If you want to tell people off for being sexist, your speech is just as free as theirs. People are free to be dicks, and you’re free to call them out on it and shame them for it if you want.
I think you should absolutely call it out, negative reactions be damned, but I also agree with NancyLebovitz that you may get more traction out of “what you said is sexist” as opposed to “you are sexist”.
To say nothing is just as much an active choice as to say something. Decide what kind of environment you want to help create.
A norm of “don’t be a dick” isn’t inherently a violation of free speech. The question is, does LW co-working chat have a norm of not being a dick? Would being a dick likely lead to unfavorable reactions, or would objecting to dickish behavior be frowned on instead?
(I haven’t seen the LW co-working chat)
If you want to tell people off for being sexist, your speech is just as free as theirs. People are free to be dicks, and you’re free to call them out on it and shame them for it if you want.
I think you should absolutely call it out, negative reactions be damned, but I also agree with NancyLebovitz that you may get more traction out of “what you said is sexist” as opposed to “you are sexist”.
To say nothing is just as much an active choice as to say something. Decide what kind of environment you want to help create.
A norm of “don’t be a dick” isn’t inherently a violation of free speech. The question is, does LW co-working chat have a norm of not being a dick? Would being a dick likely lead to unfavorable reactions, or would objecting to dickish behavior be frowned on instead?
The problem with having “don’t be a dick” as a norm is that people have very different ideas about what constitutes “being a dick”.
Don’t be a dick is code for “Act according to our unspoken social codes”