Woman Gets Death Threats for Tweeting About Disliking A Dude's Shirt

[mahatmakanejeeves]

You've come a long way, baby.*

I was talking to the probe.

Woman Gets Death Threats for Tweeting About Disliking A Dude's Shirt

Anna Merlan
Yesterday 11:10am

Historic news: a space probe landed on a comet 310 million miles from Earth! Let's celebrate by tweeting insults and death threats at a female science and tech writer! Wait, what? Why is that always how the Internet celebrates everything?

The Philae probe touched down on the comet yesterday, making a bumpy landing, but still successfully sending back the first images we've ever seen of a comet's surface. One of the scientists involved, Matt Taylor of the European Space Agency's Rosetta Project, decided to give an interview about the probe while wearing a polo shirt festooned with colorful images of scantily-clad cartoon ladies.

Yes, it's just a shirt, whatever. But it's also not the smartest choice to show that the STEM fields are a super welcoming place for women. And that's what Rose Eveleth pointed out, a science and tech writer and producer for The Atlantic and a bunch of other places. She tweeted the above rebuke, a pretty mild one, and was promptly met with all of this mess:
{snip}

* Look that up before you hit the "Alert abuse" button.

[snooper2]

1. I got death threats for telling somebody their car looked ridiculous

[blueboy2727]

18. exactly

Just because some whacko makes death threats, it doesn't mean that this a consensus among men.

[Blue_Tires]

2. Oh...I was wondering what all the talk was about that shirt

This is my first time getting a really good look at the pattern...

Yeah, that bullshit is beyond tacky given the occasion and media attention...

[AngryAmish]

3. There are dirty pictures on his shirt

Of course he should be fired.

[La Lioness Priyanka]

5. he would have been fired if he worked in any corporate office. nt

[AngryAmish]

8. Thankfully, he has been pilloried in public for his dirty shirt.

[JI7]

10. poor guy, thankfully the women have been threatened and put in their place

for daring to criticize what someone is wearing.

[AngryAmish]

11. That is horrible.

These brave, amazing women should never be put through this.

[JI7]

13. as if there are women who should be threatened

[tammywammy]

14. I work in STEM. He would have been quickly escorted off property.

And I'd think probably fired. That would be completely inacceptable where I work. Ugh

[Blue_Tires]

20. Say a female engineer or physicist on the team

showed up for the media dressed like one of the characters on his shirt...Are you still so glib?

[alarimer]

4. This fucking gross

Did nobody tell him to dress like an adult for the cameras? Or did he think he was being all "edgy and cool" and trying to make some kind of bullshit statement that "I don't dress like a banker because I'm a cool scientist"?

What part of inappropriate in virtually any workplace setting (except a strip club, I guess) does he not get?

To his credit, though, he did apologize. A real one, not a not-pology. So maybe he can get why something like that comes off as hostile to women who may want to work in science but are put off by the dudebros like him.

To those who say, "Lighten up. It's just a shirt." No it is. It is about inclusivity and about professionalism.

Look, I've supervised people who had to be reminded to wear underwear. I'm not joking. I mean we're casual (t-shirts and shorts as long as the slogan is not questionable and the shorts are long enough), but not THAT casual. So I get that some people are clueless.

[tammywammy]

15. It's sad that a professional adult would have to be told

Hey you're going to be on camera for a historic event, don't dress like an asshole. Geeze. It's a problem with management, they allowed him to wear it. And I'd bet it's not the first time.

There's so much outreach to girls to going STEM that THAT guy shouldn't be the face of advancement. Ugh.

[sendero]

6. Oh Lookie...

... a geek wearing a shirt covered with pictures of exactly the kind of women who will never give him the time of day!

[Tsiyu]

7. Taylor is an unevolved attention whore

and the guys with the death threats all over the goddamn internets?

I hope you get some help for your problems, because you embarrass yourselves every time you go online.

Nobody can be that stupid, to issue a death threat to a women over a complaint about a shirt.

Get help, get counseling, get lives for fuck's sake.

And whoever is raising these jackals, you should be ashamed of your sons.

[CurtEastPoint]

9. The commenter who said 'go kill yourself' describes himself on Twit as:

Anarchist, Atheist, Asshole

[seveneyes]

12. Three things

1. Arrest and imprison whomever made the death threat.

2. The arm tattoos are stupid.

3. The shirt is not the problem.

[sibelian]

16. Tacky shirt...

Not sure why she gave such a fuck nor why anyone else gave such a fuck about her giving such a fuck.

[sibelian]

17. Read it. LOL at "Death threats".

What a bunch of cock.

[LawDeeDah]

19. Ugly looking little rotter, isn't he?

[True Blue Door]

21. Nobody ever sends me death threats. :(

[img][/img]

[WinkyDink]

22. The tats, the shirt---guy is trying way too hard to lose the nerd.