# Gasp, Fearless Girl statue in NY latest social media outrage. **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [March 12, 2017, 6:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gasp-fearless-girl-statue-in-ny-latest-social-media-outrage/782006 "2017-03-12T18:10:11Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![Novelty\_Bobble](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/a3d4f5/32.png) [@Novelty\_Bobble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Novelty_Bobble)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2017, 6:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gasp-fearless-girl-statue-in-ny-latest-social-media-outrage/782006/61 "2017-03-13T18:24:52Z")
> [@dofe](#): > > I’m not sure how you (and other posters defending this guy’s actions) don’t see this difference. Is anyone _defending_ his actions? I’m certainly not. He’s a drunken dick, c’est la vie. But molestation of that statue has potentially no more significance than the bull-ball-fondling (Accountant firm name?) that goes on every day. Some on this thread seem to think that this is evidence of misogyny or has paedophilic undertones, I think that all the energy put into outrage is better served targeting intentional and ongoing actions of misogyny of which there are many. We had a thread a while back about political correctness in effect jumping the shark and the outrage here is a pretty good example of exactly that. ---
**Author:** ![dofe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/7ba0ec/32.png) [@dofe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dofe)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2017, 6:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gasp-fearless-girl-statue-in-ny-latest-social-media-outrage/782006/62 "2017-03-13T18:39:29Z")
> [@Novelty\_Bobble](#): > > Is anyone _defending_ his actions? I’m certainly not. He’s a drunken dick, c’est la vie. But molestation of that statue has potentially no more significance than the bull-ball-fondling (Accountant firm name?) that goes on every day. > Some on this thread seem to think that this is evidence of misogyny or has paedophilic undertones, I think that all the energy put into outrage is better served targeting intentional and ongoing actions of misogyny of which there are many. > We had a thread a while back about political correctness in effect jumping the shark and the outrage here is a pretty good example of exactly that. Right, because the all the “energy put into outrage” here is preventing people from targeting ongoing actions of misogyny. :rolleyes: ---
**Author:** ![IvoryTowerDenizen](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ivorytowerdenizen/32/17937_2.png) [@IvoryTowerDenizen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/IvoryTowerDenizen)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2017, 6:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gasp-fearless-girl-statue-in-ny-latest-social-media-outrage/782006/63 "2017-03-13T18:42:31Z")
> [@DrCube](#): > > Silly old me, I’ll continue to fight for the rights of _women_. > > You want to protect inanimate objects? Good for you. Maybe don’t leave them out in the streets at night around a bunch of drunks, though. Wow, you’re a stellar advocate for the rights of women. Please, let me know when we women are entitled to upset by something and what our level of upset should be. ---
**Author:** ![Rick\_Sanchez](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e19adc/32.png) [@Rick\_Sanchez](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rick_Sanchez)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2017, 6:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gasp-fearless-girl-statue-in-ny-latest-social-media-outrage/782006/64 "2017-03-13T18:53:23Z")
> [@IvoryTowerDenizen](#): > > To you. To those of who are affected by misogyny it’s just another example of the attitude some assholes enjoy that many of us live with. You can dismiss it or take a moment to see the world through someone else’s eyes. Is that someone else a person with no sense of perspective who takes really stupid things and blows them _way_ out of proportion? Because I’m not sure there’s much value in that. ---
**Author:** ![IvoryTowerDenizen](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ivorytowerdenizen/32/17937_2.png) [@IvoryTowerDenizen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/IvoryTowerDenizen)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2017, 6:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gasp-fearless-girl-statue-in-ny-latest-social-media-outrage/782006/65 "2017-03-13T18:57:30Z")
> [@Rick\_Sanchez](#): > > Is that someone else a person with no sense of perspective who takes really stupid things and blows them _way_ out of proportion? Because I’m not sure there’s much value in that. The only people I see blowing things out of proportion are those franticallly lecturing people who found what the guy did distasteful and who observe that it’s illustrative of the distasteful attitudes, large and small, many women deal with often. ---
**Author:** ![Rick\_Sanchez](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e19adc/32.png) [@Rick\_Sanchez](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rick_Sanchez)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2017, 7:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gasp-fearless-girl-statue-in-ny-latest-social-media-outrage/782006/66 "2017-03-13T19:29:21Z")
> [@IvoryTowerDenizen](#): > > The only people I see blowing things out of proportion are those frantically lecturing people who found what the guy did distasteful and who observe that it’s illustrative of the distasteful attitudes, large and small, many women deal with often. Really? Seriously? You didn’t see [this](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showpost.php?p=20062589&postcount=48) post? Or [this](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showpost.php?p=20061793&postcount=31) one? Or [this](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showpost.php?p=20061700&postcount=27) pious disquisition? So either you haven’t read the thread, or you _have_ and you think these are proportionate responses to some dork grinding on the statue. Well, they aren’t. _Everyone_ does stupid shit from time to time, especially when they’re young and have been drinking. The appropriate response is to roll your eyes and move on like a normal person, not film it, take it viral, shoehorn it into a narrative of patriarchal oppression, and call for the guy’s head. That’s retarded. It’s worth noting that the comments I linked to above are pretty level-headed compared to some of the comments left on other sites. Elsewhere on the internet, there are women calling for the police to confiscate this guy’s computer and check for child porn, and find out where he lives and out him to his neighbours as a pedophile. So yeah. This has turned into a full-blown public shaming where people give themselves temporary license to unleash their inner bully on an easy target from a safe distance for their own amusement. It’s pathetic. ---
**Author:** ![Corry\_El](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ecae2f/32.png) [@Corry\_El](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Corry_El)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2017, 7:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gasp-fearless-girl-statue-in-ny-latest-social-media-outrage/782006/67 "2017-03-13T19:31:48Z")
The blind spot I see here is people not seeming to realize the difference that _communication_ of these incident is having. It’s not, from my POV anyway, about any ‘excuse’. It’s just that it’s an objectively factually minor incident that only a few years ago, certainly a decade or two ago, you’d never have heard of\*. The point is that conventions in society about what’s a reasonable response to things were formed at a time when all the same trivial things didn’t come to everyone’s attention. I think society is struggling with this change, and some people answering on the thread are showing this. \*which is where the ‘Piss Christ’ analogy breaks down, not to mention downright silly analogies (like a female relative being sexually assaulted on the subway? this is an actually ambiguous photograph of a man and a _statue_, the photographer has labelled it ‘humping’, as well as somehow figuring out the guy’s occupation… everyone in a suit in lower Manhattan is a finance ‘broseph’, who knew? 🙂 ) That was a (purported) work of art displayed to attract attention through traditional media channels, supported in part by public money. Very different in the aspect I think a lot of comments are missing. ---
**Author:** ![Jophiel](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jophiel/32/66_2.png) [@Jophiel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jophiel)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2017, 7:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gasp-fearless-girl-statue-in-ny-latest-social-media-outrage/782006/68 "2017-03-13T19:37:26Z")
> [@Novelty\_Bobble](#): > > I think that all the energy put into outrage is better served targeting intentional and ongoing actions of misogyny Giving an opinion on a message board seems to be an exactly appropriate level of “outrage” when discussing a photo on social media. ---
**Author:** ![DrCube](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/a3d4f5/32.png) [@DrCube](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrCube)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2017, 7:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gasp-fearless-girl-statue-in-ny-latest-social-media-outrage/782006/69 "2017-03-13T19:49:35Z")
> [@IvoryTowerDenizen](#): > > Wow, you’re a stellar advocate for the rights of women. Please, let me know when we women are entitled to upset by something and what our level of upset should be. Be upset. Nobody said to do otherwise. Have fun with that. ---
**Author:** ![E-DUB](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/e-dub/32/403_2.png) [@E-DUB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/E-DUB)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2017, 8:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gasp-fearless-girl-statue-in-ny-latest-social-media-outrage/782006/70 "2017-03-13T20:13:04Z")
I won’t link to the pics, but the Nicki Minaj wax figure has seen some serious abuse. ---
**Author:** ![you\_with\_the\_face](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/ecccb3/32.png) [@you\_with\_the\_face](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/you_with_the_face)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2017, 8:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gasp-fearless-girl-statue-in-ny-latest-social-media-outrage/782006/71 "2017-03-13T20:14:42Z")
> [@Corry\_El](#): > > The blind spot I see here is people not seeming to realize the difference that _communication_ of these incident is having. It’s not, from my POV anyway, about any ‘excuse’. It’s just that it’s an objectively factually minor incident that only a few years ago, certainly a decade or two ago, you’d never have heard of\*. Because times change. Social media didn’t exist decades ago. Now that it does, it allows people who otherwise would have remained oblivious to these kinds of things to chatter all day about them. I wouldn’t have even known about this incident had it not been for the OP and this message board. His outrage over the outrage has only kept the communication going. And you are doing your part too. Yes I agree that this is victimless offense. Yes, in the grand scheme this is not worth much more than a head shake or a inner cringe. But there is nothing wrong about pointing out the layer upon layers of irony here. It’s more funny than anything else. I mean, the OP’s earnest insistence that the statue was basically “asking for it” straight up reads like satire when you get down to it. ---
**Author:** ![Corry\_El](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ecae2f/32.png) [@Corry\_El](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Corry_El)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2017, 8:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gasp-fearless-girl-statue-in-ny-latest-social-media-outrage/782006/72 "2017-03-13T20:50:31Z")
> [@you\_with\_the\_face](#): > > Because times change. > > I wouldn’t have even known about this incident had it not been for the OP and this message board. His outrage over the outrage has only kept the communication going. And you are doing your part too. Yes obviously times change. And the clever come back ‘well _you’re_ paying attention too’, is fine, but it’s not the point as I see it. Which again is that conventions of reasonable response come from some set of circumstances. When ‘times changes’ enough for the conventions to lose relevance, the outcome could be a less stable society, which I think might be occurring. So the point wouldn’t be just to shut up and move on, or not only. People’s bandwidth to carefully consider things probably hasn’t changed, or not as much. To spend as much emotional energy as many people obvious do on a triviality like this, they must be giving less attention or consideration to something else. Perhaps things less trivial. And maybe private consideration of things more specific to one’s own life makes it easier to avoid impulses of totalitarianism and petty tyranny (as in ‘this guy’s life should be ruined’) in the mob dynamic of social media and the internet. I think it’s just worth considering for the people really worked up about stuff like this, but they are probably the least likely to agree. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Novelty\_Bobble](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/a3d4f5/32.png) [@Novelty\_Bobble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Novelty_Bobble)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2017, 9:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gasp-fearless-girl-statue-in-ny-latest-social-media-outrage/782006/73 "2017-03-13T21:23:22Z")
> [@dofe](#): > > Right, because the all the “energy put into outrage” here is preventing people from targeting ongoing actions of misogyny. :rolleyes: I didn’t say that, but outrage (to me at least) is a finite resource and I prefer to save it for something that really matters. And I do think such non-stories cheapen and demean the cause in general because if this is the easily digestible outrage de jour it can’t help but deflect from much much more important and meaty matters. ---
**Author:** ![stolatt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b5e925/32.png) [@stolatt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/stolatt)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2017, 9:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gasp-fearless-girl-statue-in-ny-latest-social-media-outrage/782006/74 "2017-03-13T21:31:22Z")
For me, it’s not this incident in particular, it’s representative of all the times women have been told to suck it up. Besides, it’s just gross. Why does being drunk excuse you from being a pig? ---
**Author:** ![Novelty\_Bobble](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/a3d4f5/32.png) [@Novelty\_Bobble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Novelty_Bobble)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2017, 9:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gasp-fearless-girl-statue-in-ny-latest-social-media-outrage/782006/75 "2017-03-13T21:33:27Z")
> [@Jophiel](#): > > Giving an opinion on a message board seems to be an exactly appropriate level of “outrage” when discussing a photo on social media. A mention in passing? a rolling of the eyes? a muttering of “what a dick”? Yes, all are exactly proportionate responses. A full-on internet storm? Waves of moral outrage? Calls for harm to be done and harsh sanctions to be imposed?..not so much. If you are telling me that none of those are happening then great, sanity and balance is restored but I suspect that is not the case. And what atmosphere does such overreaction breed anyway? I don’t imagine a cyber-lynching over such a minor matter is going to make public discourse any better. We seem to be living in a world where the rhetoric on all sides is ramping up and making actual meaningful discussions very difficult. To the dope’s eternal credit it remains one of the places where nuanced and varying opinions can at least be tested without it descending into mudslinging inside the first half dozen posts. ---
**Author:** ![drewder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/57b2e6/32.png) [@drewder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/drewder)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2017, 9:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gasp-fearless-girl-statue-in-ny-latest-social-media-outrage/782006/76 "2017-03-13T21:59:26Z")
The more outrage you express on stupid issues like this the less people will pay attention to your outrage. It’s like how if a drill sergeant yells about everything it just becomes background noise. ---
**Author:** ![Loach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/loach/32/350_2.png) [@Loach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Loach)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2017, 11:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gasp-fearless-girl-statue-in-ny-latest-social-media-outrage/782006/77 "2017-03-13T23:23:42Z")
> [@E-DUB](#): > > I won’t link to the pics, but the Nicki Minaj wax figure has seen some serious abuse. You should see the abuse Victor Noir has been getting for over 100 years. ---
**Author:** ![MandaJo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ac91a4/32.png) [@MandaJo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MandaJo)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2017, 11:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gasp-fearless-girl-statue-in-ny-latest-social-media-outrage/782006/78 "2017-03-13T23:58:06Z")
> [@Novelty\_Bobble](#): > > I didn’t say that, but outrage (to me at least) is a finite resource and I prefer to save it for something that really matters. > And I do think such non-stories cheapen and demean the cause in general because if this is the easily digestible outrage de jour it can’t help but deflect from much much more important and meaty matters. No one even brought it up here until someone started a thread with “boys will be boys” and “little girl statues need to be protected by barricades”. At that point, several of us said it was representative of a certain type of bullshit. Apparently anything other than politely laughter at this tasteless joke is pearl clutching. ---
**Author:** ![clairobscur](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/839c29/32.png) [@clairobscur](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/clairobscur)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2017, 12:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gasp-fearless-girl-statue-in-ny-latest-social-media-outrage/782006/79 "2017-03-14T00:56:12Z")
> [@Loach](#): > > You should see the abuse Victor Noir has been getting for over 100 years. I was about to mention him. I had never heard of him until some foreign girl asked me where his tomb was as I was visiting the cemetery. I found intriguing that a tourist would want to see the tomb of someone presumably so obscure that I had never heard his name. So I sought it, and one look at the statue and its shiny groin made me understand immediately what women were coming to do there. They eventually fenced the tomb some years ago, so no more pussy grinding there. ---
**Author:** ![Jophiel](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jophiel/32/66_2.png) [@Jophiel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jophiel)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2017, 1:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gasp-fearless-girl-statue-in-ny-latest-social-media-outrage/782006/80 "2017-03-14T01:46:03Z")
> [@Novelty\_Bobble](#): > > If you are telling me that none of those are happening then great, sanity and balance is restored but I suspect that is not the case. I would guess that such a reaction is coming from a fraction of a percent of people who see the photo. Whereas 99.x% rolls their eyes, sigh, post a sentence or two on a message board or Facebook then largely forget about it, etc. Maybe you should stop being “outraged” about such minor numbers. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gasp-fearless-girl-statue-in-ny-latest-social-media-outrage/782006.md?page=3) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gasp-fearless-girl-statue-in-ny-latest-social-media-outrage/782006.md?page=5)