You’re probably right but I offer this explanation…
In her opinion… She’s all for women having all the sex they want, whenever they want it (as long as they don’t viloate anyone’s “rights” 
)
In her opinion… All men degrade and want to rape women so they are evil and must be watched and kept from having said sex.
I think that she’s a demented, rabid lesbian and is too damned dumb to know it.
my .02 cents and here’s a dime change…
I’d guess 99.99% of women would be offended if in a business setting I shook men’s hands but didn’t offer it to women. That leaves .01% that will be offended if I do.
I’ve got to go with the odds.
Though I do like to take people’s preferences into account, if ZPG zealot were in a meeting, I would STILL offer her a handshake because I wouldn’t want the normal people to think I was a sexist bastard.
And it wouldn’t really damage the working environment because the purpose of the meeting would be to fire ZPG zealot.
Again.
ZPG is full of teh krazee, and also full of shit.
My mother has an immune deficiency and cannot shake hands with people (doctor’s orders). When she meets new people and they extend her hand, she very nicely explains that because of her condition, she cannot shake their hand. Not one. Single. Person. has ever said boo to her about it. Nobody has ever taken offense. Nobody has ever treated her differently because she refused to shake hands. It has not affected her social or professional life in the slightest. She works as a civilian for the Air Force, in an office that is 90% men.
I might also add that my mother was raised in the “Old South”, and is a very genteel lady. She has never felt threatened or insulted because someone offered her their hand. She does not think men who extend their hand to ladies are potential sexual predators. She does not think that accepting a handshake sends the signal that she might be a prostitute. She thinks that a handshake is a normal interaction that she unfortunately cannot take part in because of her medical condition. That is all.
And why? Because she is not batshit insane.
I have this week declined to shake hands with probably a dozen people because I’m sick. “Please forgive me for not shaking hands, but I have a cold and I don’t want to spread it.” No one has reacted in any way but to thank me. Social skills are a useful thing.
In the past I have refused a handshake for the same reason. I just said “Oh, sorry, I’ve got a bit of a cold - don’t want to give it to you!” or something to that effect. No issue.
I am absolutely calling shenanigans on **ZPG **being fired because she refused to shake hands. I’m betting she really got fired because she wouldn’t stop accusing innocent people of sexual harassment, gave long crazy talks about her insulting pet theories, and tried to solve business problems with various psychic bullshit. Although she may have gotten the axe just because she’s terminally stupid. It’s hard to say.
I just looked through the abortion thread in GD again. I couldn’t wait to come back to the pit and tell you, Ms. ZPG, that you are one fucked up loony bitch. Please, think of the gene pool and don’t procreate.
(This is the first time I’ve directed any such comment towards a poster here on the dope, it feels good)
The single greatest gift ZPG Zealot could give us or the world, I think, would be taking her handle seriously.
(Wait … could I get a girl pregnant by shaking her hand? And do I have to pay child support? If so, I can morally shoot-to-kill any such pregnant women, right?)
I think when the day comes that any of you are ever removed from your little middle class WASP (probably mid Western) communities, that is going to be a spectacular culture shock to realize that not everyone lives the same way. The world has many communities and good manners require respecting those differences not throwing hissy fits of “well I never meant it to mean that” or “that’s not the way we do it my home town.” Seriously, how do you expect people to even tolerate you when you show such distain for them? Etiquette is about trying not to offend people, not looking for ways to insult them by pressing all the fault lines of human behavior. Sometimes I see where the rage the Islamic fundamentalists have comes from, though I abhor their methods. Seriously, stop acting like spoiled children, before you get spanked.
Yes, it’s everyone else’s narrow minded intolerance that’s the problem.
Also, it’s “disdain”, Madame Librarian.
Ooh, spank me, you dirty, dirty girl.
I’ve gone back and forth trying to decide if you are a troll or just fucked in the head. With this post you convince me you are a troll. So now, every time I see a post by you, I’ll just think “troll” and move on.
Can’t she be both, like the late Earl Warren?
What’re you saying? “The behavior that YOUR culture expects is wrong! Why can’t you be more respectful of other cultures?!?” You can’t tell me the best way to be respectful to other cultures is to flout my own cultural expectations while operating within the context of my own culture.
Madame, I would be perfectly happy to refrain from offering to shake someone’s hand if I had a reason to believe that person would prefer it. Within MY culture I have every good reason to believe such persons are a vanishingly small minority, and in fact are outnumbered by those who would be insulted if – in the same circumstances – I would fail to offer to shake their hand.
This can’t be gotten around. You really expect me to actively insult nearly all the women I interact with on the off, off, ooooofffff chance I meet someone to whom the hand-shake offer is objectionable? Seriously? How could I possibly appease you?
Lady, the only culture you got is in a petri dish full of agar.
Hmmmm, let’s see. I live in LA, grew up in NY, have been to DC, Tampa, Boston, San Francisco, San Diego, Las Vegas, Buffalo, Toronto, Quebec, London, Milan, Brussels, Hamburg, Sydney, various Caribean islands, Copenhagen and more I’m probably forgetting. Mid-West? Only passing though really. So, I guess I don’t fit your assumptions about the way the world works. In fact, I’d go as far as to say that every single place that I have been has used the handshake as a method of greeting between equals.
So let’s see, who might be correct in their assumptions here? The entire Staight Dope community, or Miss Whackjob Extrodinaire? I wonder, I wonder…
I’m starting to wonder if ZPG zealot is actually Roma. Or even living in the south.
I suspect that she thinks people will be less likely to criticize her neuroses if they think they are culturally based.
Seconded.
South Wackjobia from planet Zuto maybe.
Or alternatively, she just makes shit up because she’s a compulsive liar and attention whore.
I’m just throwin’ that out there.
While it is possible, in this case I don’t think she is both.
I’ve dealt with a lot of crazies and all but the most severe can be convinced that some small part of their world view might just possibly be incorrect. ZPG Zealot has been completely unwilling to budge about absolutely anything, ever. Instead posting more outlandish opinions and views. If she was that crazy and delusional, her posts would be incoherent ramblings.
I vote for bored troll, giggling at getting people worked up about vampires and gypsies and handshake rape.