Twitter nabs subway perv, Hurd exits HP and Facebook continues its follies
While we catch up on work after a fantastic few days at BlogHer 10, here are a few stories of interest from around the web.
Boston police arrested a man who exposed himself on the T, or subway, after another passenger posted a picture of the creep on Twitter. A second man was arrested this weekend for exposing himself to women on the subway after yet another rider took his picture. This is just the kind of response Hollaback, a movement trying to stop street harassment by using mobile phone technology, encourages.
While the story is getting a lot of attention due to the role social media played in busting the perp, the Boston media has failed to link any of its subway harassment stories. There have been a number of reported incidents of harassment and exposure on the T this summer, including the man who pulled down a teenager’s shirt. How many arrests do the police need to make before the media reports on this as a trend and decide to examine the experiences women endure while taking public transportation?
Across the country, HP’s CEO Mark Hurd resigned following an investigation “surrounding a claim of sexual harassment against Hurd and HP by a former contractor to HP,” according to a press release from the tech giant. HP found “no violation of HP’s sexual harassment policy, but did find violations of HP’s Standards of Business Conduct.” Allegedly Hurd filed incorrect expense reports in an attempt to shield his relationship with the contractor. The woman who originally filed the harassment claim is now “surprised and saddened” that Hurd lost his job according to a statement released by the woman’s lawyer Gloria Allred.
Hurd walks away from the scandal with a reported $28 million in cash and HP stock. The contractor walks away having resolved the claim “privately” and with a host of media outlets gleefully reporting on her “softporn” and reality TV career.
And finally, Facebook is at it again. The social media site that removed breastfeeding pictures is hosting two offensive pages – “It Isn’t r.a.p.e…It’s SURPRISE SEX” and “National Boob Grab Day.” Ladies, if there was one key message from the BlogHer conference, it’s that women have power. According to this Forbes article, Facebook members are 57 percent female. Women on average have 8 percent more friends than men and participate in 62 percent of the sharing. So use your power and tell Facebook to stop allowing so-called humor that harms women. There is a “Report Page” link at the bottom of all Facebook pages. Use it.
