why is this a thing

Discussion in 'Discussion' started by Ty, Nov 4, 2014.

  1. Ty Traverse Town Homebody

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    http://www.cnn.com/2014/11/03/tech/alex-from-target/

    seriously. this dude now has 500k+ followers on twitter and has ellen and other celebs hitting him up... why? and now they're doing spin-offs, with employees of t-mobile and red robin.

    what the actual ****, dude. twitter has gotten so lazy.

    while we're at it, though, let's get #TyFromPacSun going [​IMG]
     
  2. Makaze Some kind of mercenary

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    He is pretty good looking. Maybe that is enough to become a viral joke.
     
  3. al215 Kingdom Keeper

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    I have no idea how this stuff happens. Sometimes, the internet has this weird sense of viral humour that is beyond all comprehension. Sometimes it just takes one person to post something on Twitter/Instagram and suddenly it blows up to ludicrous degrees for seemingly no reason. I think that's just the nature of social media. There's always some stupid joke going around wherever you go, but on the internet there's just a lot more of them.

    And probably even more stupid.
     
  4. Laurence_Fox Chaser

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    Speaking as a retail worker, I know I'd be a little creeped out if someone took a picture of me at my job and then posted it on the internet without my consent or knowledge. And then to have it being seen by millions of people. And then to have those people comment on my appearance. And have some of those comments go way beyond appropriate. This kid(he's 16-17 so yeah, he's a kid) is being objectified.

    Retail employees are people. We don't deserve being treated this way. We already put up with so much crap and to have this be a concern on top of it.

    Just don't take pictures of people without their knowledge/consent.
     
  5. Sara Tea Drinker

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    If you REALLY want to see controversy, go to "So you're a Cartoonist?" And see all the comments on women wearing cosplay uniforms and having males take inappropriate pictures and how wrong it is. The comments are far nastier than anything that I've seen with this guy. INCLuding several claiming woman: "asking for it" because they wear such uniforms.

    I worked at retail also, it's a hellish job. You're underpaid, targets for the managers who when they have a bad day just start screaming at their most hated employee, and the customers are usually extremely rude to you and treat you the same way as the managers. I feel bad for the kid and agree he was just doing his job and didn't ask for this. They should really remove it and at least ban the account who did it. Or a temp ban on the inappropriate comments.
     
  6. Patman Bof

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    From what I' ve heard that kid happens to be fine with it. And while it would be polite to ask permission, legally speaking it' s not required. Not in that case (though the internet obviously didn' t exist when those laws got written the way they were).

    I got filmed by a TV crew back when I worked in retail. In that case they were supposed to ask for my consent but they didn' t. I guess it' s simpler for them to wait for somebody to complain than to make sure every single person randomly caught in the footage was okay with it. I also got photographed by a professional while I was having a smoke and reading a book, sitting on my bag, right in the middle of a train station in Paris. I didn' t notice, but he told me he did and asked me if I was okay to let him use it.
     
  7. Laurence_Fox Chaser

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    Let me put this into perspective a little bit with a visual aid that I have spent the past...hour looking for.

    [​IMG]

    http://philcantwerk.tumblr.com/post/101787424805 I'm just linking this rather than actually posting the other images in the set because there's uncomfortable language. Triggers for mentions of rape and sexual harassment.

    So yes, this kid is being harassed even if he's 'okay with it'. I doubt he knows the extent of his 'fame'. In the dark recesses of the internet where I'd rather not delve. I've only heard whispers. However, I do know that there is fanfiction of a...shall we say...not so worksafe nature. I know that I would be skeeved to know someone had written such things about me.

    Target has policies against people taking photos of their staff besides. They can ask the person to take it down. If that doesn't happen, the employee can go to the manager who does the same thing. If nothing is still done, the store can file a report with the authorities. It's an invasion of privacy if nothing else.

    And people are posting pictures of other cashiers trying to make them the next #AlexfromTarget. I know I wouldn't want strangers taking pictures of me when I'm at work and then posting them on line for further strangers to make sexually based comments on.
     
  8. Patman Bof

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    Oh don' t take me wrong, I do realize how obsolete your laws are in the face of that kind of behavior. If that happened to me I' d be positively livid. I say your laws because Europe recently passed laws for the right to anonymity. For instance if google keeps popping up an article casting your name in a poor light, years after the facts, you can ask for it to be taken down. I' m a bit iffy on the details though, I' m not sure when it does or doesn' t apply and I don' t remember whether they simply ask google to stop linking to the page in question, have your name be blurred out or outright take the page down.
     
  9. Amaury Legendary Hero

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    Teenager, actually. Age 12 is your last kid year.

    I disagree. The person who photographed him may have not asked him for permission, which I agree is wrong, but if Alex is all right with it, then no, it's not sexual harassment. And even so, it would be harassment at best, not sexual harassment. If they had taken the photo of him and then edited some sexy, partially naked woman in and implied they were about to have or had sex or something of that nature, then yes, that would be sexual harassment. However, this is not.
     
  10. Ty Traverse Town Homebody

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    Of course he's okay with it. The guy is famous now for no reason.
     
  11. 61 No. B

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    Nobody will remember him come Saturday.
     
  12. -Xero- Twilight Town Denizen

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    I don't understand it either. People are stupid.