# Robin Williams was a groper **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [March 21, 2018, 5:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/robin-williams-was-a-groper/810976 "2018-03-21T17:39:37Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![JackieLikesVariety](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackielikesvariety/32/296_2.png) [@JackieLikesVariety](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JackieLikesVariety)\ **Post date:** [March 22, 2018, 5:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/robin-williams-was-a-groper/810976/41 "2018-03-22T17:30:52Z")
> [@Fenris](#): > > Bullshit. Dawber was apparently a semi-willing (or completely willing) participant, Franken’s victim was asleep. What Dawber describes is “slap and tickle”, what Franken did is \>\< this close to molesting woman who’s been given a roofie. > [@](#): > > It really isn’t. She was on a plane full of people, not actually touched and Franken was mugging for a camera. +1 Fenris has a poor arguement :dubious: and as many have said, if she was OK with went on (Dawber) it isn’t harassment. ---
**Author:** ![astorian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ad7895/32.png) [@astorian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astorian)\ **Post date:** [March 22, 2018, 5:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/robin-williams-was-a-groper/810976/42 "2018-03-22T17:47:48Z")
> [@Little\_Nemo](#): > > And there’s these guys who never have to work. But they always have money. > > They just go out on the street or into a business and point a gun at somebody. And then those people just hand them money. > > How is that fair? I have to go to work every day for hours and hours to get some money. And these guys just have people giving them money. You think I was complaining? You think I WANT to expose myself to co-workers? Guess again! Most of us have no desire to talk trash, reveal our privates, or proposition female colleagues. I sure don’t. But even if I WERE ever tempted to do so, I know dang well it wouldn’t come across as charming or playful. It would come across as creepy, and I KNOW it. There are guys who can talk dirty and get away with it, but most of us can’t. The guys who can’t should KNOW they can’t, or they’ll get in big trouble. If the average guy talks dirty, female colleagues think “What a jerk.” A select few guys can unzip their flies, and everyone will say, “Oh, that’s just Bob.” ---
**Author:** ![Omniscient](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/omniscient/32/3290_2.png) [@Omniscient](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Omniscient)\ **Post date:** [March 22, 2018, 5:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/robin-williams-was-a-groper/810976/43 "2018-03-22T17:54:28Z")
> [@Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](#): > > Getting a ‘no’ doesn’t make it harassment, either. Persisting in asking after getting a ‘no’ is what makes it harassment. That’s a nice thought, but we’re in a time where there is no due process on this stuff. Accusation = guilt. If the woman felt uncomfortable, you’re dead meat. Thank god for being married. ---
**Author:** ![Telemark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/telemark/32/372_2.png) [@Telemark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Telemark)\ **Post date:** [March 22, 2018, 6:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/robin-williams-was-a-groper/810976/44 "2018-03-22T18:21:01Z")
> [@Omniscient](#): > > If the woman felt uncomfortable, you’re dead meat. Even in our heightened #metoo climate that’s not even remotely true. ---
**Author:** ![I\_Love\_Me\_Vol.I](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/i_love_me_vol.i/32/521_2.png) [@I\_Love\_Me\_Vol.I](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/I_Love_Me_Vol.I)\ **Post date:** [March 22, 2018, 9:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/robin-williams-was-a-groper/810976/45 "2018-03-22T21:09:00Z")
> [@Fenris](#): > > Bullshit. Dawber was apparently a semi-willing (or completely willing) participant, Franken’s victim was asleep. What Dawber describes is “slap and tickle”, what Franken did is \>\< this close to molesting woman who’s been given a roofie. No. It’s not _that_ close. It is not close at all. ---
**Author:** ![TruCelt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/trucelt/32/523_2.png) [@TruCelt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TruCelt)\ **Post date:** [March 22, 2018, 10:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/robin-williams-was-a-groper/810976/46 "2018-03-22T22:41:49Z")
Robin Williams was an admitted coke addict during his tenure as Mork. Goodness only knows what he did or didn’t do, and there probably wasn’t much in the latter category! He was certainly not a good role model at that time. I don’t know whether he ever became one. I do understand that he later gave up drugs, or at least coke. ---
**Author:** ![DavidwithanR](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/3bc359/32.png) [@DavidwithanR](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DavidwithanR)\ **Post date:** [March 22, 2018, 11:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/robin-williams-was-a-groper/810976/47 "2018-03-22T23:03:35Z")
> [@Omniscient](#): > > That’s a nice thought, but we’re in a time where there is no due process on this stuff. Accusation = guilt. If the woman felt uncomfortable, you’re dead meat. > > Thank god for being married. The possibility for false accusations has always been there. The difference is that true accusations are more likely to be taken seriously now than they were before. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2018, 12:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/robin-williams-was-a-groper/810976/48 "2018-03-23T00:01:15Z")
> [@](#): > > Quoth **astorian** : > > I’ve said this before, but will repeat myself. > > At EVERY job I’ve ever held, there’s been a guy who talks trash, drops sexual innuendo, and mock-molests women. In EVERY case, the women seemed to love it. They all laughed hysterically, and none ever complained. > > If I had ever attempted anything similar, every one of those women would have kicked me in the shin, complained to the boss, and gotten me fired. > > Is there a lesson? Well, SOME guys can do that kind of thing and come off as charming or funny. MOST of us would just seem creepy if we did it. > > Apparently, Robin Williams was the kind of guy who could show his schlong to a nun and make her laugh., rather than offend her. Very few of us can do that. When I was in band in college, there was a guy like that. I’ll call him Mooseballs, because that’s what everyone in the band called him. Well, one day at a party, one of the ladies was drunk out of her skull, and so Mooseballs, being a gentleman, was helping her home. Specifically, by carrying her. Except that when he picked her up, she started flailing and kicking and so on. And so, being a gentleman, he put her back down where she was: He didn’t often get that sort of reaction, but he clearly understood what it meant. The next morning, when the lady in question sobered up and her friends told her what happened, she was very upset, not because Moose had tried to pick her up, but because she had resisted. Which she wouldn’t even have dreamed of doing, had she been sober. ---
**Author:** ![Ukulele\_Ike](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/df788c/32.png) [@Ukulele\_Ike](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ukulele_Ike)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2018, 12:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/robin-williams-was-a-groper/810976/49 "2018-03-23T00:14:47Z")
Hey! That was _me!_. I AM MOOSEBALLS. ---
**Author:** ![Ukulele\_Ike](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/df788c/32.png) [@Ukulele\_Ike](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ukulele_Ike)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2018, 12:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/robin-williams-was-a-groper/810976/50 "2018-03-23T00:16:09Z")
(Not really. But the idea of claiming his fame was irresistibly tickling to me) ---
**Author:** ![Ukulele\_Ike](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/df788c/32.png) [@Ukulele\_Ike](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ukulele_Ike)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2018, 12:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/robin-williams-was-a-groper/810976/51 "2018-03-23T00:17:47Z")
(He was the drummer, right?) ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2018, 12:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/robin-williams-was-a-groper/810976/52 "2018-03-23T00:54:27Z")
Actually, IIRC he was on sax. But it’s been a long time; I’m not certain. ---
**Author:** ![Ukulele\_Ike](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/df788c/32.png) [@Ukulele\_Ike](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ukulele_Ike)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2018, 1:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/robin-williams-was-a-groper/810976/53 "2018-03-23T01:47:08Z")
If he was a gentleman in a rock/blues band, he was definitely the sax player. ---
**Author:** ![Omniscient](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/omniscient/32/3290_2.png) [@Omniscient](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Omniscient)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2018, 2:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/robin-williams-was-a-groper/810976/54 "2018-03-23T02:01:54Z")
> [@DavidwithanR](#): > > The possibility for false accusations has always been there. The difference is that true accusations are more likely to be taken seriously now than they were before. You clearly haven’t been paying attention. There has always been sexual harassment. There have always been false accusations. There have always been grey areas where someone was an asshole or someone overreacted, but everyone kept their heads. Today, we have absolutely no idea what’s a true accusation and what’s a false one. You’re tried in the court of public opinion. Punishment is doled out. We never come back and actually analyze the facts and things that are recounted from 10, 20, 30 years ago are treated like gospel truth and context and contemporaneous perceptions are irrelevant. Things were unfair before and the culture was pretty backwards. The balance of power has shifted, and that’s overdue. But we believe in due process for a very good reason in most other matters. We’re in a time where facts, norms and institutions are collapsing all around us. This one just happens to feel better, so damn the consequences. So I guess what’s one more move to anarchy? Mob rule for all! ---
**Author:** ![Penfeather](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/penfeather/32/384_2.png) [@Penfeather](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Penfeather)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2018, 2:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/robin-williams-was-a-groper/810976/55 "2018-03-23T02:03:52Z")
> [@aceplace57](#): > > Pam didn’t accuse Robin of touching her V. That absolutely would be crossing the line. Pam Dawber had a Velociraptor? ---
**Author:** ![Kimstu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/ecd19e/32.png) [@Kimstu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kimstu)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2018, 2:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/robin-williams-was-a-groper/810976/56 "2018-03-23T02:22:51Z")
> [@astorian](#): > > At EVERY job I’ve ever held, there’s been a guy who talks trash, drops sexual innuendo, and mock-molests women. In EVERY case, the women seemed to love it. They all laughed hysterically, and none ever complained. One of the things we’re learning nowadays is that many women who “seemed to love” the harassing behavior of certain men who had power over their careers did not actually love it as much as they seemed to. Who’da thunk, right? > [@Omniscient](#): > > Things were unfair before and the culture was pretty backwards. The balance of power has shifted, and that’s overdue. It hasn’t shifted all that much. There are still plenty of women being victimized by, e.g., online troll campaigns sparked by groundless or exaggerated accusations (e.g., Gamergate). I’m guessing, however, that that’s not the particular failure of “due process” that you’re complaining about here. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2018, 3:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/robin-williams-was-a-groper/810976/57 "2018-03-23T03:09:11Z")
A rock/blues band? Just what kind of nerd do you think I am? This was a scramble band. ---
**Author:** ![j666](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/9de0a6/32.png) [@j666](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/j666)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2018, 3:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/robin-williams-was-a-groper/810976/58 "2018-03-23T03:34:00Z")
> [@aceplace57](#): > > It was possible to joke around about sex, forty years ago. > > People understood the difference in a joke and malicious sexual intent > > Different time, different world. Those days are gone. And good riddance. It often wasn’t fun to be the object of those jokes, but calling people out on it could cost one a job. ---
**Author:** ![aldiboronti](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/9fc348/32.png) [@aldiboronti](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aldiboronti)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2018, 8:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/robin-williams-was-a-groper/810976/59 "2018-03-23T08:18:25Z")
> [@Omniscient](#): > > This is the point. > > A few folks have noted that “times have changed” and they have, but that’s not really the problem here. The problem is that consenting pretty much the key element that matters and makes the OP a bald faced lie. The title may well be infelicitous but a bald-faced lie? Dawber says she was groped by Williams and that he acted similarly with others. Someone who gropes others, whether in fun or otherwise, is a groper. Care to point out the bald-faced lie? I don’t think he groped for sexual pleasure BTW, if indeed that’s relevant. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2018, 11:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/robin-williams-was-a-groper/810976/60 "2018-03-23T11:48:00Z")
He was literally a groper, but the implication of the word nowadays is that the groping is done without consent. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/robin-williams-was-a-groper/810976.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/robin-williams-was-a-groper/810976.md?page=4)