I was not here for the whole Me too VS. Incel discussion .. just read it all now, and learned some new stuff. For instance I had no idea about incel terrorism being a thing.
Not sure if I should resurrect the discussion, but I have only a few bits from my POV.
1) Let's say there are things that I would not do to a girl I don't know - things like catcalling, obvious over-engaging in a girl that I have no business talking to, or giving some hyperbole compliment on her looks. I don't do that, because I feel it is not my way, not because I was told by a girl that it is uncomfortable for her. I know it's uncomfortable for them, but the reason I do not do those things comes from inside of me. A person who doesn't have this "inner rule" - he needs a movement like Me too to tell him what is wrong from a woman's point of view, but a guy who has some basic empathy should feel on his own, what is acceptable and what is too much.
Another thing. I live in central Europe now .. but if I go over a few countries to the southwest, this kind of behaviour is rather common there. My girlfriend studied in Spain for about 2 years, she said she was hit on constantly but never she sounded like this caused her discomfort. I will ask her after work for more details. I have tried to google now how much, let's say, Italian women mind being cat-called - (I can't really consider a couple blogposts being a measuring stick) but I have found that plenty of them do mind.
So this is my frank question - can we universally define what is inside limits, and what is too much? If in culture A 75% of people are ok with receiving a compliment and in culture B the same compliment is uncomfortable for 75% of the people, that just makes it ok for people in culture A, but wrong for B. Who can dictate the rules then, shouldn't it all be considered in context?
And even inside one culture, one person can regard a smile their way harrassment, another will say it's fine or pleasant. Who then will create an official table defining ok moves and bad moves? Is a compliment on the wristwatch ok, but compliment on the skirt wrong, because I have glanced on thy legs? Can I smile at my colleague while saying good morning?
Mind that I haven't actually dealt with these issues in here, I know the discussion is a bit more prominent in the US, so I am just letting my mind wander .. based on things I have heard or read. I don't know which side to take here, just thinking out loud, using the keyboard.
On one hand I would like to argue that all the behaviour should be judged in a context but, but then again, if I say this - then someone can argue that it is fine to abuse women in some islamic countries only because "most people are used to it there". Which is despicable and horrifying. So I just don't know.
2) I kind of feel that in the end it comes down to - if you plan to shoot someone over your personal feeling, you are a shit person to begin with. And I don' think that listening to dating gurus, pick up masters, or creating depressed virgin groups can change this basic principle inside you - you just don't kill a man. You don't approve of rape or aggression, because those are wrong things to do, no matter what angle you see them from. It's like if someone claims a videogame can make a kid kill someone, I would say there was sometwhing wrong with the kid in the first place.