'Sexist' Nobel laureate 'hung out to dry' over comments

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JWR

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#175055 16-Jun-2015 02:53

I admit I don't know any background story on this.

So I accept I may be proved totally wrong.

Here is the story...

http://www.nzherald.co.nz/lifestyle/news/article.cfm?c_id=6&objectid=11465620

This seems an appalling beat up to me.

He made a couple of unwise comments as a joke.

Now, he is forced to resign from several positions, effectively ending his career.

Then there is this ...

"Women scientists also rushed to his defence, including physicist Dame Athene Donald, biologist Professor Ottoline Leyser and physiologist Dame Nancy Rothwell. Yesterday, his wife, Professor Mary Collins, one of Britain's most senior immunologists who also has a post at UCL, said the couple had broken down following the news. "Tim sat on the sofa and started crying. Then I started crying. We just held on to each other," she said.

She denied that her husband was sexist, adding: 'It was an unbelievably stupid thing to say. You can see why it could be taken as offensive if you didn't know Tim. But really it was just part of his upbringing. He went to a single-sex school in the 1960s. Nevertheless, he is not sexist. I am a feminist and I would not have put up with him if he were sexist.'"

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#1325448 16-Jun-2015 07:07

Stupid reactions. Silly comment the media blew up and it's gone too far.

MileHighKiwi

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#1325486 16-Jun-2015 09:06

Overreaction is par for the course these days, everyone is ready to jump on anyone who says something they don't agree with.

Was his comment sexist? well, yeah, I guess you could say a little bit. Does he deserve to lose his career over it? No way.

MikeB4

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#1325491 16-Jun-2015 09:16

It is why I believe "just because it can be said does not men it should be said". Also to take devils advocate, could it be his subsequent statements etc are hindsight attempts to cover ones butt.

tdgeek

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#1325506 16-Jun-2015 09:34

For a clearly intelligent scientist, a poor judge of social skills. Clearly the standard "greeny" "newsworthy" "great, found someone/thing to pick on" mentality

MikeB4

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#1325540 16-Jun-2015 09:56

A bit better covered here http://www.bbc.com/news/uk-33077107

ubergeeknz

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#1325542 16-Jun-2015 09:59

Umm his comment was disgusting and incredibly sexist. He does not deserve to walk away unscathed. Even his "apology" belies the fact that he blames females for his own inability to keep things professional.

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#1325545 16-Jun-2015 10:09

OK, it has to be 1 rule for all.

Any person who says that men cant multitask MUST loose their job, no matter where they make that comment.
I find that comment sexest, demeaning , untrue .

Also any demeaning comments re dad bods, baldness , beer bellies & uselessness of men , should also be grounds to loose your job .
Any reporting of these offensive comments should be grounds for prosecution.

So lets persecute someone for being a stupid ass. Lets persecute someone for having an opinion that isnt politically correct .

Hands up all those who think having controversial opinions is grounds to loose your job. Lets see where that gets you when discussing politics or
religion with co-workers.

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Rikkitic

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#1325552 16-Jun-2015 10:17

Evil people who say evil things should be shown no mercy. Ordinary people who say stupid things should be held to account, but should also be given a chance to apologise and redeem themselves. It shouldn't be career-ending. How many times have we all said something we genuinely regretted due to a momentary lapse of judgement? I know I am certainly guilty of this. Unfortunately unmoderated social media have created a baying mob mentality. I say the guy deserves a break. Put him in the dunce corner for awhile, then let him rejoin society.

Plesse igmore amd axxept applogies in adbance fir anu typos

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#1325602 16-Jun-2015 10:37

tdgeek: For a clearly intelligent scientist, a poor judge of social skills. ...

+1
He is 72 years old, his best work is behind him, and he is overdue for retirement.

[Disclaimer : I have a Gold Card]

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MileHighKiwi

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#1325615 16-Jun-2015 10:47

ubergeeknz: Umm his comment was disgusting and incredibly sexist. He does not deserve to walk away unscathed. Even his "apology" belies the fact that he blames females for his own inability to keep things professional.

No one is saying it wasn't sexist. But who defines the level of punishment? Public opinion? He has not committed a crime, so the courts can't punish him.

Why don't we tie him up in Queen Street and let the public throw rotten fruit at him. That's basically what social media is these days.

In this case I think the punishment far outweighs the 'crime'

ubergeeknz

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#1325626 16-Jun-2015 10:52

MileHighKiwi:
ubergeeknz: Umm his comment was disgusting and incredibly sexist. He does not deserve to walk away unscathed. Even his "apology" belies the fact that he blames females for his own inability to keep things professional.

No one is saying it wasn't sexist. But who defines the level of punishment? Public opinion? He has not committed a crime, so the courts can't punish him.

Why don't we tie him up in Queen Street and let the public throw rotten fruit at him. That's basically what social media is these days.

In this case I think the punishment far outweighs the 'crime'

I didn't say anything about whether the punishment is entirely appropriate, merely that such a sexist attitude cannot be let slide without any repercussions.

tdgeek

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#1325641 16-Jun-2015 11:06

ubergeeknz:
MileHighKiwi:
ubergeeknz: Umm his comment was disgusting and incredibly sexist. He does not deserve to walk away unscathed. Even his "apology" belies the fact that he blames females for his own inability to keep things professional.

No one is saying it wasn't sexist. But who defines the level of punishment? Public opinion? He has not committed a crime, so the courts can't punish him.

Why don't we tie him up in Queen Street and let the public throw rotten fruit at him. That's basically what social media is these days.

In this case I think the punishment far outweighs the 'crime'

I didn't say anything about whether the punishment is entirely appropriate, merely that such a sexist attitude cannot be let slide without any repercussions.

And no one here disagrees with that

tdgeek

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#1325643 16-Jun-2015 11:08

MileHighKiwi:
ubergeeknz: Umm his comment was disgusting and incredibly sexist. He does not deserve to walk away unscathed. Even his "apology" belies the fact that he blames females for his own inability to keep things professional.

No one is saying it wasn't sexist. But who defines the level of punishment? Public opinion? He has not committed a crime, so the courts can't punish him.

Why don't we tie him up in Queen Street and let the public throw rotten fruit at him. That's basically what social media is these days.

In this case I think the punishment far outweighs the 'crime'

Social Engineering is a more apt title of the concept these days. Some people enjoy living a Coronation St lifestyle.

MikeB4

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#1325673 16-Jun-2015 11:38

A problem with this is many will see it as he say it was, humour but that does not excuse it. There are many racist, sexist, anti Semitic etc jokes, however being uttered as jokes does not excuse or make it right. Stuff like this uttered by someone of his position can be seen by others as
vindication of their beliefs.

MileHighKiwi

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#1325777 16-Jun-2015 14:07

London Mayor Boris Johnson has weighed in on the matter. Thank god there are still voices of reason in this crazy PC world...

http://www.stuff.co.nz/world/europe/69418938/boris-johnson-defends-sir-tim-hunt-a-nobel-scientist-felled-by-sexism-charges

when someone is deemed to have said or done something to cause offence to the great and implacable Moloch of Political Correctness, then the priests and priestesses of that religion will sometimes react with a vindictiveness - and a total lack of reason - that is in itself a kind of anthropological marvel.

Whether you say it is a function of biology or social expectation, it is a fact that - on the whole - men and women express emotion differently. There is, in other words, a gender difference, and it should not be an offence to say that.

He did not deserve to be pilloried, and should be reinstated forthwith to his academic positions.

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