Friday, April 11, 2014

The power of the Female Imperative

And the boundless horror of the female fear of public humiliation. It's amazing what women can manage to achieve together when they go into a prohibition-frenzy:
A controversial Facebook group which invites commuters to post photos of women eating on the Tube has been shut down.The group entitled Women Who Eat On Tubes was created in 2011, but recently hit the headlines after Transport for London said that those that feel threatened should contact the British Transport Police. The group, which has more than 21,000 members, asks users to provide information including what the person was eating, what time the photo was taken and on what line.
The idea that Facebook, of all companies, should shut down a group due to the posting of legal photos deemed intrusive, is indeed ironic. Although it does point to a potentially effective strategy for Westerners who hope to challenge the surveillance society.

"Privacy campaign Big Brother Watch called for the law to be changed to deter people from taking photos of strangers in cases where they intend to publish them."

The only question is if more women are afraid of being embarrassed by being seen stuffing their faces than they are of crime.

13 comments:

Anonymous said...

Another group that doesn't like it

deti said...

From the article: The primary complaint is an asserted "right to privacy" and notes correctly that that right developed before cellphones and smartphones and cell cameras.

I'm plenty libertarian, but the right to privacy doesn't extend to public conduct. You don't have a right to privacy when you're riding public transportation, or walking on a sidewalk, or using a public elevator. If you're going to engage in conduct in public, you should, in this day and age, expect that conduct could possibly be photographed or videotaped.

One wonders if the complainers will leap to the defense of some thug getting caught on a videocam snatching an old lady's purse or being a stickup boy. No, in that case it's "for the public good" and "in the public interest of deterring and detecting crime".

I suppose the other distinction is that this public photography serves no "public" interest. No, it merely panders and appeals to others' prurient interests. People are just leering at women of varying degrees of attractiveness stuffing their faces. Not so. This is really just photojournalism -- taking photos of and documenting the world around us. "This is what the world looks like, for good or ill. Draw your own conclusions."

If that's the argument being offered -- that this is taking photos of private moments which happen to occur in public -- then the post- WWII sailor kissing the nurse during that parade is verboten. So is the photo of the napalmed Vietnamese kids. So is the Robert Doisneau photo of the man kissing the woman which was made into a famous art noveau poster.

The right of free expression, to document the world around us, to observe what's going on around us and comment on it, and to take photographs and video and let that the documentary evidence speak for itself, outweighs the lowered expectation of privacy and a "right to be let alone" in public.

Or, you could just not eat Subway while riding a subway.

brian said...

I think I've just figured something important out. Or not.

Government isn't the problem, it's a symptom. This, plus the attacks by private citizens upon Dropbox and Mozilla tell me that the population at large has gone fascist. So it stands to reason that they'd elect a government that would enable their worst impulses.

We don't need a new government as much as we need a new public.

When do we vote THEM out?

Stg58/Animal Mother said...

We would regularly oppress women in the chow hall by locking eyes with them just as their mouths were at full distension as they took a bite of food. It worked best with a corn dog. It had the effect of making them freeze with a gaping mouth and a corn dog hovering right at the insertion point.

Those were the days, gents.

Anonymous said...

When do we vote THEM out?

This goes back to Vox's don't let women vote thinking. The male facist population is substantially lower than the female one. It is aided by their own biological interests, and the fact that they don't actually have to do any of the dirty work.

CarpeOro said...

Haven't they made stuffing your face a crime in NY NY already? You know, along with banning Big Gulps.

CarpeOro said...

Also, consider this. If they have the right not to be photographed eating, what about the rights of celebrities to not be photographed doing ANYTHING? Doubt the women would support the demise of pictures on their favorite gossip rags.

Laguna Beach Fogey said...

The article says the site is back up.

A British Transport Police spokesman said: 'We are committed to tackling all forms of inappropriate behaviour on the rail and Tube network.

Presumably this chap is referring to the unedifying spectacle of ladies stuffing their face whilst travelling on public transport.

This...tell me that the population at large has gone fascist.

The rise of Nanny State totalitarianism.

We already know that taking photos and/or filming security service personnel in the US invites displeasure from said personnel.

A few years ago own FB group, Women Who Wear Bikinis On Beaches, was closed down after several complaints.

One wonders if the photographer is not a troll of some kind, or perhaps trying to shame women into not eating on the Tube because it is an unattractive sight?

Feather Blade said...

We would regularly oppress women in the chow hall by locking eyes with them just as their mouths were at full distension as they took a bite of food. It worked best with a corn dog. It had the effect of making them freeze with a gaping mouth and a corn dog hovering right at the insertion point.

I'm surprised that the women wouldn't just return your stares, bare their teeth and bite through the corndog.

The potential for mutual disconcertion is very high in your scenario.

Anonymous said...

off topic, but you'll find this funny:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xLSnNSqs_CQ

Stg58/Animal Mother said...

They never did, Feather.

yukonyon said...

"The only question is if more women are afraid of being embarrassed by being seen stuffing their faces than they are of crime."

Wouldn't it already be obvious simply by looking at abortion stats?

Whiskey said...

When I was in London in the 1990's, food and eating was banned. It makes a mess. Same with the DC metro. Most subways ban food and drink because of the mess that inevitably happens with food in such places and the influx of vermin.

It's a public safety issue! Take pics away!

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