Monica Lewinsky

It's bad. Lots of powerful business people have similar views to PR. If they don't like the way you live your personal life, they don't care about your professional abilities or education. They demand conformity. How would you like having a boss like PR?

Maybe Monica should have moved to Amsterdam. Or almost anywhere else in western Europe.

Things here could get worse, as facial recognition technology is applied to photographs taken many years ago, and more old documents are scanned and entered into online databases. People who view themselves as the moral police seem intent on holding everyone publicly accountable for everything we've ever done.

When I go down to New Orleans, I dress and behave more conservatively than I used to, because everybody has a camera. But... if facial recognition technology is used on a photo taken down there ten years ago and posted online, some of the people I do business with will feel free to judge me harshly for things I did, when I thought I was anonymous, doing hedonistic things that a lot of other people were doing at the time.

Potentially, every socially liberal American is the next Monica Lewinsky.

I wouldn't, but if she lived around here, she could hang out at my house.

 

We will all run into miserable judgmental people throughout our lives. Best thing to do, IMO, is note that they are assholes and move on.

 

That's easier for some people, depending on what you do for a living.

 

The righteous majority like to have scapegoats onto whom they can project their prejudice and moral opprobrium..

Monica is really a victim of labelling I think.

I also think that a person's private life is their own business, and I don't see any justification for employing someone or not on the basis of any kind of consensual sex they may be into, or any other activity that doesn't impair their ability to do the job.

 

Opprobrium! That one musta' cost. That-there be at least a dollar word!!

 

I did pause and search my mind for the right word. Can't recall the last time I used it or even read it.......

 

Yeah, but she's a good one!!

 

This brings up one of the nastiest flaws in a free market economy. Customers and clients are free to boycott a business for any reason they choose, no matter how unreasonable or unfair.

For example, you might decide not to eat at a local restaurant for personal reasons that are racist, sexist, or homophobic. There's nothing that the restaurant owner can do about it. A fired waitress can sue the owner for discrimination, but the owner can't sue the customers who choose to stay away. That sometimes puts business people in a terrible dilemma.

When I said earlier that I wouldn't hire Monica, I was thinking of the jobs that require direct client contact. If she was qualified for one of the two positions I have that are strictly internal to the company, I might give her a shot at one of them. I could give everyone else a direct order to cooperate with her, and to be nice. Anyone who didn't comply would be guilty of insubordination.

I could hire a former porn star for an internal job. Maybe it's time for a few more bosses to be bolder about such things.

 

Yes it opens up a whole can of worms as you point out. But I think there's hope. In the UK now there has been a case where a Christian couple who ran a hotel refused to rent a room to 2 gay guys. The gay's took them to court for discrimination and won the case.

My own local MP has recently come out as gay, and he's Tory. A few years back that would have ended his career and got him thrown out of the party.

I get your point about people boycotting businesses. I think where there's any kind of organized boycott, that could be very destructive. Once again though, it's one of those things which doesn't happen in Western Europe so much because we have less religious bigots and zealots of that type.

It's interesting, because over here we have many Pakistani Muslims who have come over and bought up small community shops. Despite the general panic over Islam, there's no sign at at all that they do less trade. They are flourishing. There's one down the road from me where I sometimes go to help them break the rules of Islam by selling me beer.

I'm sure Monica would find a job over here or in Europe with no problems. She's probably be seen by some as more of an asset than an albatross.

 

I think unorganized boycotts do more damage. People are not always aware of their personal biases, as they choose their best option among competitors. Discrimination can be subtle and even subliminal.

 

It's subtle alright. But what you're saying here might indicate that people need to become more self aware in their choices. That is if we want to avoid unconscious prejudice. Then again, I would instinctively avoid some things. If I thought a business had a racist boss for example, I would not do business with them. I have had to make a few choices over quite obscure issues working in the festival business. Certain prejudices have to be understood and unfortunately at times, catered to.

But it's hard to know where you draw the line. I'd much rather my bank wasn't involved in un-ethical investments. I worry that some of the clothes I buy are coming from sweatshops in Bangla Desh. I'm worried about the food industry and on and on goes the list. You can only boycott so much.

 

How would you know that? In most cases, I don't think that you would.

 

It would depend. I would usually not come into contact with that particular problem in the area in which I'd be dealing with people on a business basis, as although the festie world is full of freaks with unclear agendas, they're mainly very liberal in the broad sense of the word.

If I was dealing with big companies I would have no way to know unless they expressed their views on social media or some other public platform.

 

Oh boy! Looks like we gotta dispatch the Discrimination Police again.

 

This is an interesting topic. I got half way, not even, through the first page and realized I really don't know anything at all about her life in recent years to be able to make any judgement whatever so ever to what she has recently done or has become, etc., etc.- so... hmmm, yea, Idk..

 

Oh the joys of liberalism and political correctness.

 

I don't care at all about the initial act, but I still have a rather poor opinion of her.

I don't really like the power dynamic, but I don't believe for a second they didn't both enjoy the power dynamic - which is another reason I don't really like it.

They did what they wanted to do, I assume we only know the very tip of the iceberg - of either her or clinton's sexiopolitical escapades - not judging her for making that choice, or clinton for making that choice, not even buying the "but he cheated" thing - for all you know hillary was the mastermind behind it all.

But I have a tremendous problem with her being a fucking snitch, and "speaking out" about it like she was a victim, and then "speaking out" about being a victim of people not buying her being a victim. Her attitude is absolutely painful to behold.

If she was a victim, she's a worthless secretary who can't do anything right - she can't say no to things she doesn't want to do, she can't keep her mouth shut about private matters when she's working in the goddamn white house - so victim as she might be, she's worthless and unhirable. If she's not a victim, she's a despicable backstabbing piece of shit, which makes her equally unhirable.

 

You think she should have lied under oath to a federal grand jury? That will get you 20 years in prison.

 

Well, she did save that dress with the stain on it. What other purpose might that had if not for being able to proof it when she snitched.

Why wouldn't you hire her when she's qualified and you had a job vacant?