posted
There has been some grumbling about how things go here sometimes, about how maybe some of us argue our passions without acknowledging that those who hold a different view may hold that view through rational examination of their experiences, not just some party line.
I have been guilty of the occassional grumble along those lines, but I come before Hatrack today to REPENT.
Hatrack is teh seat of rationality compared to many forums that skew to a different base. But, lo, even other SF&F boards fair badly by comparison. I would not have expected this, but this thread at Asimov's opened my eyes.
Thank you, Hatrack, for arguing with passion and respect (and a great amount of self-awareness that seems quite uncommon to me).
posted
Wow; I'm not sure if I feel the same trust anymore. I may have to leave now that it's been violated.
Posts: 3060 | Registered: Nov 2003
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posted
That thread at Asimov's is simply unbelievable. I read it yesterday when you posted it elsewhere, and I still can't get over it.
Posts: 6415 | Registered: Jul 2000
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posted
JT, THT and Phanto- I'm not registered at Asimov's, but one lady in my writing circle is (plus another who recently had a story in Strange Horizons reads there sometimes). So, I'm not cheating on Hatrack. The family is great, the writing is *mumble, mumble* and life is good. Thanks for asking!
I read it, Googled him, and then decided he was not malicious, merely clueless. He struck me as a fellow whose life did not include an abundance of feline companioniship.
So it was fairly easy for me to take no notice, really (though I did have visions of a woman winning the Hugo next year and her acceptance speech consisting of meows - my imagination is my friend ).
I just think it's wonderful that Hatrack is largely empty of that level of cluelessness. I thought the world at large was, too, until just recently.
I have lived a very sheltered life, in a reality shaped by my own perceptions, but it still amazes me to run into people with whom I cannot find some sort of common frame of reference. It's happened a bit more, lately.
But I didn't post either place. Just didn't seem worth it. Posts: 9293 | Registered: Aug 2000
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posted
There are more four-letter words than necessary on that board (which I've noticed on a lot of boards, even at places like the Daily Kos), but the discussion wasn't as dumb as I thought it was going to be.
Posts: 781 | Registered: Apr 2005
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By "clueless" I meant largely unaware of how offensive he was being- not that he didn't realize he was being offensive. I think he was trying to reverse the sexism he saw in the bookslut's post, I just don't think he realized how hurtful he was being, especially to himself. The Bookslut apologized, and I'm glad she did, because her tone didn't do her cause any favors. Sadly, his response only served to illustrate her point-- one which most of us are content to ignore as a relic of less enlightened times.
Both "sides" seem strident and unpleasant to me, honestly. *sigh* This is why Hatrack is so cool. Mostly, everyone gets on fine and posters like Cris Bridges and Claudia Therese prove that grace is not a gender-specific trait.
Posts: 9293 | Registered: Aug 2000
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posted
I read the whole thing, and yes some posts were strong worded, but I thought both sides brought up good points as well as rebuttals. The people involved were also fairly eloquent I thought. Gender discussions are always so ugly in general, this one wasn't that bad.
Yeah, there were some f bombs dropped, but we have a rule against 'em here which makes them more shocking elsewhere. I do like Hatrack very much, but we do have our share of locked topics (which makes me immediately go read them).
Maybe I'm just used to the bloodshed on my own college's forums (the president had to step in this semester and tell people to can it, it was that bad), but that was nothing compared to stuff I've seen at my school. Even being under real names doesn't stop people from flaming.
One point the Azimocv posters failed to bring up was that while women aren't really known for violent crimes, they take out aggression socially à la Mean Girls. Yes Mean Girls is a movie, but it was based on a non-fiction book about high school cliques from which some of the pranks and lines came verbatim.
I thought it was an interesting thread.
Posts: 1757 | Registered: Oct 2004
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quote:Get a grip. TomK is right, men, in general are superior to women in some important areas, like music composition (a much different and far rarer talent than musical instrument performance) and logic and the maths. This does not prevent some men being boneheads in these areas and some women being extraordinary. For example, Lady Ada, a great mathematician; Ayn Rand, a giant in philosophy.
Mmm, tastes like chicken.
EDIT:
quote:Britain? ... no, ...yeah! Britsh Columbia, beautiful state.
Yeah, the beautiful state of British Columbia.
I agree, though, the thread, despite being a little male-heavy for a discussion about women's roles in the world, wasn't the worst thread I've seen.
Posts: 8473 | Registered: Apr 2003
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posted
for the most part, i thought the discussion wasnt that bad. the only thing that didnt sit well with me was the original post that started the thread. People are still wary to have females in certain leadership positions. i think that if we wait another hundred years (just making up a number) it should be a heck of a lot closer to even as far as percentages go.
and yes, i really appreciate the general sense of rationale and etiquette a lot of the regulars have here at Hatrack. we have a great community.
EDIT: just rereading this and wanted to clarify something. when i said 'hundred years...' i meant it on a global scale and not my own personal view.
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