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    vauxhallmarieErin Gloria Ryan
    12/02/14 12:17pm

    I am continually amazed at the degree to which popularity acts as teflon for these famous, superficially "beloved" predators like Ghomeshi, Cosby, Rolf Harris and Jimmy Saville, et al. It's beyond contemptible that those in a position of authority over these people, and make no mistake, the people who control the money ARE in a position of authority, don't nip this shit in the bud and say, "Look, if you don't shape the fuck up immediately, you will lose all of this. You will be ruined. No one will love you anymore, you piece of shit. We're watching you."

    Instead, they tie themselves in knots to defend and protect these scumbags. So many people who have the ability to keep these assholes in line are cowardly starfuckers (of the literal and figurative variety). They are as beneath contempt as the predators themselves.

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      Bears for Presidentvauxhallmarie
      12/02/14 12:29pm

      Eh, it might be a minor point but I don't think that's necessarily the case here. Jian Ghomeshi wasn't Bill Cosby. He wasn't "beloved". I don't even think the population at large had trouble believing this about him. Within the fairly insular Toronto CanCon scene that might play out but the problem I think with how you're reading that is in assuming that the CBC really had that sort of influence over Ghomeshi. It's a poorly funded public broadcaster that was probably really happy to have a money maker on the air.

      Which isn't to say they shouldn't have acted better, they should have, but they didn't hold all of the cards here unless they were willing to make what he did very public.

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      parangaricutirimicuarovauxhallmarie
      12/02/14 12:35pm

      But they're making a living thanks to the likability of those rapists. They might control the money, but the ones who make that money flow are their employees (Ghomeshi, Cosby, Saville). So basically they're sacrificing the safety of their female employees in exchange of profits.

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    RedWillDanaherErin Gloria Ryan
    12/02/14 12:14pm

    Jian Ghomeshi reminds me of a really un-funny Douglas Reynholm.

    GIF

    When he gets out of jail, Someone needs to fit him with electric sex pants too.

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      AnonymousCivilPersonRedWillDanaher
      12/02/14 12:18pm

      Electric Sex Pants!
      New band name! I called it!

      GIF
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      RedWillDanaherAnonymousCivilPerson
      12/02/14 12:21pm

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    NeoNailsErin Gloria Ryan
    12/02/14 12:07pm

    Okay, can someone explain to me: what the fuck purpose do unions serve if not to rectify situations exactly like this?

    Do unions in Canada operate differently like they do in the US? I can totally believe that the company would lie and cover their asses to make Borel shut up and go away (and seriously, good for her for doing neither), but I'm flabbergasted that her union would screw her over even further.

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      FKAKatesNeoNails
      12/02/14 12:22pm

      Judging all unions by the acts of one shady one isn't logical. Typically (in my experience at least) they step in and help. For example, many of the unions I have worked with would have helped her find an affordable attorney to sue his ass, if nothing could be accomplished through the internal grievance-arbitration process.

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      BlatheringNeoNails
      12/02/14 12:44pm

      It's not uncommon in my experience, although I don't do much labor law and the ones I do see probably get to me because the union screwed up. Sometimes union reps have favored people, like the English speakers, and the rest don't get full protection, or sometimes they have favorite issues, like making sure the party subs arrive at the meeting on time, and anything else is a lower priority.

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    PragmaticSquirrelErin Gloria Ryan
    12/02/14 11:54am

    Powerful institution protects rapist, allows him to continue to rape, covers it up, and lies about covering it up, because reasons.

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      kristinbytesPragmaticSquirrel
      12/02/14 12:04pm

      Reasons = $$$$$$

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      PragmaticSquirrelkristinbytes
      12/02/14 12:05pm

      They always do.

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    Emma GolddiggerErin Gloria Ryan
    12/02/14 12:04pm

    Occasionally my host would stand in the doorway of his office when no one was around and slowly undo his shirt by two or three buttons while staring at me, grinning.

    I don't know why (it's not his worst offense by a long shot) but this part gave me chills.

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      PhyllisNeflerEmma Golddigger
      12/02/14 12:19pm

      Ugh, yes. This part especially made my insides feel shrivelly.

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      goddessoftransitoryEmma Golddigger
      12/02/14 1:37pm

      He might as well have been wearing a wolf mask. Ugh, what a horrible predatory creep.

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    CrucibelleErin Gloria Ryan
    12/02/14 12:20pm

    Jian is a reprehensible creep and a predator; however, I'm bothered by the choice of portraits that have been used to go with the headlines (on many sites) as the full picture of his offenses has emerged. There has been a progressive move toward images that show him heavier, thickly bearded, and darker-skinned.

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      biurnier2Crucibelle
      12/02/14 12:45pm

      So you mean pictures of what he actually looked like instead of his airbrushed promotional photos? What a weird thing to object to. If people were 'shopping his photos to make him darker and fatter and more "menacing" it would be one thing, but maybe we're just now realizing how controlled his image was. That's his beard. That's his fat.

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    speteErin Gloria Ryan
    12/02/14 11:57am

    After making the initial complaint to Neesam, she says she was called into Q executive producer Arif Noorani's office days later, and told that "Ghomeshi was the way he was, and that I had to figure out how to cope with that."

    I know this shit shouldn't surprise me anymore, but somehow it still does. Even if you turn off all human empathy and approach this as an emotionless robot it STILL makes zero logical sense. Here we have one employee engaging in inappropriate behavior, and a second employee who we already know is willing to pursue a complaint. Even if you have no opinion whatsoever regarding workplace sexual harassment surely you still see how this is an issue that is waiting to get worse and that you should act to curb the behavior of the one problem rather than trying to curb the complaining of all the people he's provoking, right? Right??

    I had a guy in my department who jumped on the whole e-cigarette craze on day 1, before businesses had an real rules governing their use. He'd constantly smoke his pipe in the office like he was friggin' Gandalf, and one of my other employees came to me with a complaint. Obviously I told him to stop because I am not fucking stupid. Even if I liked the constant cloud of cupcake-flavored vapor hanging around the office, it has now caused problems and I know the person it bothers is willing to make complaints. Even if I were the type of asshole that didn't care that she was uncomfortable it would still behoove me to do my damn job and get things under control before this problem for her became a problem for me. How the hell did people at CBC not do this same obvious math??

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      Bears for PresidentErin Gloria Ryan
      12/02/14 12:00pm

      I haven't been this disappointed with the CBC since...well, alright, I'm always disappointed with the CBC. Still though.

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        AnnieW50Erin Gloria Ryan
        12/02/14 11:55am

        Good for her. I'm glad Borel came out swinging.

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          Strummer-Jones77Erin Gloria Ryan
          12/02/14 12:07pm

          I found it so nauseating when Canadian celebrities and others involved in our entertainment/cultural industry fell over each other to get out op-eds and FB posts and other contrived public missives about how they were "shocked" and "dismayed" and felt "betrayed" by Ghomeshi's friendship. Bull-fucking-shit. Everyone knew what he was like and up to, especially those in positions of power.

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            Marx and SparksStrummer-Jones77
            12/02/14 3:48pm

            I think I was actually more bothered by the number of people writing "we knew." There were so many semi-famous people who knew and didn't want to get on his bad side so kept it quiet.

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