The Random thought Thread

[Leo656]

So like, why is it that you almost never see a chick be a "pizza delivery guy"? Y'ever notice that? I think maybe once in my entire life did a chick deliver my pizza. My wife briefly had a job delivering food way back in the day, but just sandwiches and stuff. Pizza delivery persons are almost exclusively men.

Why is that? Is it the assumption of the bosses that a pizza is "too heavy" for a chick? The size and balance of the box is too difficult to manage for the comparatively frail and dainty wrists of most females? Is it because women can't drive?

Seriously, this is gonna f*cking bother me, now. "Women can do anything men can do in 2021." Except deliver pizza, apparently. But why? There HAS to be a reason. Especially since they can be "trusted" to deliver other types of food, sometimes.

This is not a joke post. I really wanna know what the f*ck is going on.

[Jephael]

Originally Posted by Leo656

So like, why is it that you almost never see a chick be a "pizza delivery guy"? Y'ever notice that? I think maybe once in my entire life did a chick deliver my pizza. My wife briefly had a job delivering food way back in the day, but just sandwiches and stuff. Pizza delivery persons are almost exclusively men.

Why is that? Is it the assumption of the bosses that a pizza is "too heavy" for a chick? The size and balance of the box is too difficult to manage for the comparatively frail and dainty wrists of most females? Is it because women can't drive?

Seriously, this is gonna f*cking bother me, now. "Women can do anything men can do in 2021." Except deliver pizza, apparently. But why? There HAS to be a reason. Especially since they can be "trusted" to deliver other types of food, sometimes.

This is not a joke post. I really wanna know what the f*ck is going on.

An old high school friend of mine told me she used to deliver pizza for Dominos and whenever I order from the Papa John's up the street from my apartment, I occasionally get a female delivery person.

[IndigoErth]

Let's put it this way... it isn't unheard of that a delivery person shows up to a place only to end up robbed or potentially worse. Think about it and it makes sense why many women might be a little skittish about doing it. Delivering things to the door of strangers isn't the safest job in the world. They can just put in an order and get some unsuspecting person to show up to rob them or whatnot. Criminals at their laziest.

Though I imagine maybe the pandemic has helped that a bit since they are no longer supposed to interact directly, making it easier to drop the stuff on the step and go.

Can't say I've seen any women delivering any kind of food. Maybe the rare one over the years, but it's been quite a while.

[Leo656]

I mean, that's A reason I guess, but I've seen plenty of delivery dudes who could get knocked out by a stiff breeze, so that probably ain't it.

What a mystery.

[IndigoErth]

Except that has been one of the big supposed reasons for years, that isn't an original thought I came up with. What more do you really want it to be? Some answers just aren't that complicated.

Sure, some guys could easily get taken down, and unfortunately some of them have. There are so many articles of delivery guys getting robbed, some at gun point, and some of them killed.

What can I say, the only real difference here is that the guys who do the work are simply braver. They don't grow up with the world telling them that their gender is assumed weak and a target. Women do, so most are probably going to consider those chances, possibly see a bunch of those articles, and are more likely then to avoid that job. Some brave souls will shirk that trend, but they are a minority.

I mean, we can't all be prepared and able to take one down with some wrestling move should some criminal try something.

[Leo656]

Selfishly? I want the "dainty wrists" theory to be the truth.

[IndigoErth]

lol Sorry, bub. I've always had the "dainty wrists," but some the shipments I deal with for my job are way heavier than a couple pizzas and I manage. lol Not always easily, but I manage.

[Vegita-San]

I wonder if the old tmnt-l mailing list circa 1995-1998 is still online/log in able. maybe the account is still associated with my aol and I can reset the password heh.

but can't remember where the dam thing was hosted.

[IndigoErth]

Back in the 90s? God it was probably Geocities or the like and long gone. lol But good luck in your hunt, maybe it was on something that survived.

[MsMarvelDuckie]

On the delivery driver discussion, I actually see quite a few here. We get Door Dash and Uber Eats drivers picking up orders all the time.

That said, I imagine that female drivers have an "extra" concern that male drivers simply don't have (generally speaking). Ya'll know the one I mean. Rhymes with cape. Probably the biggest deterrent for femme drivers, as going to a stranger's door could end up being a prelude to getting yanked in and- possibly never seen again. A true predator might never even have to leave his house to find prey!

[Leo656]

I think knowing where that person lives would honestly be a huge deterrent in that situation. Like if the victim immediately reported it it would all be resolved rather quickly, seems like. The woman would have had zero other reason to be at the guy's house and obviously didn't go there intent on a "quickie" because they'd be on the clock, so "He Said - She Said" would be out the window. That seems like the absolute dumbest way to try and get away with assaulting someone, to be frank. You'd have like no chance of actually getting away with it, unless the victim refused to report it. If they did report it, you're busted. There's a million potential ways to assault someone but that seems like the hardest to actually get away with and the easiest one to prove. Even if a guy tried that, he'd never be able to get away with it more than once. Probably not even. They'd end up on "World's Dumbest Criminals", for sure.

Also, women sometimes install cable, phone and internet service. They get sent to people's houses to do that, and they have to go INSIDE the house to do that and not just stop at the front door. Seems honestly more dangerous towards the situation you're implying and yet it's fairly common.

I don't know. I get what you're saying but the more I think about it, the less sense it actually makes. I'm sure there's a chance it could happen, same as with anything, but I kinda don't think that's the big Why. There's probably a much simpler and way less sinister explanation. It sounds more like a reason why women would prefer not to do that kind of job, rather than why they wouldn't be hired for one, honestly. Which is a horse of a different color.

I mean I've had people who run such places tell me outright, "It's because women goof around and take too long to make deliveries" (my wife lost her delivery job for this exact reason, and I'd occasionally ask around at places to see if they might hire her but that was a standard line I was given), but I don't know if they all feel that way. Could be Just That, though, for all I know. I'm sure it's not a particularly good reason, whatever it actually is; I suspect it's merely some kinda Old World gender stereotypes type of thing. I doubt it's anything more sinister than that.

[IndigoErth]

What's to stop a criminal from using a false address though, then just hide out and rob/carjack the person when they show up.

Given that it's a more male dominated job, they probably aren't assuming a girl will show up, but in that case they're still bold enough to believe they can take down the guy they think will.

Originally Posted by Leo656

my wife lost her delivery job for this exact reason

How old at the time? Some people are just like that, but for some it's definitely more of a maturity thing. I've noticed in the past that younger coworkers do more often have a far different sense of work ethic and aren't as driven to take it as seriously or put in much effort. I haven't seen too many in their young 20s that didn't want to just slack off... the girls in particular sometimes. There are those young ones who take it seriously, of course, but they are an obvious minority.

[MsMarvelDuckie]

Bingo, Indigo! I think you hit the nail on the head on that issue. I see it all the time with my young female coworkers, they gossip, goof off, and flirt with guys. I don't think there is as much opportunity for that in delivery driving, seeing I've spent a few years in that environment, and we had several women drivers. For the record, I have never seen a food delivery service that wouldn't hire women, but as I mentioned, most women simply don't try to GET hired for that position. They are indeed, from my experience, more worried about getting robbed or assaulted than the men are- which I think is more indicative of male machismo than anything.

As for predatory men, I was thinking more along the lines of sex traffickers who kidnap and sell them, or serial rapists who also KILL their victims (the victim can't report it if they are dead, after all), and then just hide the evidence. Far easier than letting them go and possibly risking what Leo suggested about getting caught because the woman reported it. Or just use a false address as Indigo suggests, which I've heard does sometimes happen.

[ranger_scout]

Originally Posted by newfan

Sorry to hear you're struggling at the moment, hope you find something that helps.

Originally Posted by IndigoErth

Take care of yourself and hope you find what you need to get past this in the near future and feeling better.

Originally Posted by Papenbrook

I hope that your situation improves, ranger_scout. May you have better days.

I wanted to give everyone an update on my status. Last month was extremely difficult for me. My parents and I got sick with Covid-19, but we survived it. I was also able to find a therapist who really understands me. She is going to help me feel less stressed and calm especially in tough situations. I have another appointment with her in a few weeks and I am looking forward to talking to her about the obstacles I am overcoming. That being said, after tonight I am still going to try to post less frequently on message boards because I am still not back to feeling 100% mentally better. I only want to discuss a few things on here today and then when I have my life fully organized I will come back more often.

[IndigoErth]

Glad to hear you're making progress. And dealt with that virus okay!

[Leo656]

Ah geez I forget, this was ages ago. She was like 20, I think. To her credit, this was pre-GPS days and I'm willing to take her word that she wasn't "goofing around" and simply got lost looking for the place - she did lose other jobs later on for goofing off, which I can say I've witnessed said "goofing off" personally, but with driving she's generally more serious than that. Either way, take too long on a delivery, that's a No-Go, you get fired no matter if you're a guy or girl.

But for a while when she was looking for work I'd pop in at pizza joints here and there asking if they need anybody, try and help her out, y'know, and I'd generally be met with "We only hire women to work in the restaurant, not to deliver" and occasionally get the "Women take too long to make deliveries" spiel. I have yet to meet an owner who said they would hire a woman driver.

But again, old Italian guys, I figure there's some issues on their end, there. Gotta figure at least a little bit. They've got "their way" of doing things and probably just don't wanna change it, I figure.

[IndigoErth]

I love some of the clearly edited and sometimes strange images some eBay sellers throw together. I kind of love this adorable plush Valentines octopus, but for some reason this image just makes me laugh. Flowers, croissant, octopus... your day is complete.

(spoiler because it's huge)

Spoiler:

[Last Ronin]

Damn that is funny as hell.

Lol

[MsMarvelDuckie]

I think I figured out 2020. Someone must have dug up the Loc-Nar.....

[Krang]

Originally Posted by Vegita-San

I wonder if the old tmnt-l mailing list circa 1995-1998 is still online/log in able. maybe the account is still associated with my aol and I can reset the password heh.

but can't remember where the dam thing was hosted.

When I joined in 2000, I think it was hosted on Topica, which is long gone. Not sure about before then. Some archives from the early 2000s (when it was hosted on your server) are still online.