Men Being Assholes.

by Little Miss Attila on July 20, 2009

It really isn’t such a fine line, [link removed] after all.[/a]

(Yeah, I’m linking to it in case you’re curious, but don’t click on it if you don’t want a glimpse of life in the gutter. It’s American Power, a supposedly conservative blog, gleefully trumpeting an illegal nude video made out of Erin Andrews through a hole drilled in her hotel room–a criminal act. But who cares if it’s criminal, if it might increase one’s traffic?)

Maggie Hendricks:

Most Web sites have deleted the video under threat of legal action, but that can’t undo the fact that it was shot and posted in the first place.

Nor will it change what could be a ripple effect on women working on-camera in sports. Until now, most of the attention around Andrews has been harmless fun. She is attractive, friendly and knowledgeable about sports, which made her a magnet for attention. Blogs were smart enough to take advantage of that. Her nickname is “Erin Pageviews” because any mention of her is an automatic traffic boost.

That sort of attention wouldn’t keep most women from working in sports. Sexual assault — and, make no mistake, Andrews was assaulted — will. Voyeurism isn’t “boys will be boys,” or realizing that men are ogling your (clothed) picture. Voyeurism is about taking safety and security from a victim in a place they should feel comfortable.

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You’re surprised? | The League of Ordinary Gentlemen
July 29, 2009 at 11:56 am

{ 18 comments… read them below or add one }

Cassandra July 20, 2009 at 5:14 pm

Voyeurism is about taking safety and security from a victim in a place they should feel comfortable.

Amen, joy.
Amen.

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smitty July 20, 2009 at 6:32 pm

I’m a little sheepish WRT the Rule 5 Sunday post, where I glanced at Douglas’ title and picture, and posted a riff about the content, but didn’t really follow through to see where the line was being crossed.
Do you think a statement that is 49% Laugh At How Dumb Idiots Are, and 51% Hey Let’s Be More Thoughtful In The Future, might be good penance for my tangential role in this?
There is a serious ethical question involved in gain from shady activity here. I hope that my Rule 5 posts are perceived as light, fun, positive, and celebratory in a good way, and not demeaning, exploitative, hedonistic, or even illegal.
While I won’t name the blogger, I have declined to link material that hinted it was obtained through shady means, and for the very reasons Douglas encounters here. Or maybe not: when I read the post, I thought: this guy is fortunate he’s not having the police knock on his door.
I don’t think it’s hard to tell where “the line” is, but I’ll appreciate your feedback in telling me when I’m getting close. Heaven forbid I cross it.

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Darrell July 20, 2009 at 8:55 pm

I won’t look because I’m pretty sure she wouldn’t look at mine.

I don’t buy the part where her career as a sportscaster (or any future woman) will be impacted. When it happens through no involvement of your own, people rally around you. Even men.

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Peter July 20, 2009 at 9:47 pm

Well if I spot this Erin lady chasing the clown that took this video (which I haven’t seen and won’t look for) down the road I’ll shoot him in the leg to make it easier for her to catch him.

Here is something I flat don’t understand, though. I’m old enough to remember when the big argument about porn was raging. The pro porn types were promising how legalising porm would eliminate this sort of thing, as well as cut way down on rape.

 Yanno, maybe we ought to demand that anytime a lefty promise about a lefty program is proven wrong the program is cancelled. It would be too much to expext that those making the promise be shot.

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Little Miss Attila July 20, 2009 at 9:54 pm

I’m afraid that there will always be voyeurs to whom there’s a special thrill in seeing pictures of a naked lady because they weren’t supposed to. Just like there are men to whom consensual sex is boring when compared to rape.

Human nature remains twisted.

But, again: Donald Douglas is supposed to be a conservative. And he’s written at least three cheery posts about this illegal video.

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smitty July 21, 2009 at 2:21 am

Just like there are men to whom consensual sex is boring when compared to rape.

Wow, that is dark. My mind recoils at seeing the symbols “men”, “consensual sex”, and “rape” in the same sentence. My internal definition of manhood recoils and rejects the association. Not that this by any means renders it untrue.

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Little Miss Attila July 21, 2009 at 2:38 am

I meant the word in a denotative, rather than connotative, sense. You may place scare quotes around it, if you like.

And that isn’t dark. Dark would be pointing out that some men need to kill the girl (with or without raping her first) in order to really get off.

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smitty July 21, 2009 at 2:57 am

Ick. You’ve gone from dark to lightless.

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Cassandra July 21, 2009 at 4:01 am

And he’s written at least three cheery posts about this illegal video.

I think that’s what bothers me. Not that a mistake was made (because who among us hasn’t made a mistake or two) but the stubborn insistence on defending that mistake. No one should have to perform the Thousand Prostrations. It’s not necessary. But for Pete’s sake, when you’re in a hole stop digging, say “Ooops”, and move on. Smitty makes an excellent point here:

Do you think a statement that is 49% Laugh At How Dumb Idiots Are, and 51% Hey Let’s Be More Thoughtful In The Future, might be good penance for my tangential role in this?

Conservatives need to be confident enough to find that middle ground between anguished self-loathing (when one of us screws up) and the circling of the wagons that refuses to entertain the possibility “one of us” (!) might be on the wrong track.

One of my readers made a very perceptive comment last night: we don’t defend our ideals so we can look down our noses at anyone who fails to live up to them. We all fail to live up to our ideals some of the time – that’s part of being human.

We defend ideals because if you don’t have a goal, some standard you’re willing to defend, you don’t stand for anything. I think what some of us are saying, is, “I don’t think capitalizing on someone else’s misfortune is something we’re willing to defend, nor something we want to see become the accepted standard for how people treat each other.”

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Beth July 21, 2009 at 11:52 am

I guess this guy is a peeping tom himself. What’s the difference between what he (and his mouth-breathing readers who cheer him on) did and what the perp did? They’re all ogling the woman just the same.

That kind of sh*t is one of several reasons I barely read blogs any more – thoughtless Google-whoring for worthless hits. For what???

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repsac3 July 21, 2009 at 12:30 pm

As some folks here know, I’m not on your side politically, but I’ve been following this thing (and a related story about bigoted “jokes” and other commentary) on a whole bunch of blogs for the last several days…

Right or left, Cassandra’s 4:01 AM post is right on target. One has to have standards of behavior, and one has to uphold them, whether the target (or the perpetrator) is a political/social friend or a foe.

While I like pretty women as much as the next guy, I find the whole “Rule 5” thing to be kinda distasteful because I see it as kind of a bait & switch. They come, they oogle, and the hit counters ding! as though they came for the politics. To me it’s as though the blog authors in question are saying their writing isn’t good enough on it’s own…

But whatever one thinks of Rule 5, at least the women in question willingly posed for the snapshots that get posted (all the ones I’ve seen, anyway)… There’s a vast difference between exploiting oneself and being exploited by others without consent, as the result of an illegal and sleazy act. The people responsible for getting & posting the video are criminals. But everyone who helped it get passed around, whether by posting the video itself or a link to it elsewhere are far from blameless, no matter how they justify it. And those who heard the story and then searched for the video really ought to take a good look at what that says about their own standards and values, as well.

The best post I’ve seen on this, Male category: You call yourself a man? Not while Erin out your fantasies online – CBSSports.com News, Fantasy, Video

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Ex-DLB July 21, 2009 at 5:52 pm

Just stumbled in here from a link at AmPow. As with Repsac, I’m not on your side politically. I’m quite hetero, but find the rule 5 thing idiotic. If I want to be titillated, I don’t go to Douglas’ place for it. I read him for the shock value, much the same as I listened to Michael Savage for awhile, until that got to be too insane. Personally, I find Douglas’ politics to be as ugly as his blog-whoring of this illicit video.

Don’t be surprised if he tries to turn this into a blog war. He had a pretty good skirmish going with JBW at Brain Rage a few weeks back.

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Cassandra July 22, 2009 at 7:09 am

Don’t be surprised if he tries to turn this into a blog war. He had a pretty good skirmish going with JBW at Brain Rage a few weeks back.

I will never understand the fascination with flame wars. If I have something to say, I say it. I try to stay away from attacking the messenger and instead discuss the idea. Sometimes, that makes no difference.

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smitty July 22, 2009 at 7:17 am

@Cassandra,
I posted something that I hope was diplomatic over on AP, but haven’t had a reply. Men, eh?

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Cassandra July 22, 2009 at 8:48 am

Heh 🙂

As the wife of a Marine and mother of two grown sons, I have to say that I enjoy men enormously. Don’t always understand them, but then the same if often said by men about us.

I think the world looks very different to men and women. It takes work to try and understand each other’s point of view but I’ve seldom found that effort to be wasted. Thanks for your willingness to engage on this, guys.

I’ve found all of your comments thought provoking.

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Little Miss Attila July 22, 2009 at 3:03 pm

Men rawk.

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Cassandra July 22, 2009 at 3:10 pm

They do indeed.

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smitty July 22, 2009 at 4:24 pm

I’ll admit a preference for the ladies, in particular, my wife. 🙂

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