I'd rather not turn this into a pedantic argument where we parse every word, sentence, and phrase. But I'll respond because I think we prob agree more than disagree and trust that you have good intentions and want a dialogue.
> So... he's not lying?
Yes, but my argument is that's besides the point; it's an irrelevant detail entirely to whether or not his actions were totally inexcusable.
> Everyone knows that, including the one who did it (at least, now he does).
Yes, which is why it's completely indefensible.
> As evidenced by him calling himself a creep and that being the title of his post.
Agreed, McClure is a big creep, but him admitting it doesn't buy him many brownie points in my book. He's admitting it because not doing so will make things even worse for him. He really has no choice in this regards. I'd like to believe he is genuinely sincere, but given his own admitted history of this type of behavior, and awareness of his own actions (which notably did not prevent him from curtailing his creepiness), my default is he is only trying to save face until proven otherwise.
> Isn't it misanthropic to immediately assume those things about me when I hadn't given you even the slightest suggestion on what I thought of his behavior before this very reply, where I'm condemning it? Yes, it is misanthropic. You just want to think the worst of everyone, and It. Is. Awful.
Pot meets kettle. What you are accusing me of doing, is what you are doing yourself to me, no?
Like you, I don't want to think the worst of everyone, because that's not a very fun world to live in. On the contrary, and like I've said repeatedly, I think McClure is the exception rather than the norm. The majority of men in SV and elsewhere don't behave like him and are not serial sexual harassers.
> You know? If I were like you, I could easily point out how this poor phrasing can be construed as homophobic, but I won't resort to that. Please.
I brought up the LGBT comment, because people are using 500 Startups's historical support of women, POC, and LGBT initiatives to support McClure. I'm pointing out how glib that line of defense is; that it is actually irrelevant; and makes his behavior look all the worse, especially because his actions are so textbook creepy -- not something you would expect from someone who sincerely believes in enfranchising those who have been historically marginalized.
> I'm gay, and the huge amount of false or exaggerated accusations is one of the many reasons I'm glad I am. And (because I know you're going to try to pull this thread), I'm not saying that the accusations against McClure were unfunded; he clearly admitted his blame.
That's great, and I'm a person of color, but that's irrelevant. His behavior is objectively shitty and must be called out if we want to progress to a better, more equal and civilized society. This is a legitimate issue in our society; I don't think you can go too overboard calling out this type of predatory behavior. It's a real issue with very real consequences for those who are victim to it.
Also, you mention "huge amount of false or exaggerated accusations", but by your own admission, and by McClure himself, all these accusations of him being a serial creep are true. So not false, and not exaggerated.
> There are many different types of assholes, the ones like McClure aren't the only ones "poisoning the well."
Here is where I disagree with you. There might be more more poisonous apples, but McClure is a real scumbag just by looking at what we know so far:
1) Serial history of this type of behavior
2) Self-awareness that his behavior is bad.
3) Admission that his intent was to take advantage of others.
4) All his accusers are women of color (according to Sarah)
> Case in point.
I don't know what you're trying to imply here.
> This was a weird and non-sequitur opener, btw. Were you going for an appeal to popularity or something? For what it's worth, I thoroughly disagree with your read on his apology.
Huh? You made the claim that my view was off-base and misanthropic. I disagree and cite similar views from others to back that point.
> BTW, none of this answered my question.
Let me be more clear then, he tried to delegitimize the harassment by bringing up irrelevant details (there were drinks involved, it was a small group of people, that he thought it was a social event, etc.), that are designed to water down the accusations, or at the least, are designed to give him some sort of cover to "explain" his terrible behavior.