@realtonytiger I'd fuck that tiger
September 1, 2017 3:17 PM Subscribe
"America has this back-ass-wards Calvinist streak where calling for the expulsion and genocide of non-white races is just a difference of opinion," Boivin said. "But making a sex joke at a corporate mascot who paid money to advertise to you is cause for censure."
This Guy Was Suspended From Twitter After He Sexually Harassed Tony The Tiger (Buzzfeed)
This Guy Was Suspended From Twitter After He Sexually Harassed Tony The Tiger (Buzzfeed)
From the buzzfeed:
"Most people are probably not aware that there's a popular meme where people sexually harass Tony the Tiger."
I am (was) one of those unaware people and this makes me feel old and not with it, but at the same time, ignorance is sometimes bliss and that's fine.
posted by Wordshore at 3:29 PM on September 1, 2017 [34 favorites]
"Most people are probably not aware that there's a popular meme where people sexually harass Tony the Tiger."
I am (was) one of those unaware people and this makes me feel old and not with it, but at the same time, ignorance is sometimes bliss and that's fine.
posted by Wordshore at 3:29 PM on September 1, 2017 [34 favorites]
Huh.
Dio was waaaay ahead of his time: Ride the tiger/You can see his stripes but you know he's clean/Oh don't you see what I mean.
posted by mandolin conspiracy at 3:29 PM on September 1, 2017 [5 favorites]
Dio was waaaay ahead of his time: Ride the tiger/You can see his stripes but you know he's clean/Oh don't you see what I mean.
posted by mandolin conspiracy at 3:29 PM on September 1, 2017 [5 favorites]
Well, that's not G R E A T!
posted by It's Raining Florence Henderson at 3:30 PM on September 1, 2017 [7 favorites]
posted by It's Raining Florence Henderson at 3:30 PM on September 1, 2017 [7 favorites]
Boivin added that he was unaware that sexually harassing Tony the Tiger was a meme among furries.
He's the taste adults have grown to love?
posted by zarq at 3:30 PM on September 1, 2017 [23 favorites]
He's the taste adults have grown to love?
posted by zarq at 3:30 PM on September 1, 2017 [23 favorites]
The graphs for Twitter usership are very, very bad. You can play with an interactive graph here. The line for Twitter, especially compared to Insta or Facebook, is terrible. A quick glance makes it seem like the trend-line is a plateau, and if you scroll down to age demographics (while 18-29 is the strongest portion of users), only having a 30% adoption rate among social media users has to be striking fear into someone's heart.
And, like, I kind of get why Twitter is fun. The riffing, the quick news dissemination, the humor and playfulness are all pretty cool. But, as a platform, Twitter is fucking terrible. It's just really, really bad software, community management, interaction design - you name it, and Twitter is bottom of the pile.
So this whole ridiculous, terrible story is just making me wish that Twitter would do everyone a favor and get replaced by something decent. Maybe that's Mastodon, but you also have the crowd problem, where people need to be on social media to make it worth while, and for microblogging, Twitter happens to be where the (limited) crowd currently is.
posted by codacorolla at 3:32 PM on September 1, 2017 [4 favorites]
And, like, I kind of get why Twitter is fun. The riffing, the quick news dissemination, the humor and playfulness are all pretty cool. But, as a platform, Twitter is fucking terrible. It's just really, really bad software, community management, interaction design - you name it, and Twitter is bottom of the pile.
So this whole ridiculous, terrible story is just making me wish that Twitter would do everyone a favor and get replaced by something decent. Maybe that's Mastodon, but you also have the crowd problem, where people need to be on social media to make it worth while, and for microblogging, Twitter happens to be where the (limited) crowd currently is.
posted by codacorolla at 3:32 PM on September 1, 2017 [4 favorites]
Holy shit, I just realized why trump loves Twitter so much: they both have a hard floor of 30% popularity that is impossible to alter one way or the other.
posted by codacorolla at 3:35 PM on September 1, 2017 [37 favorites]
posted by codacorolla at 3:35 PM on September 1, 2017 [37 favorites]
America has this back-ass-wards Calvinist streak
C'mon, don't fuck with Hobbes now, you furries.
posted by chavenet at 3:37 PM on September 1, 2017 [22 favorites]
C'mon, don't fuck with Hobbes now, you furries.
posted by chavenet at 3:37 PM on September 1, 2017 [22 favorites]
Corporate mascots should be safe from this type of harassment.
posted by The Hamms Bear at 3:40 PM on September 1, 2017 [15 favorites]
posted by The Hamms Bear at 3:40 PM on September 1, 2017 [15 favorites]
Calvinballers
posted by It's Raining Florence Henderson at 3:44 PM on September 1, 2017 [10 favorites]
posted by It's Raining Florence Henderson at 3:44 PM on September 1, 2017 [10 favorites]
Is the idea that Kellog muscled Twitter into blocking the user? I don't get how this works, twitter is full of such vile, puerile bullshit, doesn't every company get this kind of stuff? I thought it was super hard to get kicked off, like don't you have to get a social media campaign going to get twitter to notice habitual sexist/racist attacks generally?
posted by skewed at 3:47 PM on September 1, 2017
posted by skewed at 3:47 PM on September 1, 2017
“As a company grounded in the values of integrity and respect, we recognize people’s right to creative expression," a spokesperson said. "But we reserve the right to block individuals who post offensive content."
So is Twitter still good with the rape and death threats that a huge proportion of their female userbase receive on a daily basis? Just checking.
posted by triggerfinger at 3:51 PM on September 1, 2017 [41 favorites]
So is Twitter still good with the rape and death threats that a huge proportion of their female userbase receive on a daily basis? Just checking.
posted by triggerfinger at 3:51 PM on September 1, 2017 [41 favorites]
It's all algorithm based. Nobody at Twitter made the decision to shadowban him, it's just that he tweeted "fuck" at a blue tick.
Basically all of Twitters anti-harassement policies are aimed at making sure nobody tweets naughty words at blue ticks (who, ironically, as a group tend to be the worst). Because "celebrities" are who bring home the bacon, or so Twitter thinks. And I think most of the "improvements" on the site are done to make it easier for these sort of mega accounts to broadcast, even when the rest of us struggle with increasingly bad interfaces.
posted by MartinWisse at 3:55 PM on September 1, 2017 [19 favorites]
Basically all of Twitters anti-harassement policies are aimed at making sure nobody tweets naughty words at blue ticks (who, ironically, as a group tend to be the worst). Because "celebrities" are who bring home the bacon, or so Twitter thinks. And I think most of the "improvements" on the site are done to make it easier for these sort of mega accounts to broadcast, even when the rest of us struggle with increasingly bad interfaces.
posted by MartinWisse at 3:55 PM on September 1, 2017 [19 favorites]
I'm torn here. I know people who've had sustained campaigns of rape and death threats and slanderous abuse directed at them and despite repeated reports to Twitter nothing happened. So I dislike that a company gets privileges ordinary people don't. At the same time, people get rape threats because the concept of using sexual harassment as a joke and a method of trolling is so normalised in society and this is just another example of that, so I think it's shitty in its own way too. In short, ugh.
posted by billiebee at 3:57 PM on September 1, 2017 [25 favorites]
posted by billiebee at 3:57 PM on September 1, 2017 [25 favorites]
Also, the dirty little secret of Twitter is that gamergaters, rightwing assholes and out and out nazis bring in a lot of $$$, allegedly, so they're loath to do too much to clean up the site.
Note that Twitter is perfectly capable of banning fash in countries where they have to, like Germany.
posted by MartinWisse at 3:59 PM on September 1, 2017 [26 favorites]
Note that Twitter is perfectly capable of banning fash in countries where they have to, like Germany.
posted by MartinWisse at 3:59 PM on September 1, 2017 [26 favorites]
And, like, I kind of get why Twitter is fun. The riffing, the quick news dissemination, the humor and playfulness are all pretty cool.
I read recently that Twitter is the platform most journalists prefer to use and fast-breaking, up-to-the-minute news updates are certainly what I find most useful about the platform. (That and the jokes.) But I've made it a point to follow a whole passel of journalists, both online and print, so that certainly shapes the way I view the service. I couldn't imagine relying on getting news from my Facebook feed.
posted by Atom Eyes at 4:04 PM on September 1, 2017 [4 favorites]
I read recently that Twitter is the platform most journalists prefer to use and fast-breaking, up-to-the-minute news updates are certainly what I find most useful about the platform. (That and the jokes.) But I've made it a point to follow a whole passel of journalists, both online and print, so that certainly shapes the way I view the service. I couldn't imagine relying on getting news from my Facebook feed.
posted by Atom Eyes at 4:04 PM on September 1, 2017 [4 favorites]
Basically all of Twitters anti-harassement policies are aimed at making sure nobody tweets naughty words at blue ticks
Idk, I've tweeted "fuck" at Trump more times than I can count.
posted by asteria at 4:09 PM on September 1, 2017 [4 favorites]
Idk, I've tweeted "fuck" at Trump more times than I can count.
posted by asteria at 4:09 PM on September 1, 2017 [4 favorites]
Corporate mascots should be safe from this type of harassment.
posted by The Hamms Bear
I see what you did there.
posted by Space Coyote at 4:32 PM on September 1, 2017 [4 favorites]
posted by The Hamms Bear
I see what you did there.
posted by Space Coyote at 4:32 PM on September 1, 2017 [4 favorites]
Not really relevant, but it is definitely Tony the Tiger's fault that this little commercial jingle that has periodically run through my head since childhood.
posted by JanetLand at 4:42 PM on September 1, 2017
posted by JanetLand at 4:42 PM on September 1, 2017
As the article mentions, this is not really new. I've seen articles off an on about these folks off and on for a year or so. I'm not sure why the news likes them so much, there's no real deeper message here; people are sending sexual messages to a cartoon mascot, and were banned from a message service.
First they came for the Tony the tiger sexual harassers and I did not speak out-
because I was not a Tony the tiger sexual harasser
posted by Query at 5:00 PM on September 1, 2017 [3 favorites]
First they came for the Tony the tiger sexual harassers and I did not speak out-
because I was not a Tony the tiger sexual harasser
posted by Query at 5:00 PM on September 1, 2017 [3 favorites]
At least he didn't put the tiger in his tank.
posted by The Underpants Monster at 5:19 PM on September 1, 2017 [3 favorites]
posted by The Underpants Monster at 5:19 PM on September 1, 2017 [3 favorites]
There are real people that have to deal with their mascot being harassed, even if they are part of a corporate machine.
posted by dilaudid at 5:28 PM on September 1, 2017 [4 favorites]
posted by dilaudid at 5:28 PM on September 1, 2017 [4 favorites]
It's all algorithm based. Nobody at Twitter made the decision to shadowban him, it's just that he tweeted "fuck" at a blue tick.
The bigger problem is that this algorithm isn't catching "fuck" or even death threats tweeted at POC or female "blue ticks" and when they're actually reported, Twitter declines to do anything about them.
This article on why Twitter didn't take down Rob Kardashian's revenge porn of Blac Chyna (while Instagram instantly did) connects it to this sentence of their 2013 IPO prospectus:
"If users, including influential users, do not continue to contribute content to Twitter, and we are unable to provide users with valuable and timely content, our user base and user engagement may decline. "
posted by mrmurbles at 6:05 PM on September 1, 2017 [9 favorites]
The bigger problem is that this algorithm isn't catching "fuck" or even death threats tweeted at POC or female "blue ticks" and when they're actually reported, Twitter declines to do anything about them.
This article on why Twitter didn't take down Rob Kardashian's revenge porn of Blac Chyna (while Instagram instantly did) connects it to this sentence of their 2013 IPO prospectus:
"If users, including influential users, do not continue to contribute content to Twitter, and we are unable to provide users with valuable and timely content, our user base and user engagement may decline. "
posted by mrmurbles at 6:05 PM on September 1, 2017 [9 favorites]
New Twitter ToS are here. IANAL, but if my understanding of Section 3 is correct, they are asking you to agree that it is ok for people to harass you on Twitter and that you are aware that this is a thing that might happen and are happy to carry on anyway.
"You understand that by using the Services, you may be exposed to Content that might be offensive, harmful, inaccurate or otherwise inappropriate, or in some cases, postings that have been mislabeled or are otherwise deceptive."
FFS.
posted by motty at 6:11 PM on September 1, 2017 [2 favorites]
"You understand that by using the Services, you may be exposed to Content that might be offensive, harmful, inaccurate or otherwise inappropriate, or in some cases, postings that have been mislabeled or are otherwise deceptive."
FFS.
posted by motty at 6:11 PM on September 1, 2017 [2 favorites]
If I remember right it tastes like jagged shards of powdered sugar.
posted by cgc373 at 6:30 PM on September 1, 2017 [19 favorites]
posted by cgc373 at 6:30 PM on September 1, 2017 [19 favorites]
Burhanistan: Mostly like sugar.
Twitter is desperate to have good numbers, and if they actually took action and banned all the abusers, Russian Fake News Bots, spammers, and other garbage, their MAU number would easily drop in half. Then their stock price would tank, and Verizon would buy them for pennies on the dollar.
Which, at this point, would still be an improvement.
posted by SansPoint at 6:31 PM on September 1, 2017 [4 favorites]
Twitter is desperate to have good numbers, and if they actually took action and banned all the abusers, Russian Fake News Bots, spammers, and other garbage, their MAU number would easily drop in half. Then their stock price would tank, and Verizon would buy them for pennies on the dollar.
Which, at this point, would still be an improvement.
posted by SansPoint at 6:31 PM on September 1, 2017 [4 favorites]
I knew someone who used to put tons of extra sugar on their Frosted Flakes. My mouth is getting sticky just thinking about it.
posted by The Underpants Monster at 6:38 PM on September 1, 2017
posted by The Underpants Monster at 6:38 PM on September 1, 2017
"Milt Chamberlain: Sometimes lies help. Sometimes white lies help us make a better reality.
Russ Agnew: What the hell does that even mean? I mean, I guess you construct your own reality because the laws of gravity don't apply to you either.
Milt Chamberlain: Yeah. You sure? I ended up in Battle Creek, didn't I?"
posted by clavdivs at 6:51 PM on September 1, 2017
Russ Agnew: What the hell does that even mean? I mean, I guess you construct your own reality because the laws of gravity don't apply to you either.
Milt Chamberlain: Yeah. You sure? I ended up in Battle Creek, didn't I?"
posted by clavdivs at 6:51 PM on September 1, 2017
Thanks a lot. Now I can't get the Tiger Rag song out of my head.
posted by octobersurprise at 6:56 PM on September 1, 2017
posted by octobersurprise at 6:56 PM on September 1, 2017
I went to college with Alex Boivin. He once went as Tingle to a Halloween party. That's all I have.
posted by OverlappingElvis at 6:59 PM on September 1, 2017 [2 favorites]
posted by OverlappingElvis at 6:59 PM on September 1, 2017 [2 favorites]
I don't know, I was always a cap'n crunch man myself. Nothing quite like a man in uniform.
posted by Literaryhero at 7:05 PM on September 1, 2017 [7 favorites]
posted by Literaryhero at 7:05 PM on September 1, 2017 [7 favorites]
"They're always after me Lucky Charms!"
posted by octobersurprise at 7:20 PM on September 1, 2017 [1 favorite]
posted by octobersurprise at 7:20 PM on September 1, 2017 [1 favorite]
I'm very much against harassment in general, but responding to someone sending entirely unsolicited pictures captioned with an appeal to the looks of the subject depicted therein with, effectively, "I'd hit it" hardly seems to rise to that level. Crass, certainly, but we're very much into the sort of scenario where block and move on is the appropriate response - you message someone out of the blue, you don't like the way they choose to communicate, just block them and as long as they leave you alone from there, no harm no foul. It's not like they sought you out - you sought them out, directed your message at them, so it's hardly surprising if they're a little snappy. Responding to unsolicited messages with expletives simply cannot be a banning offence - that would simply stack the deck entirely in favour of trolls and sea lions.
posted by Dysk at 8:02 PM on September 1, 2017 [4 favorites]
posted by Dysk at 8:02 PM on September 1, 2017 [4 favorites]
C'mon, don't fuck with Hobbes now, you furries.
I'm sorry to say his protest is way too late. In fact, that's one of the examples that comes up when trying to explain Rule #34.
<Spoilers> Probably the most notorious example is a six strip afterward to the storyline where Calvin gets the idea to use his cardboard boxTransmogrifier Duplicator Time Machine to jump two hours into the future to a point where his homework is already finished. 6:30 & 8:30 Calvins get in in their head to go back and harass 7:30 Calvin for getting them into this mess by not writing it. Their Hobbeses then write the assignment for them... and then in their free time waiting for the Calvins to come back... cue saxophone music. The worst part about it is how true to Hobbes' character the writing feels despite the absurdity of the fact that Hobbes/Hobbes fic even exists, in comic strip form, no less. </Spoilers>
posted by radwolf76 at 8:17 PM on September 1, 2017 [1 favorite]
I'm sorry to say his protest is way too late. In fact, that's one of the examples that comes up when trying to explain Rule #34.
<Spoilers> Probably the most notorious example is a six strip afterward to the storyline where Calvin gets the idea to use his cardboard box
posted by radwolf76 at 8:17 PM on September 1, 2017 [1 favorite]
missing from this story is how chester cheetah has apparently embraced his furry following
posted by poffin boffin at 8:34 PM on September 1, 2017 [15 favorites]
posted by poffin boffin at 8:34 PM on September 1, 2017 [15 favorites]
....There are clearly some things I do not understand about the world anymore.
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 8:43 PM on September 1, 2017 [6 favorites]
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 8:43 PM on September 1, 2017 [6 favorites]
This story vaguely terrifies me because, as part of my wildly varied curriculum vitae, I have been one of the workers inside Kellogg's Tony the Tiger suits.
The fucking things are impossible to see out of below the nose, and the padded nature of the suit (to represent his uber-buff physique) would have made it impossible to avoid fondling if the (omnipresent) escort person (remember the visibility issues, not to mention the giant feet than snap on to the special shoes) wasn't paying attention. That would not be GRRRRREAT!
(Not a furry, but someone who needed a paycheck.)
posted by Samizdata at 10:08 PM on September 1, 2017 [10 favorites]
The fucking things are impossible to see out of below the nose, and the padded nature of the suit (to represent his uber-buff physique) would have made it impossible to avoid fondling if the (omnipresent) escort person (remember the visibility issues, not to mention the giant feet than snap on to the special shoes) wasn't paying attention. That would not be GRRRRREAT!
(Not a furry, but someone who needed a paycheck.)
posted by Samizdata at 10:08 PM on September 1, 2017 [10 favorites]
This feels like a refreshing dispatch from the timeline where Hillary is president and this is all we're worried about on the internet. Full news cycle about Tony the Tiger's obnoxious, eccentrically sexual fans and the fact that apparently Twitter chose one of them at random and lowered the banhammer! Cover it all week!
Like, Tony the Tiger isn't a real person. He's a cereal mascot. You can sexually harass him on Twitter to your heart's content, I feel. I can see the argument that it normalizes humor based on harassment but I don't entirely buy it. I think most people can see the difference between harassing a corporate marketing department pretending to be a cartoon animal on Twitter and harassing a human being. In part because I have to imagine that at least a FEW of the people at Kellogg's trying to reply these weirdass tweets think it's hilarious.
posted by potrzebie at 10:16 PM on September 1, 2017 [11 favorites]
Like, Tony the Tiger isn't a real person. He's a cereal mascot. You can sexually harass him on Twitter to your heart's content, I feel. I can see the argument that it normalizes humor based on harassment but I don't entirely buy it. I think most people can see the difference between harassing a corporate marketing department pretending to be a cartoon animal on Twitter and harassing a human being. In part because I have to imagine that at least a FEW of the people at Kellogg's trying to reply these weirdass tweets think it's hilarious.
posted by potrzebie at 10:16 PM on September 1, 2017 [11 favorites]
but corporations are people
posted by runcifex at 12:54 AM on September 2, 2017 [3 favorites]
posted by runcifex at 12:54 AM on September 2, 2017 [3 favorites]
Is Tony-Tiger-as-fuckboy as much an established tacitly-known fact as, say, Shaggy from Scooby-Doo being a massive pothead, or Bert and Ernie being a gay couple?
posted by acb at 1:49 AM on September 2, 2017 [5 favorites]
posted by acb at 1:49 AM on September 2, 2017 [5 favorites]
but corporations are people
The same guy who said that is also on video saying he harvests corporations, so...
posted by darkstar at 2:23 AM on September 2, 2017
The same guy who said that is also on video saying he harvests corporations, so...
posted by darkstar at 2:23 AM on September 2, 2017
I'm not a furry, but I could totally see myself going on a date with Hobbes.
He's a great dancer, is all.
I...I need to get out more
posted by darkstar at 2:46 AM on September 2, 2017
He's a great dancer, is all.
I...I need to get out more
posted by darkstar at 2:46 AM on September 2, 2017
Burhanistan: "OT: I can't for the life of me remember how that fucking cereal tastes."
cgc373: "If I remember right it tastes like jagged shards of powdered sugar."
Actually, they're kinda bland till you scoop sugar on 'em.
posted by chavenet at 4:40 AM on September 2, 2017 [2 favorites]
cgc373: "If I remember right it tastes like jagged shards of powdered sugar."
Actually, they're kinda bland till you scoop sugar on 'em.
posted by chavenet at 4:40 AM on September 2, 2017 [2 favorites]
i'm overdosing on irony here, 20 miles from mine and tony's hometown
223 production jobs cut in battle creek
the lesson - in america, you do not fuck tony the tiger, tony the tiger fucks you
posted by pyramid termite at 5:45 AM on September 2, 2017 [5 favorites]
223 production jobs cut in battle creek
the lesson - in america, you do not fuck tony the tiger, tony the tiger fucks you
posted by pyramid termite at 5:45 AM on September 2, 2017 [5 favorites]
This story vaguely terrifies me because, as part of my wildly varied curriculum vitae, I have been one of the workers inside Kellogg's Tony the Tiger suits.
So, you've been inside that tiger?
(I'll get my coat.)
posted by The Underpants Monster at 7:02 AM on September 2, 2017 [4 favorites]
So, you've been inside that tiger?
(I'll get my coat.)
posted by The Underpants Monster at 7:02 AM on September 2, 2017 [4 favorites]
I don't know that I'd call it attraction, but Tony was one of the only cereal/junk food mascots that didn't scare the crap out of me when I was a kid. I'm pretty sure I still have nightmares about whatever the fuck this is.
posted by thivaia at 7:17 AM on September 2, 2017
posted by thivaia at 7:17 AM on September 2, 2017
...missing from this story is how chester cheetah has apparently embraced his furry following
Oh? *Looks up what Chester Cheetah sells. * Frito-Lay Cheez Puffs? I think they sell that around here. Okay. *Adds to shopping list *
If you support furry/trans/aspie/marginal/etc./sense of humour outside of your own jokes created by your marketing department, I think I can see my way clear to eating your brand of snacks.
posted by Jane the Brown at 8:37 AM on September 2, 2017 [1 favorite]
Oh? *Looks up what Chester Cheetah sells. * Frito-Lay Cheez Puffs? I think they sell that around here. Okay. *Adds to shopping list *
If you support furry/trans/aspie/marginal/etc./sense of humour outside of your own jokes created by your marketing department, I think I can see my way clear to eating your brand of snacks.
posted by Jane the Brown at 8:37 AM on September 2, 2017 [1 favorite]
missing from this story is how chester cheetah has apparently embraced his furry following
My penchant for Flamin' Hot Cheetohs - which, praise be, are now sold in Canada but they really need to sell the lime ones here as well - just got better.
posted by mandolin conspiracy at 2:08 PM on September 2, 2017 [2 favorites]
My penchant for Flamin' Hot Cheetohs - which, praise be, are now sold in Canada but they really need to sell the lime ones here as well - just got better.
posted by mandolin conspiracy at 2:08 PM on September 2, 2017 [2 favorites]
Calvinism? Seriously? What on earth does Calvinism have to do with racism? Some of the kindest people I know are Calvinists.
posted by foobaz at 8:08 PM on September 2, 2017
posted by foobaz at 8:08 PM on September 2, 2017
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Also, I love that furries sexually harrassing Tony the Tiger on Twitter is a thing.
posted by killdevil at 3:27 PM on September 1, 2017 [16 favorites]