NetNews Usenet Archive 1992 #19/NN_1992_19.iso/spool/sci/physics/13751

Text File | 1992-08-29 | 3.4 KB | 70 lines

Newsgroups: sci.physics
Path: sparky!uunet!gatech!concert!uvaarpa!murdoch!kelvin.seas.Virginia.EDU!crb7q
From: [e-mail] (Cameron Randale Bass)
Subject: Re: Impure Mathematics
Message-ID: <[e-mail]>
Sender: [e-mail]
Organization: University of Virginia
References: <mcirvin.714919711@husc8> <[e-mail]> <[e-mail]>
Distribution: na
Date: Fri, 28 Aug 1992 18:18:21 GMT
Lines: 57

In article <[e-mail]> [e-mail] (Benjamin Weiner) writes:
>Scott Chase writes:
>>I agree with everything you wrote, even the parts I have omitted.  But I
>>still object to someone jumping in to censor other people's postings.
>>Maybe this person had a well-reasoned argument to make in defense of her
>>position that rape should never be the subject of humor - especially in
>>male-dominated crowds in which women are already uncomfortable.
>>So then let her make the argument in public [ ... ]
>
>Disclaimer: I never saw the original posting, nor Suzanne's comments
>[except quoted fractions] - but I think I saw the offending bit of
>"humor" a few years ago, it sounds familiar.
>
>What I wanted to say is, does Suzanne really need to make a well-
>reasoned argument that jokes about rape aren't funny?  Just sit back
>and think about it for a moment.  They're _obviously_ not funny, and
>people who can't figure that out are probably beyond hope.
>
>Given how common such offensive behavior is (not to mention the
>commonness of actual rape) I can see how someone could get fed up.
>Men in male-dominated fields can get even more isolated than most
>from what signals they are sending, so they ought to be extra
>careful.  Hence the reason I'm posting this to sci.physics.

     However, I note with interest that most of the men in my completely
     male-dominated profession are married and most of the rest of us
     are involved in a relationship with a woman.  Thus, the vast majority
     have viewed at least one woman outside our otherwise monastic existence.
     Some of us even spend more time with that woman than we do
     with our colleagues, if you can believe that.

     Getting fed up with 'Men' in general and implying such behavior
     is an appropriate response (albeit one we should be 'extra
     careful' to avoid) when a profession is male-dominated
     seems to make about as much sense as choosing to hate all women
     because one once had a bad nurse.

     And the reason I posted this is that I am tired of the insinuation
     that because we are in a male-dominated field we have to somehow
     behave differently than we do in other parts of our lives that
     are not male-dominated.  I prefer to try to behave like a human
     at all times, others prefer to be dolts.  I suspect that dolts'
     behaviors do not change outside the workplace, and I do not appreciate
     being told to walk on pins and needles because of the behavior
     of dolts any more than I appreciate the implication that men are
     commonly rapists.

     I guess maybe I read the equality stuff too literally ...

                                 dale bass


--
C. R. Bass                                           [e-mail]
Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering
University of Virginia
Charlottesville, Virginia                            [phone]