Lasseter may return to Disney

I mean, we know that women would double over while sitting next to him so they could keep their entire arm on their thigh so he wouldn't feel them up and that the move was so common it was called "the Lasseter" so...

Sometimes creative people have difficulty reading cues or responding to social situations appropriately. But usually there's a bit of a line. A big tell is "Do they do this to men as well? Or just women." Because if they only feel up women who sit next to them...then they know full well that their actions are not socially acceptable.
 
I'm an engineer. I work with very intelligent people (some geniuses) a fair number of whom are socially awkward. The person who was recently fired for harassment in my area was a smooth, socially capable person. Most socially awkward people I know are not the slightest but preditory. There is a big difference between not knowing what to say to someone to keep a conversation going or how to read body language and harassing someone. I think there are just as many (and probably more) smooth talkers who are charming and manipulative who harass people. In other words I don't think how well you get along socially is a predictor one way or another.

There is research out there that American society is one of the few where geniuses and really smart people (and their idiosyncrasies) are torn down with negative stereotypes instead of admired and accepted. Something to think about.
 
I'm an engineer. I work with very intelligent people (some geniuses) a fair number of whom are socially awkward. The person who was recently fired for harassment in my area was a smooth, socially capable person. Most socially awkward people I know are not the slightest but preditory. There is a big difference between not knowing what to say to someone to keep a conversation going or how to read body language and harassing someone. I think there are just as many (and probably more) smooth talkers who are charming and manipulative who harass people. In other words I don't think how well you get along socially is a predictor one way or another.

There is research out there that American society is one of the few where geniuses and really smart people (and their idiosyncrasies) are torn down with negative stereotypes instead of admired and accepted. Something to think about.

Interesting take - I would think geniuses would be valued even more in an entrepreneurial and capitalistic society like America where having unique ideas gives you a competitive advantage to profit more
 
Interesting take - I would think geniuses would be valued even more in an entrepreneurial and capitalistic society like America where having unique ideas gives you a competitive advantage to profit more

You would think. But apparently there is a limit You should be smart but not too smart. The nerd/geek stereotype originated in the US and is very pervasive. There is a lot of shunning of very smart children.

At work we bring in math and science teachers once a year to teach them about Engineering so they will hopefully help encourage their students to go into it. One thing we hear over and over is how normal we seem and how well so many of the engineers they meet here interact. The teachers are very surprised by this. They are expecting Big Bang Theory. It's one of the things that makes it hard to convince kids to go into Engineering.
 
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You would think. But apparently there is a limit You should be smart but not too smart. The nerd/geek stereotype originated in the US and is very pervasive. There is a lot of shunning of very smart children.

At work we bring in math and science teachers once a year to teach them about Engineering so they will hopefully help encourage their students to go into it. One thing we hear over and over is how normal we seem and how well so many of the engineers they meet here interact. The teachers are very surprised by this. They are expecting Big Bang Theory. It's one of the things that makes it hard to convince kids to go into Engineering.

That’s pretty cool. Both my wife and myself are engineers by schooling (neither currently practice though) - I think we are both pretty normal (though also pretty geeky in some ways too)
 
Chiming in on the engineering conversation - my husband and I are both licensed, practicing engineers. I agree completely with @PrincessWithABlaster - the nerdy, awkward folks aren't the predators. Lacking in social graces? Sure. But not dangerous to be around. In my experience, the smooth operators are much more likely to make unwanted advances. There are a slew of other gender disparity issues in the technical fields, but I travel as the only woman in a group of engineers on a very regular basis and have never felt the slightest bit threatened.

I also agree about how intelligence is (or rather isn't) valued. Super smart kids (and adults) are often mocked and denigrated. It does seem to be getting worse these days, but it's been an issue as long as I can remember.
 


Chiming in on the engineering conversation - my husband and I are both licensed, practicing engineers. I agree completely with @PrincessWithABlaster - the nerdy, awkward folks aren't the predators. Lacking in social graces? Sure. But not dangerous to be around. In my experience, the smooth operators are much more likely to make unwanted advances. There are a slew of other gender disparity issues in the technical fields, but I travel as the only woman in a group of engineers on a very regular basis and have never felt the slightest bit threatened.

I'm also an engineer. I've certainly had some unwanted advances from engineer coworkers, one exacerbated by his lack of picking up on social cues. It was mostly just awkward for a while. One did pick up on my discomfort and stopped. Another was not the awkward type and he was by far the worst. That one got into actual sexual harassment. So in my experience at least, unwanted advances can come from anyone but the more threatening sort have been not been from the nerdy/awkward types.
 
Chiming in on the engineering conversation - my husband and I are both licensed, practicing engineers. I agree completely with @PrincessWithABlaster - the nerdy, awkward folks aren't the predators. Lacking in social graces? Sure. But not dangerous to be around. In my experience, the smooth operators are much more likely to make unwanted advances. There are a slew of other gender disparity issues in the technical fields, but I travel as the only woman in a group of engineers on a very regular basis and have never felt the slightest bit threatened.

I also agree about how intelligence is (or rather isn't) valued. Super smart kids (and adults) are often mocked and denigrated. It does seem to be getting worse these days, but it's been an issue as long as I can remember.

Geez, a lot of engineers on here - including myself. Well, the Rumor board is a full of very intelligent people so it makes sense.

But I agree, American society tends to mock the "Smart kids", though I actually think it has gotten better versus when I was a kid as a lot of "geek culture" has become more mainstream. But even my daughter tells me she doesn't do too well in school so she isn't seen as a geek. (Though I will admit this is mostly an excuse because she doesn't really want to work at school.)

I would also agree that there's not a lot of harassment of women from the awkward nerdy types - but I can't say there is zero.
 
This whole thread is disgusting.... Not one person has filed a charge against Lassester but yet when a reporter reports rumors it is the truth. This rumor mill has ruined Mr. Lassesters life and damaged his family. I guess now in the USA you are not innocent before proven guilty. Shame Shame Shame....
 
This whole thread is disgusting.... Not one person has filed a charge against Lassester but yet when a reporter reports rumors it is the truth. This rumor mill has ruined Mr. Lassesters life and damaged his family. I guess now in the USA you are not innocent before proven guilty. Shame Shame Shame....
It's entirely possible Disney has more information that none of us knows about.
 
This whole thread is disgusting.... Not one person has filed a charge against Lassester but yet when a reporter reports rumors it is the truth. This rumor mill has ruined Mr. Lassesters life and damaged his family. I guess now in the USA you are not innocent before proven guilty. Shame Shame Shame....
Both JL and the company are doing all they can to avoid any victims coming forward to file charges! JL's reputation has been ruined but both Pixar and Disney have only been slightly tarnished. The PR department is working overtime to make sure no additional damage occurs. That's one of the reasons why they put straight-laced Pete Docter in charge at Pixar.

It's not rumor that ruined JL. JL did it all to himself. He's fortunate in that Disney has been willing to privately settle these cases. Had any aggrieved person decided to file charges and take JL to court, the public spectacle would be more than he could endure. And the reputation of the company (along with the stock price) would suffer.

It's best for all concerned to keep this sordid mess out of the public eye. I just hope the victims hired top attorneys to maximize their respective settlements.
 
The thing is, you can't file criminal charges in harassment cases unless it rises to the level of assault. The penalties for harassment are civil only. So you can only sue. And I'm pretty sure the people who feel it's unfair that he's not getting a trial would not be reassured in any way by a civil trial. There is not a guilt beyond a reasonable doubt requirement for civil suits and it always raises the spector of someone only doing it for the money.

What people forget is that there is no right to a trial with a burden of 'guilty beyond a reasonable doubt' for a company to fire you. Someone said that a long time ago in this thread but I think it's worth repeating. If you behave badly enough at work you can be fired. No trial necessary.
 
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The thing is, you can't file criminal charges in harassment cases unless it rises to the level of assault. The penalties for harassment are civil only. So you can only sue. And I'm pretty sure the people who feel it's unfair that he's not getting a trial would not be reassured in any way by a civil trial. There is not a guilt beyond a reasonable doubt requirement for civil suits and it always raises the spector of someone only doing it for the money.

What people forget is that there is no right to a trial with a burden of 'guilty beyond a reasonable doubt' for a company to fire you. Someone said that a long time ago in this thread but I think it's worth repeating. If you behave badly enough at work you can be fired. No trial necessary.


It's not rumor that ruined JL. JL did it all to himself.

Thank you both for saying it better than I could. Because speaking of disgust, I'm just too disgusted to even type a calm response.
 
This whole thread is disgusting.... Not one person has filed a charge against Lassester but yet when a reporter reports rumors it is the truth. This rumor mill has ruined Mr. Lassesters life and damaged his family. I guess now in the USA you are not innocent before proven guilty. Shame Shame Shame....

It not rumors when several people come forward, the man himself makes a statement almost immediately that he's done wrong, and the company engineers his exit. This stuff doesn't happen just based on rumors, even in America.
 
The thing is, you can't file criminal charges in harassment cases unless it rises to the level of assault. The penalties for harassment are civil only. So you can only sue. And I'm pretty sure the people who feel it's unfair that he's not getting a trial would not be reassured in any way by a civil trial. There is not a guilt beyond a reasonable doubt requirement for civil suits and it always raises the spector of someone only doing it for the money.

What people forget is that there is no right to a trial with a burden of 'guilty beyond a reasonable doubt' for a company to fire you. Someone said that a long time ago in this thread but I think it's worth repeating. If you behave badly enough at work you can be fired. No trial necessary.
What JL did went beyond assault. He actually battered females in the office. Battery is defined at common law as "any unlawful and or unwanted touching of the person of another by the aggressor, or by a substance put in motion by him."
 
What a sad story that we have come to this as a society. I don’t think it’s endemic to us as a people, but it really does seem to come up a lot in this post-Weinstein world. Embarrassing really. I like to focus on the positive and more importantly fixing problems; therefore let’s all as a group recognize these types of issues as they arise in our life and speak up when we see them. And especially for those of you in positions of leadership, be sure to not ignore even in the case of extreme talent.
 

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