I find it amusing that articles always say, "that always accompany women speaking out." Threats of violence and rape are kinda 4chan's modus operandi no matter who's involved.

I specifically included the article on Call Out Culture because it's something I strongly disagree with. The notion that it's okay to make a big spectacle about something that offends you because you don't feel it'll otherwise be handled properly is pretty much the entire theme of this fiasco. If you're not able to trust the group hosting PyCon to handle misconduct, that's one thing, and you should be doing something about it with them. All the fun lawsuits, boycotting and that grand stuff. If you CAN trust them to take care of it, going the extra mile and making it very public yourself is just personal score settling. A person feels someone's done wrong by them, so they're going to make sure they suffer for it a little. You're basically taking justice into your own hands.

On the flip side, what's been put up on the internet is going to be seen on the internet. It was the news of the firing, coupled with the photo and the Tweet, "As an advocate for digital equality, my actions today at #pycon made me feel like Joan of Arc, minus the visions" https://twitter.com/adriarichards/st...42430848487424 which got the internet so incensed. The reaction is vile and harassing and, once again, really doesn't differ that much from any other harassment campaign against other people who have raised internet ire. This side is seeking their own justice too, because they didn't want to remain silent and thought it would just get swept under the rug.

I really do think all sides are in the wrong. If Richards hadn't decided to use it for PR, the men still would have been escorted out, chastised, and the one man who was fired might or might not have been. She did text con staff who would have handled the problem without her taking the next steps. Playhaven's very public firing pretty much linked the two tweets together, making a reaction pretty much inevitable. Anonymous, which isn't just 4chan, mind you, responded in its usual way which is anything but legal. Sendgrid blew their chance to smooth things over and simply canned Richards in a very obvious reaction to the whole fiasco.

Now, everyone is also in the right, as well. If Richards felt threatened, minimalized, or objectified by these men's behavior, it was her obligation to notify the con staff about it and she did. The vehement reaction from Anonymous goes to show that using the internet as a tool to harm other people (whether it's their person, their pride, their mental being, or their reputation) especially when you do it with your name attached doesn't often end well. (http://knowyourmeme.com/memes/x-is-n...-personal-army ) Playhaven and Sendgrid both had their reputations to look out for, as well as their business interests. If someone out there was getting their photos taken of them with their company's name on their shirt while reportedly making tasteless jokes, that's making them look bad. If one person's public action caused their site to get DDOS'd and quite a few customers to quit service with them, especially if it was one of their PR reps who had the job of making their company look good, they're probably not going to want to keep that rep around.

(Edited to correct dyslexia >.>)