h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

ps It is inevitable people will make jokes out of it. The story is basically irrelevent to everyone except those personaly involved and only gains media air time because it is to do with celebrity culture. It is hardly distinguishable from what people see in films and television soap operas. I see that John Cleese has been attacked for a joke he twittered that refers to Pistorius known habit of getting drunk:
http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/world-news/reeva-steenkamp-comedian-john-cleese-1709692

Moving right along then...

Over the past four days we have been listening to reports
of the squalid conditions being endured by passengers on
the cruise ship Triumph which without engines has been
drifting in the hot tropical sun of the Caribbean with no
electricity or running water. One reporter claimed to have
learned that there were only three operating toilets for
over 4,000 people and that urine is flowing freely across
the decks and down the corridors.

I am only happy that none has yet tried to compare the situation
to the horrors experienced by more than a million African slaves
transported to America in chains and stacked like cordwood in the
holds of sailing ships over the course of at least two centuries.



~jwf~

It's hardly distinguishable from similar stories of (alledged) domestic violence and killing involving the death of someone you have never heard of by someone you have never heard of.

The fact that the (alledged) killer is someone well known, 'unique', and bullied his way into the non-paraOlympics is the only thing that makes this 'worth' more than a glance and an 'oh shit, that's terrible'(which tends to be my normal reaction to people's pointless deaths - because anything more than that would drive you insane.).

jwf



Can't they just 'go over the side'?

Stone Aart



You were saying(hyperbolically)?

http://www.guardian.co.uk/society/blog/2013/feb/14/one-billion-rising-live-coverage

And in tomorrow's news:

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/science/space/9860421/Record-close-asteroid-may-miss-the-Earth-but-it-could-take-out-your-phone.html


~jwf~

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/singer-chubby-checker-files-500m-lawsuit-over-penis-measuring-app-8495967.html

What really makes the story is that his lawyer is called 'Willie'.

I do hope Chubby Checker's middle name begins with a D. He'd be a CDC...

>> You were saying(hyperbolically)? ... <<

Hi - I was making an observation. If you think the coverage of the international day against violence towards women and girls has been satisfactory - then I cede my observation doesn't match your own observation. On my part, I go to the BBC website and we have the Pistorius / slain girlfriend story as headline news everywhere, on the home page, on world news section, on the sport section, it's everywhere with flashing headlines, and pops up, with numerous videos to watch, satelite angles, with the interviews, with a whole section of what other celebrities thought about it. If an alien landed on this planet it would think that Pistorius and his slain girlfriend must hold the key to human society.

But no-where do I see on the BBC website the international day against violence towards women and girls. Nada not a zip - maybe it is hidden away somewhere but if you hadn't mentioned it I wouldn't have known. So if you think that is fair coverage for the international day then I will cede my previous statement.

The Guardian is full of hardcore feminist writers and is considered leftie hence will have stuff about it.

The media is driven by whatever big story is around, it isn't about education or balanced coverage it's simply about viewing figures - ParaOlympian charged with shooting girlfriend will pretty much trump any story.

Stone Aart:

More on the Violence against women 'protests' in the Gruniad:

http://www.guardian.co.uk/society/2013/feb/14/one-billion-rising-action-worldwide#start-of-comments

A meteor crashing in the Urals of central Russia has reportedly injured at least 400 people

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-21468116

I'm telling you, this pope thing has consequences

Ha! Check out Google - http://www.google.co.uk/

Incidentally, re the Pistolius story- some people might say that the high profile trial of a major world media personality accused of murdering his girlfriend after years of allegedly abusive behaviour would do far more to highlight domestic abuse against women than a few hippies communicating patriarchal injustices through the medium of dance.

but the people saying that would mostly be men, right?

I like dancing hippies!

Sho - It's Mrs G to you!



Good, because it means men actually realise what *will* cut down violence to people...the threat of punishment.

A bunch of people tut tutting about not liking people hitting other people isn't going to make any difference to some one who can become so uncontrolled that they mete out violence on someone else.

The proven threat of jail etc *might* remove the cognitive dissonance around violent acts.

Someone nutbar enought to hit someone else is hardly going to change their personality just because they see some people saying they don;t like what they are doing.

I'm not belittling this 'protest'/display of support/unhappiness of violence.

Just a, and honest, question, in what positive real world effect reduction in violent attacks on people will these events have?

And if the answer is 'well, just a higher general awareness' or 'it being discussed in parliment' doesn't change anything really as there are already laws in place to 'stop' domestic and other violence against people.

This may sound negative but I'd like to know what they think will be achieved by these events.

Yelbakk



Yeah, but it's the hairy armpits and legs that puts me off a bit.

And that's just the men...

you have to walk a mile in our shoes Alfster. That's all. I work in an office where I'm constantly subjected to low-level sexism. It is not in doubt. Some of the guys are embarassed by it but mostly they have no idea.

And sometimes when I say: how do you think you wife would feel in this position they get that moment. And it stops.

That is where it starts. But without any awareness it just carries on. And what is now low-level sexism can easily become something else. Because it's acceptable. And it escalates.

Don't underestimate the power of an increase in the general level of awareness.

And it's not a "bunch of people tut tutting about not liking people hitting other people" it is a huge number of people (because not all the protesters, like not all feminists, are women). It is a massive number of people and they will be happy to be noticed.

You will note that the first reports on the Pistorius thing weren't - oh my, well, you never know who might turn out to be the kind of guy who shoots his girlfriend. It was: oh he must have mistaken her for a burglar. (or, as I read on another site "well perhaps she was preparing a Valentine's day surprise" almost as if it had been her fault...)

When young people grow up seeing that it's ok to belittle women, to beat them, to treat them as second class citizens - and women are complicit in this, it's not all about the men - then they grow up and perpetrate it.

And that is why it's a bloody crying disgrace that more of the mainstream media didn't cover it more.

The threat of punishment doesn't seem to be stopping a lot of violence now (people who kill their partner in a rush of blood to the head aren't thinking right, the last thing on their mind is "oh I'd better not do this or I'm looking at a long stretch at Her Majesty's...")

What does work are subtle, small changes. Step by step. Mary Wollstonecraft was writing about the rights of women a good century and a half before women (in Britain) got the vote. It was only the 70s (I think) that equal rights legislation came in. It was the 90s (read that again: it was around 20 years ago) that rape within marriage was even recognised as such.

And yet, had Mary Wollstonecraft and like minded people and their supporters said "oh, it's such a huge thing, how can it ever change? let's just knit some covers for the legs of the grand piano instead" I'd probably be at home ironing my husbands socks. Or something.

Sho - It's Mrs G to you!



No thanks, high heels don't suit me.



Luckily, I've worked in places where that doesn't happen - there are jokes of a slightly iffy nature but they go both ways men to women/women to men and we know the boundaries.

Also, if it's constant, record it all and complain(if possble).



Good...!



Only in some cases - that does smack of 'every man's a rapist in waiting'.



On low level stuff above I'd agree but 'proper' violent acts I'd say 'no' due to the way in people who mete violence out do not have always have the empathy to stop...otherwise they most likely wouldn't do it.

< It is a massive number of people and they will be happy to be noticed.>

As long as that is all they expect then fine.



Well, I would say that is a not a bad thing as it means 'everyone' wasn't automatically assuming he had, alledgedely, shot her on purpose - we like to see 'the good in people'. It would be a sad place if we always assumed purposeful violence on someone in a situation like that. ALSO, it was South Africa where there was every possibility it could be a burglar as that sort of thing does happen but we do not hear about it.



Luckily, that is dropping off considerably which is a good thing - sexism will always be with us though.



Indeed it is.



Agreed.



Still won;t stop rape but it will allow authorities to believe and treat women in a better way.



What has 'women going out to work' got to do with 'let's stop people beating up other people in the home'?



I hope you can see I'm not disagreeing with your broader points...I'm just more cynical than you (today).

And apologies about the Fisked nature of the post above.