> I reckon I'd be under constant stress in case I accidentally said something out of place unlike in all-male work environments I've worked in the past where banter and certain types of comment pass without thought.
Using banter for high-stress situations is quite a British thing. There's a story I was told about British troops during WWII in wet rat ridden trenches, cold and low on rations, having banter to keep morale high - much to the Americans surprise.
I can't liken my situation to theirs (thank goodness), but in a tough spot I was in male only company and we openly discussed who we would eat first, who we would keep around for company, etc.
> Times have changed, there's absolutely no way I would accept working in that situation today as it'd be just too risky. Similarly, I wouldn't expect my employer to allow me to work for eight hours per day under such risky conditions.
Unfortunately this rings true.
> Sure, women have rights to equality and I'd never deny them that right, but it seems to me that mixed company on a submarine is an 'explosive' environment and it's inevitable there will be trouble. (A group of males locked up and isolated without sex for three months but still in the tempting presence of women isn't natural.)
Not just that, but if an allegation is made (which is much more likely in this situation) then it's almost impossible to deal with. You can't isolate people from one another, you can't do any real investigation - it just sucks.
It's okay saying "believe all women", but I know at least two women now that have used claims of sexual assault because they had cheated on partners and got caught. The accused had the claims dropped against them, but lost their jobs and lives as a result.
>Using banter for high-stress situations is quite a British thing. There's a story I was told about British troops during WWII in wet rat ridden trenches, cold and low on rations, having banter to keep morale high - much to the Americans surprise.
I've been reading and watching videos on European cultures. Many say in European cultures small talk is not a thing. I know UK is not Europe in that sense but are geographically. Things like the "German stare" where they don't talk but stare at people. But actually now that I think about it supposedly on UK subways talking is taboo. Someone from the US or Canada would be trying to make small talk in lines/queues for anything.
A Finnish friend once told me a joke from his country, that went something like this: Two old childhood friends meet for the first time in many years at a bar. They both order drinks and sit in silence for several minutes drinking. One of them says, "So, how has your life been?" The other says "Are we here to talk or to drink?"
European cultures are quite a broad range, from Sicilian to Finnish and Basque to Serbian. Percentage wise and excluding Russia and Turkey, I'd wager that small talk on average is common in European cultures (so every other country apart from Germany, Norway, Sweden, Finland, Denmark, Switzerland, maaybe Netherlands?)
Yes that's why I find it amazing. Such range and diversity of cultures yet any time I read up on any place in Europe it seems that many countries are like the others not big on small talk. I agree it's generalizing and from thin data but who knows it may be true or somewhat accurate.
> can depth crush rape list be categorised as banter?
I imagine from your perspective there is never an acceptable time when such things can be thought, let alone uttered. I understand this, but it's only afforded to idealists.
There is a different perspective where you have a large group of people that are experiencing a mixture of extreme emotions (fear, loneliness, anger, regret, etc) and are unable to express them. Sometimes the more extreme the situation, the more extreme the distraction needed.
When I was discussing eating my friends - there was no serious plan in place. We had zero intentions of eating each other, and we had never before or never will eat another human (depending on how food inflation goes /s). It was an extreme distraction that broke the ice in a high-stress environment that just got everybody talking. It kept morale up, it did its job.
Using banter for high-stress situations is quite a British thing. There's a story I was told about British troops during WWII in wet rat ridden trenches, cold and low on rations, having banter to keep morale high - much to the Americans surprise.
I can't liken my situation to theirs (thank goodness), but in a tough spot I was in male only company and we openly discussed who we would eat first, who we would keep around for company, etc.
> Times have changed, there's absolutely no way I would accept working in that situation today as it'd be just too risky. Similarly, I wouldn't expect my employer to allow me to work for eight hours per day under such risky conditions.
Unfortunately this rings true.
> Sure, women have rights to equality and I'd never deny them that right, but it seems to me that mixed company on a submarine is an 'explosive' environment and it's inevitable there will be trouble. (A group of males locked up and isolated without sex for three months but still in the tempting presence of women isn't natural.)
Not just that, but if an allegation is made (which is much more likely in this situation) then it's almost impossible to deal with. You can't isolate people from one another, you can't do any real investigation - it just sucks.
It's okay saying "believe all women", but I know at least two women now that have used claims of sexual assault because they had cheated on partners and got caught. The accused had the claims dropped against them, but lost their jobs and lives as a result.