Ryan Perez fired from Destructoid

[Badrats Studio]

Originally Posted by eastx

Journalists are the faces of their companies.

Very true. Personal ego / preference cannot be using when one is currently representing a company when he/she's speaking in public. There is a responsibility.

IMO, that guy can just state a public apology and everyone can move on. Unfortunately, each company has their own playbook.

[IoriYagami n8]

Originally Posted by eastx

Nice comment, Nem. Good job. Disappointed at Stroop for the unusually ill-informed viewpoint.

I'm not Nem.

Originally Posted by Ernst

In advance, sorry for the elongated post...

Sorry if my post seemed combative, as it was actually meant in general agreement with yours. I hadn't meant to suggest you were calling him misogynistic. However, you raise various more intricate points here...

I just your post short simply because I didn't see the need to repost it all. If people are really interested they can go back and read it. I will keep this brief as the issue seems fairly simple. It all comes down to word interpretation. Such as when you use my example of "cum guzzling twat" as a potential homosexual slur. My intent would be that by saying "twat" I'm implying the statement toward a female, otherwise I would have been better served by saying "cum guzzling fag" as the purpose of the insult isn't to draw attention to sexual preference or gender, it's to imply the person I speak it to guzzles cum, a rather lewd and demeaning act.

Similar to the bimbo statement you reference. Bimbo is a word with several meanings, one could simply mean a disreputable man, while other would be a morally loose woman, and a third simply an inept person. When used toward a woman, the interpretation most people will associate would be the one involving a woman of loose morals, it's arguably the most common use of the word these days, and given that the word is spoken to a female it has merit to easily be seen in that light. You could argue that you simply mean an inept person, and then simply apologize for a poor choice of words.

That's all it takes really. As a writer, journalist, or whatever. It should be expected that the person has enough mastery over the language that they would choose their words carefully to ensure their points are concise and without misinterpretation. Unless you are into a field like politics, then you try to be as vague as possible so you can move around different interpretations in order to suit your needs. In the case of Ryan Perez, his intent may not have been sexist, but the point is that his comments can clearly be interpreted in such a way, and as someone that would claim to be a journalist, he should know to better articulate his points in the public forum.

Beyond that, even if we assume that his comments could not in any way be interpreted as sexist, there is still grounds for his being fired. Companies typically will want to speak well of other people within their industry as they may wish to collaborate with them in some way in the future. If Destructoid wanted to work with Felicia Day at some point down the road, having one of their writers publicly insulting her would not increase the likelihood of her being willing to work with them. That's how the professional world works. If you are important enough in your field, you can get away with a good bit, but eventually there is a line for everyone, some just reach it sooner than others.

[eastx]

Originally Posted by IoriYagami n8

I'm not Nem.

Neither am I. But I see your point. In any case, good job understanding and explaining the issue to our mysogynistic fellow forum-goers.

[Ernst]

@Iori

You could argue that you simply mean an inept person, and then simply apologize for a poor choice of words.

This is to advocate for a system in which all words used which could be misconstrued must at all costs be avoided, and it's a system I would reject entirely. I won't be limited in my word choice, and more seriously, fired if I accidentally use a word which could be misconstrued. Too many words have a double meaning which could be offensive if one wished to take it offensively. Much better we simply, rationally work out the intention than hysterically call out anyone who has used a word which could possibly be offensive.

As for the word twat. Being that I live in Britain, this word is used commonly and almost always toward men. It's a very slight insult.

[eastx]

http://sci-ence.org/on-playing-well-with-others/

[spider-prime]

This is why I'm going to get my niece to start talking into the mic when I'm playing so everyone think she is playing. It's going to be hilarious the reactions. I'm going to record it when I do it.

I've done this before with my girlfriends before, but it will be funnier with a little kid. I tell them what to say tho, cause they suck at insulting people!

[Alucard]

You know there was little hate against girls when I was growing up with games. Us 30 year olds actually enjoyed playing with girls. Come the xbox generation and kids with mics, its all over. 25 and under, mainly 19 and under, come off as super douchy. The arcades, when there used to be arcades, plenty of girls grouped with us around the KOF and SF machines. And they kicked major arse too.

Also girls should probably mention how they get given shitloads of attention and help in MMOs etc while they're at it. You know, why mention just the bad parts.