Tasers have killed many many people, so that’s an odd definition of fun.
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Seriously? Your focus is on the victim, and not the assholes that did this? Your priorities are screwed. I’m tired of this attitude. You’re not ~edgy~ or ~cool~ and this isn’t high school. Quitting has real consequences. HE PROBABLY HAS A FAMILY. Jobs are not a dime a dozen, especially in smaller towns. He was trying to buy a home; probably for his family.
Christ, don’t be an asshole.
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That’s a bit silly - potential lethality has never stopped people from enjoying something! Many people have been killed through beatings too, or even accidentally in fights, and yet boxing and other sparring games are still seen as immensely enjoyable by people. Many people have died by drowning, and yet me and my friends still often play a game involving holding other people underwater for an extended amount of time. We also enjoy cliff diving in the local quarry, playing football, surfing and skating - all of which have killed a great many people. It turns out being dangerous can actually make it more fun, especially if there are agreed upon rules that remove most of the more stupidly dangerous bits.
And tasers… aren’t really that dangerous, if you aren’t explicitly trying to kill or torture someone with them. Almost all cases of taser deaths have been part of police brutality or tasering someone with an obvious medical condition against their will, often many times for extended periods of time and in particularly violent ways. The risk for an average person getting a zap or three on an arm or leg is pretty minimal.
I’m certainly not averse to the idea that if me and my friends got our
hands on a taser there would be some consensual tasering happening.
This wasn’t at a frat house. This was at work. Did you watch the video? This guy clearly did not consent to anything. Wow.
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Which video? The one in the OP where it was clearly not consensual and I remarked on as such, or the second one posted in the comment I was responding to, where it did seem both guys were laughing and there was no element of surprise and it could have arguably been perfectly fine. The question was whether the guy in question should have his credibility removed, whether being surprise-tasered while working over a dozen times was insufficient reason to complain because there’s a video of him once using the taser in a different situation in a break room while the employees appear to be on break.
I don’t think that’s nearly enough to discredit that he suffered from the repeated attacks.
And people can have friends at work, that is a normal thing believe it or not! In fact many places try to build up camaraderie between employees.
Yeah, most people aren’t going to die from a slap in the face, either. That doesn’t mean it’s cool for me to go around randomly backhanding co-workers for amusement while the boss films it.
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That… is kind of my point. That what happened wasn’t okay. Just because the guy participated in some similar activity, that doesn’t mean they should be allowed to surprise-assault him indefinitely. Because consenting, potentially dangerous and ill-advised play is quite a bit different from continuos pain-inducing harassment.
If we once agreed to a slap fight for entertainment purposes, that doesn’t mean it’s okay to, as you said, come around randomly back-handing me.
(I didn’t even say what happened in the second video WAS alright, just that it /may/ have been, something far harder to argue in most of the other videos)
And people can have friends at work, that is a normal thing believe
it or not
No, really?! I had no idea people made friends at work! Wow. Thanks for the knowledge. I mean, I’m over 30 … I’ve never worked a day in my life, ya know? How would I ever had known that people make friends at work, if it weren’t for you? Thank you, kind sir!
sigh
**Having friends at work does not mean using a deadly weapon on them as a “joke” and no matter how often you try to brush off the seriousness of being hit with a taser, it is, indeed, a deadly weapon and should be treated as such.
Just because he laughs doesn’t mean he consented. He could have been taken by surprise and not sure how to react. I laugh when I’m nervous. Or when trying to fit in. Or maybe he didn’t want to piss of the person holding the deadly weapon. And it doesn’t matter if he consented; the boss should not have been involved and should have known better not to use a deadly weapon on an employer. He has a DIRECT RESPONSIBILITY to stop this stuff.
You’ve spent paragraph after paragraph not only trying to make it seem as if this guy literally asked for it, but also defending this sort of bullying in a workplace and trying to make it seem like friends just playing jokes on friends. The fact that you’re probably serious and not a trolley is kind of frightening, really.
I take it you’re the one that pulls a lot of “pranks” on your “friends” or co-workers and secretly they all think you’re an asshole?
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BUT HA HA! It’s just a joke! Isn’t bullying people funny? I mean, he should have a bigger back bone and just laugh at getting zapped by a deadly weapon by his boss while trying to make an income so that he and his family don’t end up homeless! Heehee isn’t it funny? Fucking with someone’s livelihood like that? Such a blast.
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Right. That’s why you said he should get a back bone. And how do you know he consented to begin with? You’re making a lot of assumptions based on one video that doesn’t, to me, show any sort of consent.
Maybe it was the first attack and he thought it would be the only one and figured laughing it off would be the easiest route. Or maybe he was just surprised and laughed.
The most important thing, however, is that people should never use a deadly weapon on a co-worker or employer, ever, for any reason, joke or not. (Well, unless it’s approved training.)
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So you’re arguing that this guy shouldn’t have any right to sue his employer (which was the entire point of my argument, that he’s got a valid case for harm and should be able to sue, regardless of what the other video demonstrated) because of this? Seriously?
If not, I’m not entirely sure what you are trying to argue, other than that you really, really disagree with me about things in general. I was saying it was /possible/, not that it was true, and that it was a different situation than the one displayed in the original video either way, and even if it wasn’t that doesn’t make what they did to this guy okay.
YOU are the one saying that I’m wrong here, when all I’ve argued is that a video showing this guy participated once doesn’t invalidate his claims against the employer. Do you even disagree with that!? Do you have any substantive disagreement at all? What do you actually think should happen - that we should arrest the guy pushing the claim and throw him in jail along with everyone else who worked there? I’m honestly not sure.
To clarify, I am not blaming the victim. He shouldn’t have to suffer any abuse. Staying in an abusive situation isn’t doing you any good. He must have the patience of a saint, because I couldn’t stand to be tazed 2 dozen times. I’d either put a stop to it via the boss, or if that didn’t work, quit. I am intimately and personally familiar with the horrible job market, but I have enough self respect that I couldn’t put up with that level of abuse. I hope he wins his law suit and gets retribution.
Maybe it was the first attack and he thought it would be the only one and figured laughing it off would be the easiest route. Or maybe he was just surprised and laughed.
Okay, I think you… just haven’t actually bothered to understand what I’ve said. As far as we know, it WAS the only attack, and that he only did it once, and was on the receiving end over a dozen times. I don’t think that should invalidate his claims against the employer. Do you?
Also, I never said anything about anyone growing a backbone either. I’m not even sure if you’re even bothering to see who you’re responding to…
Yes. And what was the tasered guy supposed to do that would have been an appropriate reaction when he was tasered? Scream ? Cry ? Assault the person who tasered him while his boss looks on laughing and FILMING this ? Come back with an assault weapon and shoot them all ? He has to laugh in an attempt to save face - as though he is a manly man taking this “jest” in good humor.
If you watch the interview the victim’s voice cracks when he is talking about how he bought a house and was just trying to get by. So now he is left with PTSD, due to the full on physical assaults that happened at least two dozen times at work while his boss watched and laughed, and his co-workers posted it on YouTube. Not to mention the social assault of being victimized by his coworker, while the only person in authority who could/should help him to stop this looks on, laughing.
This is so far beyond bullying.
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I don’t know enough of US law, but why the hell does this guy have to hire a lawyer to deal with this? Is it because it’s gone on so long that he’s given up any hope of continuing to work peacefully and now he’s looking for other options?
Frankly, this looks like a clear case of assault & battery. The assholes with the tasers and the managers who stood by should be happy that they aren’t facing criminal charges.
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You’re absolutely correct, but this happened in Texas which is not a part of the USA.
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Yeah, he was clearly trying not to cry and I just wanted to give the guy a hug. Ugh. The fact that people are defending this behavior is upsetting.
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yeah you’re just what we need here, another internet tough guy!
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Standing up for yourself and either fighting against or remove your self from abuse is being a tough guy? o_0
I think that you can safely call this a toxic work environment.
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