Op-ed: Is firing the men involved in the FHRITP debacle appropriate?

Disclaimer: The opinions expressed in this article are that of the author's and do not reflect the views of CJLO 1690AM, CJLO's editorial board, or our partners and affiliates.

By now some of you may be familiar with the FHRITP debacle unravelling in Toronto. This is a trend that began in the United States with some hoax videos involving bystanders screaming "F**k Her Right In The P***y" during 'live' broadcasts. Unfortunately for humanity this 'prank' caught on, and now some people apparently make it their life's mission to hunt down news cameras and scream the very same slogan during reports. It happened recently to Shauna Hunt, a CityNews reporter while she was interviewing soccer fans at a game in Toronto. Hunt decided to confront some men before they were able to pull the same stunt and the segment was later aired. Sadly, according to Hunt, many reporters deal with this on a daily basis. In the fallout from that segment, the men who were identifiable will be subject to a one year ban from games of the Toronto Football Club, the Toronto Maple Leafs and the Toronto Raptors, who are all owned by Maple Leafs Sports and Entertainment. One man, identified by was identified as Hydro One employee Shawn Simoes actually was fired from his job over the incident.

I had a variation of this happen to me about two months ago. I was participating as a panellist on a comedy panel show here in Montreal. The panel, made up of four comedians, debates certain issues and, hopefully, makes hilarious jokes about them. The last time I participated in the show, our first topic was the FHRITP phenomenon. We talked about it, made jokes, and generally dismissed all those who participated as morons. About 15 minutes later we had moved onto another subject and as I was doing my best to crack jokes about Austerity Measures, a man in the audience, probably in his late 40's, stood up and yelled "F**k her right in the ass!" Being far less cool than Shauna Hunt, my immediate reaction was to try and fight the guy. The man was shocked by my behaviour and actually backed down, saying "No, I wasn't talking about you!" I couldn't fist fight a man backing away with his hands in the air so I had to let it slide. After the show he came up to me and apologized, saying that he hadn't meant to offend me. It was a very surreal moment. I felt the man was genuine, and it was hard for me to understand how he really didn't think beforehand that what he was doing was offensive.

This sentiment is echoed by the men Ms. Hunt speaks to in the video. One of them keeps repeating that FHRITP is not about her, that they are not talking to her, or about her, and thus they have no comprehension of she would be angry. This is a problem. These individuals at this point cannot understand that regardless of their intentions, this act is demeaning and cruel to the reporter. Their reactions illustrate that we live in a society with over-arching power structures that condone and reproduce misogyny, but is targeting individuals the most effective was to combat this power imbalance? Should misogyny be a fireable offence?

Subjecting these men to a year long ban from all Maple Leaf sports is a justified response. Public naming and shaming is certainly deserved, and hopefully will lead to more open discussions about why this type of behaviour is not OK. Criminal mischief charges could be an effective tool to protect reporters from continued harassment. But a man losing his job? What purpose does this serve? He was acting as an individual, not on behalf of his company. It's not that I have sympathy for this man, I'm just concerned that such an action is worse, in the long run, for society. Instead of just dealing with a public naming and shaming (which is more likely lead to behavioural changes) this man will instead feel justified in increased hatred and aggression towards women due to what he undoubtedly believes is wrongful termination (the labour board will most likely agree, assuming there is not a stipulation in their contract about statements made outside of work environment or something similar). Combating misogyny in society is a serious task and it needs a serious plan of action. I'm not convinced that turning individuals into sacrificial lambs is the best one. Punishment is not a substitute for education. Fines and educational classes may have rehabilitated this man, instead we end up with an angry sexist on welfare. Problem solved?

 

--Sarah Stupar hosts Best Of The West every Wednesday at 9 AM, only on CJLO 1690AM. Follow Sarah on Twitter and Instagram @somegirl514.

Op-ed pieces on CJLO.com are not the opinion of CJLO 1690 AM, but only of the author.