Comments on: Stupid Media Tricks

By: WoMatt

WoMatt — Mon, 12 Oct 2009 19:55:05 +0000

MoWatt, it was Annie’s last sentence.

By: MoWatt

MoWatt — Sat, 10 Oct 2009 20:20:44 +0000

Annie, are you somehow under the misconception that Letterman’s relationships with coworkers all happened before he began a relationship with his wife? They did not. He’s been with her for around twenty years.

At least one of the affairs even continued after he was married. I’d say, while he didn’t owe us an apology, he certainly owed one to his wife. (And if you were sleeping with a guy at work after you were married then, yes, you owe your husband an apology as well). Not sure what it is about your comment that made Keera laugh out loud.

By: Keera

Keera — Sat, 10 Oct 2009 09:57:13 +0000

Annie, you have a fan in me. Your comment made me LOL!

By: Annie Benson

Annie Benson — Sat, 10 Oct 2009 04:30:37 +0000

Do I owe an apology to my husband for the times I slept with co-workers before I met him? I do owe the same to my fans? I do have fans, right?

By: Karen

Karen — Fri, 09 Oct 2009 19:06:54 +0000

Maybe he felt he need to apologize because of the cracks he makes about other public figures’ private lives (Palin, Bush, et al). When he’s snarking on about Palin’s daughter getting knocked up, and in the meantime cheating on his girlfriend with his staffers, tends to make him look a wee bit hypocritical. And unfunny.

By: Mitch4

Mitch4 — Fri, 09 Oct 2009 15:09:42 +0000

Also … the concept of “quid pro quo” is part of the test for (some varieties of) sexual harassment. Charlene has a very valid point, that i would understand as about “quid pro quo” sometimes being very much in play even if not made explicit. OTOH a workplace relationship can be free of even subterranean, implied “quid pro quo”.

By: Mitch4

Mitch4 — Fri, 09 Oct 2009 14:59:39 +0000

There is something odd about the cultural assumptions about the rituals of public apology that have developed.

For several years Harry Shearer has been taking the pulse of this with the “Apologies of the Week” feature on his radio show.

By: Daniel J. Drazen

Daniel J. Drazen — Fri, 09 Oct 2009 14:21:24 +0000

“Sufficiently apologize” = “make it sufficiently entertaining.”

By: The Bad Seed

The Bad Seed — Fri, 09 Oct 2009 12:48:54 +0000

Truthfully, more than 90% of my relationships have been with someone I met at work, including equals, superiors, and a big client. That’s the only place I seem to meet people I have anything in common with, and I spend a lot of time there. But as long as you know what you’re getting into, observe certain boundaries, and everyone’s a grown-up, it’s perfectly fine. If he’s your boss going into it, then you have to know going into it that it puts extra pressure on you, whether real or perceived. If you don’t think about the potential bad consequences, then you are a fool, because you can be playing with fire. But if they act in actionable ways, you do have recourse. Sure, it can be difficult and potentially embarassing, but you need to consider that potential consequence before getting into it.

By: furrykef

furrykef — Fri, 09 Oct 2009 08:22:06 +0000

Charlene:

The problem is that from the point of the subordinate, there often is a sense that if he or she doesn’t comply promotions will not be forthcoming and a pink slip might be, even if that’s never spelled out.

Right, but that would be coercion, and would therefore qualify as harrassment. My issue was that Clem said that any sexual relationship between a boss and a subordinate is sexual harassment. To paraphrase an old adage, you can’t harass the willing. If the would-be “victim” actually wanted it, it could be many things, but harassment is not one of them.

- Kef