leave oneself defenseless in the shower, where it may be hard to hear someone break into the house?'

One could equally suggest that every woman get herself a large dog. People are extremely respectful of personal space if you step out with a German Shepherd; my neighbor observes that she feels quite safe taking a nap at a park or beach in the company of her dogs. But just because anyone could do this doesn't mean everyone should do this.

Re: Uber banned from operating in Indian capital after rape accusation

#188

I think Uber is being unfairly maligned here - too long for a comment, long piece at https://medium.com/@sriramk/in-defense-of-uber-in-india-f81c... . tldr: Uber just can't do the same checks it does in the US in other parts of the world which don't have records. And even though it did actually get the right certificate from the cops in this case, they should have thought of doing more.

Then the logical strategy is not to operate in a market where your brand is at severe risk of being tarnished.

Re: Uber banned from operating in Indian capital after rape accusation

#189

Watching the Uber saga unfold has been a fascinating time-lapse into how and why industries become regulated in the first place. It's fashionable to decry calcified organizations that refuse to adapt to change, but we regulate industries in response to market failures, and Uber's approach has been to toss out the the baby with the bathwater.

Or another point of view is that this 'saga' has been caused by a political vendetta against Uber - a common problem for startups like Uber and Tesla who are attempting to scale and share their innovations with the world.

Re: Uber banned from operating in Indian capital after rape accusation

#190
post #131

Earlier quoted context omitted.

How 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.

Getting a London black cab license is about as difficult.

I have no experience with the London cab system, but is getting a London black cab license really as difficult as going through a 4-year university degree program (+ whatever 'residency'-type work afterwards)?

[In any case, this is a side point. Most places don't have severe barriers to becoming a cab driver other than limit supply of licenses. And none of that even applies to Uber since they are ignoring that system.]

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