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I had a good discussion regarding the case of Sam Brinton, buried deep in last week's thread. I am reposting here so that more people can see it and possibly participate. I hope this is appropriate and doesn't constitute self-promotion.
I wrote:
@Astranagant replied:
To which I replied:
As an exercise, you have two candidates. Both are 40-something white men. They're identical in capabilities and expertise.
Candidate 1 has arrived to the interview dressed well, without being overboard in terms of stuffiness or luxury.
Candidate 2 arrives with greasy, unwashed hair and a mangled beard. His shoes are worn through with enough mysterious stains that you're unsure of their original color. A crumpled and frayed jacket covers a shirt that's deeply dark from various oils, never washed. He's eloquent and equally qualified to candidate 1, but does express that he'll never bathe more than once a month.
Many of your peers express admiration that he's rejected the societal norms that have led to widespread animal testing and a psychotic cycle of shampoo - condition - shampoo - condition when human hair naturally supports itself through the body's oils.
Would you flip a coin for these candidates?
The "unusual presentation" is the message. It is the qualifications. Sam Brinton can't be bothered to inconvenience himself with even the furthest edges of the Overton window. He's too special, too important to consider other people.
That alone should be factored into a hiring decision where he loses to someone equally qualified. It's that simple.
I was going to say that candidate 2's poor hygiene makes him less qualified, in the broad sense, but then you did it for me! Our disagreement here seems to be on how bad not bathing is as compared to wearing unconventional clothing.
I think the convention that men mustn't wear dresses is arbitrary and pointless and a man should be allowed to wear a dress if he so wishes. Very dress-like garments have been normal for men to wear in many cultures, so there is nothing inherently wrong with it. Even if you consider it ugly, that's just a personal preference; I consider leather jackets ugly, yet I don't think this justifies discrimination against people who like wearing them. Brinton is only inconveniencing people if they let themselves be inconvenienced, like a wokeist who chooses to be offended at everything.
Poor hygiene, however, should not be socially accepted, in my opinion. Of course that depends on what "poor hygiene" is: someone may say that, yes, poor hygiene should be unacceptable but only bathing once a month isn't poor hygiene. For the purpose of this discussion, I am using "poor hygiene" to refer specifically to what candidate 2 is doing.
It sounds like you have no principles and standards then, just gut feelings that you've substituted instead.
You think one convention is arbitrary and another is obvious. You're just trying to reach the conclusion you already have ready.
My view might be summarized as "clothing is personal preference, hygiene is non-negotiable".
What are your principles and standards? Anything unusual is automatically bad? I guess that is less subjective.
Although, if your political beliefs are close to those of the average Mottizen, consider how unusual they are in universities, big companies and other significant employers in the current year.
They're the same as yours. Disgust, of course. Your view can be summarized by, "I find one thing disgusting but not another." I find both unwashed people and cross-dressers to be physically disgusting, and react accordingly. Not much of a standard really, but honest if not principled.
This is also why I say you're not demonstrating principles, you're rationalizing your instincts.
Apart from like, half a dozen nerds (who are all posting here, love you <3 ), don't we all?
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