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Well, there goes George Takei

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  • daveynydaveyny Member Posts: 8,227 Arc User
    edited November 2017
    Forty years ago if one g*a*y guy went home with another g*a*y guy... it was pretty much assumed that groping was very much on the table.
    Especially if they were both drunk.

    Hell, 20 years ago when I was active, if two g*a*y guys got together anywhere not in public, groping was the least of the stuff going on.
    That model knew exactly what might happen and should have stated beforehand he wasn't interested.
    Being drunk is no excuse for complaining about a failed sexual encounter 40 years later.
    The dude is just trying to cash in on another 15 minutes of fame as far as I'm concerned.

    I can't even remember the innumerable number of times I was groped by friends, strangers and arseholes at bars and at parties back when I 'came out' as Bi back in the late 70's and 80's.
    I was very active and traveled across the country meeting up with a lot of folks for more than two decades.
    (thank you AOL and YAHOO IM's) >:)
    If I went around now telling stories about my hits, misses & disasters, a lot of people (including a few famous ones) would be in extreme denial as well.

    But that's ancient history as far as I'm concerned and for me to carry a grudge against the ones that tried to take advantage at times, would be a waste of time and effort and would do nothing but make everybody miserable. I've got better things to do with my time than dredge up something that scared or pizzed me off two decades ago.

    I highly doubt that the person accusing Mr. Takei, truly spent the last 40 years fretting endlessly about an encounter that ended with him leaving the house no worse for the wear other than a bit pizzed off.
    If it had been somebody that isn't famous he probably wouldn't even have remembered it.

    smh
    Post edited by daveyny on
    STO Member since February 2009.
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  • angrytargangrytarg Member Posts: 11,001 Arc User
    People have, right now, no idea where the difference between "invading someone's space" and "sexual assault" is, and I say that as a feminist. Weinstein, Seagal, CK and Takei - those cases, from what information is public, are not all in the same category.
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    ^ Memory Alpha.org is not canon. It's a open wiki with arbitrary rules. Only what can be cited from an episode is. ^
    "No. Men do not roar. Women roar. Then they hurl heavy objects... and claw at you." -Worf, son of Mogh
    "A filthy, mangy beast, but in its bony breast beat the heart of a warrior" - "faithful" (...) "but ever-ready to follow the call of the wild." - Martok, about a Targ
    "That pig smelled horrid. A sweet-sour, extremely pungent odor. I showered and showered, and it took me a week to get rid of it!" - Robert Justman, appreciating Emmy-Lou
  • mirrorchaosmirrorchaos Member Posts: 9,844 Arc User
    valoreah wrote: »
    Is there any more information on this? i read up somewhere else that it was some form of sexual harrassment, along the lines of groping another man however Takei denied this is the case because it was 40 years ago.

    Groping someone 40 years ago is still groping someone.

    that isn't what i asked. i asked if there is anything new on this sexual assault that George apparently committed?
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  • angrytargangrytarg Member Posts: 11,001 Arc User
    valoreah wrote: »
    Key point being "what information is public". I would near guarantee we the public do not have all the information. As for how to categorize them, I'm sure that some of the people who were victimized might disagree with you. No means no.

    That's a good point and I'd agree - yet, the public is what destroys people's lives and absolutely loves doing so despite having nothing to do with the issue in question. The Weinstein situation demanded public attention and brave people did good to expose perverse structures, like agents basically TRIBBLE out clients to influential figures. Other accusations that popped up though are simply personal conflicts that use the stage provided by actual issues. No means no is a ground rule. Yet, saying yes and decide twenty years later you rather had said no at that point... not so much pig-3.gif With Takei there wasn't even a case, he said things himself during an interview that might point to acts of harassment (ultimately we don't know), but also might not do it, after all what he describes is stuff that simply happens in life as @daveyny pointed out - hell, I even go so far as unless you know EXACTLY what these people are talking about you have literally no way of forming an opinion about it. A lot of questionable stuff happens to people on a daily basis and still not everything that happens is actual harassment or even assault and not everything deserves public attention. With some of those things currently being discussed I swear I've never felt that as a woman I'm apparently nothing more than a poor, helpless damsel in distress completely dependant on public support to get my TRIBBLE straight.

    Point is: Not all of these cases are the same and in none fo these cases we, the public, will ever know the truth. But the public sure loves to pile up on famous people and see them go down, whether they deserve it or not.​​
    lFC4bt2.gif
    ^ Memory Alpha.org is not canon. It's a open wiki with arbitrary rules. Only what can be cited from an episode is. ^
    "No. Men do not roar. Women roar. Then they hurl heavy objects... and claw at you." -Worf, son of Mogh
    "A filthy, mangy beast, but in its bony breast beat the heart of a warrior" - "faithful" (...) "but ever-ready to follow the call of the wild." - Martok, about a Targ
    "That pig smelled horrid. A sweet-sour, extremely pungent odor. I showered and showered, and it took me a week to get rid of it!" - Robert Justman, appreciating Emmy-Lou
  • crimeonadime#2645 crimeonadime Member Posts: 24 Arc User
    edited November 2017
    valoreah wrote: »
    I lost all respect for Takei once he started talking about groping people to "persuade" them.

    Exactly.

    I mean, just for the sake of being charitable, let's forget the actual accusation. That may or may not have happened.

    Let's just focus on what he ADMITTED doing.

    In the Stern interview, he admitted groping people who were AFRAID to try to persuade them.

    If any man bragged about groping WOMEN who were afraid, nobody would even be trying to defend that.

    But for some reason, some really sick people in our community are trying to defend Takei just because the people he groped were g4y men, not women.

    The people doing that have a really disgusting double standard and are part of the problem.

  • silverlobes#2676 silverlobes Member Posts: 1,953 Arc User
    valoreah wrote: »
    I lost all respect for Takei once he started talking about groping people to "persuade" them.

    Exactly.

    I mean, just for the sake of being charitable, let's forget the actual accusation. That may or may not have happened.

    Let's just focus on what he ADMITTED doing.

    In the Stern interview, he admitted groping people who were AFRAID to try to persuade them.

    If any man bragged about groping WOMEN who were afraid, nobody would even be trying to defend that.

    But for some reason, some really sick people in our community are trying to defend Takei just because the people he groped were g4y men, not women.

    The people doing that have a really disgusting double standard and are part of the problem.
    The reason they're trying to defend Takei, is because cognitive dissonance prevents them from acknowledging that one of their idols, a bastian of ideology and groupthink, might actually be a scumbag molester. The fact Takei's g.ay, has nothing to do with why they're defending him.

    I feel obliged to point out that there's a difference between someone trying to calm the nerves of some who is interested-but-intimidated (because this is a freaking household name... If Marina Sirtis or Gates McFadden started flirting with me, I'd probably douse my drawers, but that doesn't mean I wouldn't be interested) and someone actively groping someone who is clearly not interested. (and what Takei has said, clearly sounds like the latter) That, and dropping the pants of someone who's passed out (male or female) is scuzzy AF. The same hypocrites who are defending Takei, were no doubt also slamming Kevin Spacey for molesting Anthony Rapp... Newsflash: Both are scumbag molesters who need condemning >_<
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  • fleetcaptain5#1134 fleetcaptain5 Member Posts: 4,754 Arc User
    Based on what I have read (which isn't all that much to begin with) George Takei did nothing wrong in the sense of forcing people to do things they did not want to do.
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  • angrytargangrytarg Member Posts: 11,001 Arc User
    People don't want to do that, patrick. They love tearing down people though, if only because of something they think they heard. I think the vast majority here has no idea what it's like in the g.y 'community' and even fewer by the time Takei talks about. He never said he ignored people's rejection and given the context, why for all that is good would George Takei out himself as a offender casually in a talk show if he was one? That just makes no sense. But all of that would require critical thought.
    lFC4bt2.gif
    ^ Memory Alpha.org is not canon. It's a open wiki with arbitrary rules. Only what can be cited from an episode is. ^
    "No. Men do not roar. Women roar. Then they hurl heavy objects... and claw at you." -Worf, son of Mogh
    "A filthy, mangy beast, but in its bony breast beat the heart of a warrior" - "faithful" (...) "but ever-ready to follow the call of the wild." - Martok, about a Targ
    "That pig smelled horrid. A sweet-sour, extremely pungent odor. I showered and showered, and it took me a week to get rid of it!" - Robert Justman, appreciating Emmy-Lou
  • starkaosstarkaos Member Posts: 11,556 Arc User
    angrytarg wrote: »
    But all of that would require critical thought.

    Which is an extremely rare commodity. People are far more willing to make an initial judgement without looking at the context or other considerations. Thank God that we don't live on the world shown in the Majority Rule episode from Orville. Not sure about the future, but at least for now we have due process.
  • theraven2378theraven2378 Member Posts: 5,985 Arc User
    This is best left for the relevant authorities and courts to deal with to be honest
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      -Lord Commander Solar Macharius
    • angrytargangrytarg Member Posts: 11,001 Arc User
      valoreah wrote: »
      You could also go to jail for assault back then too.

      Hey, meet the point... oh, no, you missed each other.

      Also, did you just compare homosexuality to assault?​​
      lFC4bt2.gif
      ^ Memory Alpha.org is not canon. It's a open wiki with arbitrary rules. Only what can be cited from an episode is. ^
      "No. Men do not roar. Women roar. Then they hurl heavy objects... and claw at you." -Worf, son of Mogh
      "A filthy, mangy beast, but in its bony breast beat the heart of a warrior" - "faithful" (...) "but ever-ready to follow the call of the wild." - Martok, about a Targ
      "That pig smelled horrid. A sweet-sour, extremely pungent odor. I showered and showered, and it took me a week to get rid of it!" - Robert Justman, appreciating Emmy-Lou
    • angrytargangrytarg Member Posts: 11,001 Arc User
      Hey buddy, guess what? George has now responded to his comments on the Howard Stern show, and he says you are wrong. He did NOT say his comments were in relation to the complex societal issues you describe. Instead, he said his comments were just him telling dirty jokes in the role of a bad grandpa, and that in retrospect he shouldn't have joked about such a serious issue.

      Maybe he is telling the truth, maybe not. But I would believe him more if he actually said the things you did instead of brushing it all of as a joke. Your comments are at least thoughtful and make sense historically. He decided to just call the whole thing a joke.

      What difference does it make? People made up their minds, they don't care, all they want is figurative blood.

      Nobody questions how someone of such significant public standing as George Takei for the very topic he spoke about would casually out himself as a sex offender in a talk show, just like that. The man who coined "oh my" would try to make a jest about sexuality as he often did? Impossible, he gets on a mike and tells the world "Hey people, despite my ongoing fight for equality and self-determination guess what, I was a sex offender all along!" - yes, that must be it!

      To those people it doesn't matter. People who already chose to call him "scumbag" or worse do not care, at all. I personally do think there is more truth to it than a joke but as I explained before, how far do you think he gets trying to put his words into context for a public who to large parts has no idea what he is talking about? People that have had such a sheltered life a dirty comment infuses them with ever burning rage.

      The public has lost the ability to differentiate between actual sexual harassment or even assault and trivialities. They read allegations from actual victims exposing systemic sexism next to people carrying personal quarrels into the public on a stage provided to them by being unable to differentiate between the two. And that is not good. Whether Takei ever did overstep the line or even assaulted someone we don't know, but from what we know we can piece together that his talk being a "confession" makes no sense - if he was to "confess" in such a manner, why would he now change his mind, because he couldn't anticipate people would be upset? Come on. From what we know the issue surrounding Weinstein and Hollywood is serious whereas the situation revolving around Louis CK is a completely different animal. We mustn't lose the ability to look at these situations rationally instead of clouded by emotional rage. The latter, in other fields, is what caused a lot of the current global trouble our societies are facing in terms of populism creeping into the midsts of societies everywhere.​​
      lFC4bt2.gif
      ^ Memory Alpha.org is not canon. It's a open wiki with arbitrary rules. Only what can be cited from an episode is. ^
      "No. Men do not roar. Women roar. Then they hurl heavy objects... and claw at you." -Worf, son of Mogh
      "A filthy, mangy beast, but in its bony breast beat the heart of a warrior" - "faithful" (...) "but ever-ready to follow the call of the wild." - Martok, about a Targ
      "That pig smelled horrid. A sweet-sour, extremely pungent odor. I showered and showered, and it took me a week to get rid of it!" - Robert Justman, appreciating Emmy-Lou
    • daveynydaveyny Member Posts: 8,227 Arc User
      edited November 2017
      In my mind, this was nothing more than a one-off, drunken, misunderstood sexual encounter between two consenting adults.
      It's quite telling that no one else has come forward with a similar anecdote or accusation.
      STO Member since February 2009.
      I Was A Trekkie Before It Was Cool ... Sept. 8th, 1966 ... Not To Mention Before Most Folks Around Here Were Born!
      Forever a STO Veteran-Minion
      upside-down-banana-smiley-emoticon.gif
    • ltminnsltminns Member Posts: 12,569 Arc User
      J'accuse!!

      Yes indeed, the Monsters ARE due on Maple Street.

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      l don't know.
      l really don't know what l'm about to say, except l have a feeling about it.
      That l must repeat the words that come without my knowledge.'
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    • mirrorchaosmirrorchaos Member Posts: 9,844 Arc User
      valoreah wrote: »
      Just as nobody questioned the myriad of Hollywood elitists who for years touted their support of feminist causes and the like, only to have been all the while secretly keeping tight-lipped about the likes of Harvey Weinstein and others like him. Where were these people when these assaults were taking place? Why didn't they speak up about it before?

      Just remember that Weinstein had power and money as well as a lot of powerful connections and friends, he can make or break a person however he sees fit. more of anything any witness wouldn't come forward at the time for fear of their own security. Now that Weinstein is toothless and exposed, there are no ends to the amount of witnesses and victims coming forward since his friends don't want anything more to do with him now he no longer has that power.

      That could be a take on things.
      T6 Miranda Hero Ship FTW.
      Been around since Dec 2010 on STO and bought LTS in Apr 2013 for STO.
    • mirrorchaosmirrorchaos Member Posts: 9,844 Arc User
      Not all the point, we don't know what influence there is behind the story for example. some of these women he caged ended up becoming very powerful in their own right, they have their own really powerful friends, there is likely a very messy landscape we don't know too much about and there could be even more to this than even the media may know.
      T6 Miranda Hero Ship FTW.
      Been around since Dec 2010 on STO and bought LTS in Apr 2013 for STO.
    • silverlobes#2676 silverlobes Member Posts: 1,953 Arc User
      angrytarg wrote: »
      Hey buddy, guess what? George has now responded to his comments on the Howard Stern show, and he says you are wrong. He did NOT say his comments were in relation to the complex societal issues you describe. Instead, he said his comments were just him telling dirty jokes in the role of a bad grandpa, and that in retrospect he shouldn't have joked about such a serious issue.

      Maybe he is telling the truth, maybe not. But I would believe him more if he actually said the things you did instead of brushing it all of as a joke. Your comments are at least thoughtful and make sense historically. He decided to just call the whole thing a joke.

      What difference does it make? People made up their minds, they don't care, all they want is figurative blood.

      Nobody questions how someone of such significant public standing as George Takei for the very topic he spoke about would casually out himself as a sex offender in a talk show, just like that. The man who coined "oh my" would try to make a jest about sexuality as he often did? Impossible, he gets on a mike and tells the world "Hey people, despite my ongoing fight for equality and self-determination guess what, I was a sex offender all along!" - yes, that must be it!

      To those people it doesn't matter. People who already chose to call him "scumbag" or worse do not care, at all. I personally do think there is more truth to it than a joke but as I explained before, how far do you think he gets trying to put his words into context for a public who to large parts has no idea what he is talking about? People that have had such a sheltered life a dirty comment infuses them with ever burning rage.

      The public has lost the ability to differentiate between actual sexual harassment or even assault and trivialities. They read allegations from actual victims exposing systemic sexism next to people carrying personal quarrels into the public on a stage provided to them by being unable to differentiate between the two. And that is not good. Whether Takei ever did overstep the line or even assaulted someone we don't know, but from what we know we can piece together that his talk being a "confession" makes no sense - if he was to "confess" in such a manner, why would he now change his mind, because he couldn't anticipate people would be upset? Come on. From what we know the issue surrounding Weinstein and Hollywood is serious whereas the situation revolving around Louis CK is a completely different animal. We mustn't lose the ability to look at these situations rationally instead of clouded by emotional rage. The latter, in other fields, is what caused a lot of the current global trouble our societies are facing in terms of populism creeping into the midsts of societies everywhere.​​

      What do you call someone who pulls down the pants of someone who is passed out and starts feeling them up?

      Anything other than negative, the GTFO.

      Here's a balanced write up:

      The guy says that Takei said 'okay' and stopped when told to (hint:The fact he stopped means something was happening... Something which is scuzzy and disgusting behaviour, which should not have been happening anyway!)

      And Takei's response to all this? To say 'he doesn't remember'. Which was also Kevin Spacey's trick. So what're you going to do? Put your fingers in your ears because it's George Takei? People in the industry have been looking the other way with this kind of behaviour and entitlement for too long, and now, people are being called out and held to account for their behaviours. Hey, if nothing happened, and the guy's making it all up, then I hope he gets sued for slander and defemation of character. But if something did happen, as claimed, then I thought the doctrine now was to believe all allegations of assaults. Personal popularity should be no shield.
      "I fight for the Users!" - Tron

      "I was here before you, I will be here after you are gone. I am here, regardless of your acknowledgement or acceptance..." - The Truth
    • silverlobes#2676 silverlobes Member Posts: 1,953 Arc User
      patrickngo wrote: »
      angrytarg wrote: »
      Hey buddy, guess what? George has now responded to his comments on the Howard Stern show, and he says you are wrong. He did NOT say his comments were in relation to the complex societal issues you describe. Instead, he said his comments were just him telling dirty jokes in the role of a bad grandpa, and that in retrospect he shouldn't have joked about such a serious issue.

      Maybe he is telling the truth, maybe not. But I would believe him more if he actually said the things you did instead of brushing it all of as a joke. Your comments are at least thoughtful and make sense historically. He decided to just call the whole thing a joke.

      What difference does it make? People made up their minds, they don't care, all they want is figurative blood.

      Nobody questions how someone of such significant public standing as George Takei for the very topic he spoke about would casually out himself as a sex offender in a talk show, just like that. The man who coined "oh my" would try to make a jest about sexuality as he often did? Impossible, he gets on a mike and tells the world "Hey people, despite my ongoing fight for equality and self-determination guess what, I was a sex offender all along!" - yes, that must be it!

      To those people it doesn't matter. People who already chose to call him "scumbag" or worse do not care, at all. I personally do think there is more truth to it than a joke but as I explained before, how far do you think he gets trying to put his words into context for a public who to large parts has no idea what he is talking about? People that have had such a sheltered life a dirty comment infuses them with ever burning rage.

      The public has lost the ability to differentiate between actual sexual harassment or even assault and trivialities. They read allegations from actual victims exposing systemic sexism next to people carrying personal quarrels into the public on a stage provided to them by being unable to differentiate between the two. And that is not good. Whether Takei ever did overstep the line or even assaulted someone we don't know, but from what we know we can piece together that his talk being a "confession" makes no sense - if he was to "confess" in such a manner, why would he now change his mind, because he couldn't anticipate people would be upset? Come on. From what we know the issue surrounding Weinstein and Hollywood is serious whereas the situation revolving around Louis CK is a completely different animal. We mustn't lose the ability to look at these situations rationally instead of clouded by emotional rage. The latter, in other fields, is what caused a lot of the current global trouble our societies are facing in terms of populism creeping into the midsts of societies everywhere.​​

      What do you call someone who pulls down the pants of someone who is passed out and starts feeling them up?

      Anything other than negative, the GTFO.

      Here's a balanced write up:

      The guy says that Takei said 'okay' and stopped when told to (hint:The fact he stopped means something was happening... Something which is scuzzy and disgusting behaviour, which should not have been happening anyway!)

      And Takei's response to all this? To say 'he doesn't remember'. Which was also Kevin Spacey's trick. So what're you going to do? Put your fingers in your ears because it's George Takei? People in the industry have been looking the other way with this kind of behaviour and entitlement for too long, and now, people are being called out and held to account for their behaviours. Hey, if nothing happened, and the guy's making it all up, then I hope he gets sued for slander and defemation of character. But if something did happen, as claimed, then I thought the doctrine now was to believe all allegations of assaults. Personal popularity should be no shield.

      believe all is as bad as believe none. Both are rife with opportunities for the unscrupulous. In the public realm, a suit for defamation is almost as good as a signed confession of guilt, if the two parties are sufficiently unequal in terms of fame, resources, and influence.

      you can thank our addiction to litigation for that, by the way.

      Acceptance without context is another nice pit to fall into. the term 'Assault' has been expanded steadily over the last forty years, you can be charged with 'assault' now in some areas for giving someone a dirty look.

      why? because it made them feel "Threatened".

      likewise, behavours that in 1970 were 'flirting' are now criminalized-or can be criminalized, just by the plaintiff claiming they were unwanted. we're operating from a 21st century context here, with 21st century definitions, of conduct that had an entirely DIFFERENT definition in 1967 to 1985, and we're operating without supporting evidence.

      Do people do bad things?? yes, they do, they always have.

      but without the context, or supporting evidence, 'believe all' becomes 'license to witch-hunt'.
      And that's why we have a legal system to determine guilt or innocence, and render a verdict accordingly.

      Regardless of context, pulling down someone's pants in 1967 while they are passed out, was just as scuzzy and predatory as it is today. If Takei did that*, even if he stopped when asked, the fact he did it at all* is disgusting in itself.

      That he claims to not remember, is not good enough. Like I said, if the guy is making it up, then I hope Takei sues him for defamation. If the guy is telling the truth, I hope Takei feels repurcussions.

      "I don't know what to believe..." - Ambassador Nanclus

      *If the allegation is true.

      "I fight for the Users!" - Tron

      "I was here before you, I will be here after you are gone. I am here, regardless of your acknowledgement or acceptance..." - The Truth
    • thunderfoot#5163 thunderfoot Member Posts: 4,540 Arc User
      It doesn't help that George has been so publicly sanctimonious when discussing what other people either have or have not done. I am tired of people getting tried and convicted on Facebook and Twitter. People forget something though. George Takei is a real person and Hikaru Sulu is the character he played in Star Trek. It is sometimes easy to get them confused with each other and assume one is just like the other. it is called 'acting' for a reason.
      A six year old boy and his starship. Living the dream.
    • silverlobes#2676 silverlobes Member Posts: 1,953 Arc User
      It doesn't help that George has been so publicly sanctimonious when discussing what other people either have or have not done. I am tired of people getting tried and convicted on Facebook and Twitter. People forget something though. George Takei is a real person and Hikaru Sulu is the character he played in Star Trek. It is sometimes easy to get them confused with each other and assume one is just like the other. it is called 'acting' for a reason.
      I've never had any issue seperating the two: Sulu was always one of my favorites, Takei, I've always found smug and sanctimonious *shrug*
      "I fight for the Users!" - Tron

      "I was here before you, I will be here after you are gone. I am here, regardless of your acknowledgement or acceptance..." - The Truth
    • thunderfoot#5163 thunderfoot Member Posts: 4,540 Arc User
      I've never had any issue seperating the two: Sulu was always one of my favorites, Takei, I've always found smug and sanctimonious *shrug*

      Okay. That makes one.
      A six year old boy and his starship. Living the dream.
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