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So I lied about that last blog being the last blog. I'm doing a fifth (and truly final) blog for three reasons: (1) the course requirement of five blog posts, (2) that last blog may have been a little too silly to act as an informational update/out-with-a-bang closer (you could even say that lines were crossed, I mean, I hope you understand that I understand neither Jim Watson, nor Jim Watson’s sphincter, has much to do with any of this), and (3) this business in India. So, friends, this here is the real final blog.
If you've read (or at least glanced at the headline of) the hyperlinked article above, then we can proceed.
There are an estimated 25,000 reported rape cases in India (a nation of 1.2-billion people) every year, which we know is really a very small percentage of the actual number of sexual assaults. In India women are coached by friends and family not to report sexual assaults.
What does this have to do with my pro-Uber argument? Well, I think we might be overlooking the fact that a rapist is going to trial; and that Uber, clearly, is not the dream-career of the predatory male. If the argument here is: "Uber cars, unlike taxis, don't have cameras; therefor, drivers can just go around raping whoever they want," then not only is the argument, from every angle, a weak one, but in many cases it just doesn't apply. I'm not absolving Uber of their seriously fucking up by not making sure to run a background check on drivers in India (and I'm certainly not saying that rape is just a cultural problem (if that's what you're getting out of this then I suggest you scroll up three or four digital inches and start over); I think we can all agree that India is making some impressive strides since what happened two years ago).
HERE'S WHAT I AM SAYING: The extreme coverage of this rape case is a pathetic attempt to scare consumers out of trusting a smart new system that will undoubtedly dominate the market in the coming years. This is the sort of thing that happens to a company that isn't making the right people money.
And as a final note and (kind of depressing) closing statement: The War on Uber is really just part of the War for your Wallet; the parties behind both sides of these "hot topics" have about as much of your best interests in mind as the commercials that play during your favourite TV shows.
Thanks for reading.
Matthew Thibeault
Matthew is a writer of both fiction and nonfiction whose work has appeared nowhere in particular.
Stuff he reads: Harper's | The Walrus | Oxford American
