All-purpose news and politics thread: Two Steps Beyond!

[Tami]

Matt Damon: 'one thing' not being talked about is men who aren't predators

Matt Damon has spoken again about sexual predators in Hollywood, claiming that “one thing” not being spoken about is the men who don’t fall into that category.

In a new interview, the actor brought up the importance of remembering those around him who haven’t acted improperly.

“We’re in this watershed moment, and it’s great, but I think one thing that’s not being talked about is there are a whole shitload of guys – the preponderance of men I’ve worked with – who don’t do this kind of thing and whose lives aren’t going to be affected,” Damon said to Business Insider.

The star, promoting high-concept comedy Downsizing, was also asked whether he would still work with someone who was a known predator.

“That always went into my thinking,” he said. “I mean, I wouldn’t want to work with somebody who – life’s too short for that. But the question of if somebody had allegations against them, you know, it would be a case-by-case basis. You go, ‘What’s the story here?’”

Damon has found himself under fire for referring to a “spectrum of behavior” to consider with regards to sexual harassment in an interview last week.

“We’re going to have to figure – you know, there’s a difference between, you know, patting someone on the butt and rape or child molestation, right?” Damon said to ABC’s Peter Travers. “Both of those behaviors need to be confronted and eradicated without question, but they shouldn’t be conflated, right?”

The comments drew ire from his Good Will Hunting co-star and ex-girlfriend Minnie Driver who spoke to the Guardian on Saturday, claiming that men like Damon “simply cannot understand what abuse is like on a daily level”.

“There is no hierarchy of abuse – that if a woman is raped [it] is much worse than if woman has a penis exposed to her that she didn’t want or ask for,” she said. “You cannot tell those women that one is supposed to feel worse than the other. And it certainly can’t be prescribed by a man. The idea of tone deafness is the idea there [is] no equivalency.”

In a sense I kind of agree with, or at least understand, Matt Damon's comments. While no type of sexual abuse/harrasment is acceptable, each case is potentially differnt. A man who has a habit of hugging women is not the same as a man who locks a women in his office and takes things too far.

Zero Tolerance can be a very dangerious concept.

[numberthirty]

What in the heck is that dude thinking?

[Tami]

Poll: Americans Overwhelmingly Support 'Zero Tolerance' On Sexual Harassment

Nearly 9 in 10 Americans believe that "a zero-tolerance policy for sexual harassment is essential to bringing about change in our society."

At a time when partisan opinions are so polarized on a range of issues, Republicans and Democrats are relatively similar in believing that society should crack down hard on sexual harassment, a new poll from Ipsos and NPR suggests.

Zero tolerance in terms of eliminating unwanted behavior, but should each offense incur the same punishment?

This is the current attitude it seems

Zero tolerance: There must no longer be safe havens where men who behave badly are protected.

But still, when Zero Tolerance was applied to illegal drug use, you had a guy smoking Marijuana given the same prison sentence as a guy selling thousands of dollars in crack cocaine and other more deadly drugs.

Democrats’ newfound ‘zero tolerance’ isn’t the right answer on sex harassment

There are two levels of Zero Tolerance. The first is zero tolerance of certain behaviors, in the case of sexual harassment that is perfectly understandable and reasonable. The second level fo Zero Tolerence is in regards to punishiment. Not all acts are crimes, not all crimes are equally severe. My concern is not with the first level, but with the second, when someone who cracks a bad sex joke once in public is treated the same as someone who who physically assults someoen else, and does so over and over again.

[Tendrin]

Americans, when you ask them, tend to support some version of progressive positions.

Then when it comes down to actually doing the work and supporting the politicians who will do it, the ones who vote balk.

[TheInvisibleMan]

I certainly understand not wanting to apply a broad brush on punishment when it relates to sexual harassment/assault

my issue comes when you have a workplace policy or otherwise that explicitly states ZERO TOLERANCE and when it is enforced, certain things are still allowed under the radar

[Tami]

I certainly understand not wanting to apply a broad brush on punishment when it relates to sexual harassment/assault

my issue comes when you have a workplace policy or otherwise that explicitly states ZERO TOLERANCE and when it is enforced, certain things are still allowed under the radar

If you [as a business or organization of any kind] institute Zero Tolerance as a policy, then yes it should be enforced across the board regardless of the rank or position of the individual accused. But if people keep getting fired or worse for even the smallest infraction, then we have aproblem.

[TheInvisibleMan]

If you [as a business or organization of any kind] institute Zero Tolerance as a policy, then yes it should be enforced across the board regardless of the rank or position of the individual accused. But if people keep getting fired or worse for even the smallest infraction, then we have aproblem.

is it really a problem?

Im a guy, but I can see that men have been getting away with unacceptable behavior in many forms for far too long

[Tami]

is it really a problem?

I'm a guy, but I can see that men have been getting away with unacceptable behavior in many forms for far too long

I'm a woman and I have seen women be deceitful and self-serving even at the cost of other people's jobs or careers. Both are true, and what the men have been getting away with is horrendous, but women are no saints either.

[Tami]

Seven dirty words, according to the Trump administration

WORDS ARE power. Whether used to twist or reveal, language matters, especially that used by the people who govern a nation devoted to free speech. This is why it was such a shock to hear the Department of Health and Human Services instruct some of its divisions, including the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, to avoid using certain words or phrases in official documents being drafted for next year’s budget. It sounds like thought police at work.

If that judgment seems harsh, consider what happens in China, where thought police really exist. China routinely censors articles containing politically sensitive words such as “Taiwan,” “Tibet” and “cultural revolution ” from publications because it does not want its people to think about them. Writing about democracy could lead to trouble in Belarus, Cuba or Vietnam, too. In Russia, words that refer to gays positively can trigger a penalty. In Saudi Arabia, a blogger, Raif Badawi, sits in jail for his online appeal for a more liberal and secular society.

[ZombieHavoc]

You guys argue in a manner that suggests anything can actually be done. Heh.

[Tendrin]

You guys argue in a manner that suggests anything can actually be done. Heh.

Because things are being done. We're watching previously untouchable people fall from the halls of power and you wanna say nothing can be done?

[ZombieHavoc]

Because things are being done. We're watching previously untouchable people fall from the halls of power and you wanna say nothing can be done?

I'm not talking about the ousting of sexual predators (though I can see how it came across like I was, replying on a page that was all posts about same, but I had been reading/catching up for several pages). I agree with that you that things are changing in that respect, as they should be and will continue to be. Though I assume nothing will happen to Trump for his actions, because he's allowed to do whatever he wants.

But all the fighting over right and left, progressive and establishment dems, running good and bad candidates, supporting candidates who stand for something, etc. America is done. People acting like the country is going to change because someone gets elected...it's wild.

[Tami]

Trump talked about rescinding Gorsuch’s nomination

For nearly eight months, President Trump has boasted that appointing Neil M. Gorsuch to the Supreme Court ranks high among his signature achievements.

But earlier this year, Trump talked about rescinding Gorsuch’s nomination, venting angrily to advisers after his Supreme Court pick was critical of the president’s escalating attacks on the federal judiciary in private meetings with legislators.

Trump, according to several people with knowledge of the discussions, was upset that Gorsuch had pointedly distanced himself from the president in a private February meeting with Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.), telling the senator he found Trump’s repeated attacks on the federal judiciary “disheartening” and “demoralizing.”

The president worried that Gorsuch would not be “loyal,” one of the people said, and told aides that he was tempted to pull Gorsuch’s nomination — and that he knew plenty of other judges who would want the job.

[Tendrin]

I'm not talking about the ousting of sexual predators (though I can see how it came across like I was, replying on a page that was all posts about same, but I had been reading/catching up for several pages). I agree with that you that things are changing in that respect, as they should be and will continue to be. Though I assume nothing will happen to Trump for his actions, because he's allowed to do whatever he wants.

But all the fighting over right and left, progressive and establishment dems, running good and bad candidates, supporting candidates who stand for something, etc. America is done. People acting like the country is going to change because someone gets elected...it's wild.

That ignores the changes we've already gone through. Things can, in fact, change.

[ZombieHavoc]

That ignores the changes we've already gone through. Things can, in fact, change.

That's true. They're about to pass a devastating tax bill and war with NK seems even more imminent. Change we can believe in, I guess.