Tuesday, March 9, 2010

Kidnapping jokes are not funny

Sometimes people's attempts to be funny fall flat. We've all been there. Just ask Steve Martin about his Toyota joke at the Oscars the other night - nary a giggle. Sometimes a joke is just not funny, even when it is meant to be.

And sometimes a joke is just downright creepy and frightening.

I was at a show a couple of months ago and having a lovely conversation with a visitor who was asking relevant questions about one of the vehicles on display. His cell phone rang and he excused himself to answer it, but did not step away.

His end of the conversation:
"I'm talking to the girl at the auto show. No, I haven't taken her out to the parking lot. Yet."

Yup, color me totally freaked out. I'm sure it was a joke (I hope it was a joke), but in my line of work, that kind of "joke" is scary.

Here's what we need you guys to understand. We're women traveling alone. Yes, sometimes there are men with us, but there are generally more women than men and I've worked plenty of shows with no male counterparts in attendance on my team. We're staying in strange hotels in strange cities with which we're not very familiar. The closest thing we have to bodyguards are the dealer staff who sometimes work the show and can be more odd than the visitors. The crack security teams in these places are a joke -- half are gray-haired grandpas and the other half aren't paying any attention to us because they are stoned. Now, I took a self-defense class and I know how to stay aware of my surroundings, etc., but still, if someone really wants to grab you, he can find a way.

One of the main booth babe talent agencies stopped using a certain hotel in Detroit because one of the girls was attacked on a supposedly secure floor. Yes, things like this can happen anywhere, but hotel management refused to heighten security by checking room keys before allowing elevator access. That move cost them about $100,000 a year in bookings, I'd estimate.

I'm hearing that another booth babe was drugged at the hotel bar in Detroit this year. Luckily her friends were keeping a close eye on each other and were able to take care of her before the guy slipped her out.

So please understand, your insensitive jokes about kidnapping us are not funny. If you are making us uncomfortable, we don't have to talk to you.

11 comments:

  1. Those types of jokes are never funny, no matter the circumstances. They've never been funny, they never will be funny and that should be common sense by now. I mean, since when has creepy ever been funny? I don't get. What's the thinking behind such "jokes"? "Maybe, if she thinks I'm a real creepy turd and believes I could be capable of abducting her, maybe then I'll have a shot of impressing her!" Man, I just don't get it. Creepy ain't never been cool... matter of fact, it's pretty much the antithesis of cool. So why do people (yes, women will say such creep-ass stuff too) even go down that road?

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  2. So either he's a creep who thought you hearing him talking about "taking her out to the parking lot" would been seen as sexually aggressive (which some people do respond positively to) or he's a idiot because he has no idea that when he talks on the phone people near his physical location can still hear him (so his inside joke with his buddy wasn't intended to be heard).

    Either way the more I read on your blog the more I really am glad I'm not an attractive auto show model. You have to put up with some crazy shit.

    I don't know how you do it!

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  3. I'm surprised people would tell a joke like that. Have a good one.

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  4. Both hotel stories are true. Detroit is not a town to visit if you are a woman. Also, men.....STOP asking what hotel we are staying at. It's not safe and we aren't going to tell you.

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  5. DYCWC,

    Have you made a fan page on FB? One of my autoshow boys turned me on to your blog, and I love it. I know most the autoshow peeps are on FB. You can still remain anonymous and I think you would get a lot more readers.

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  6. Baron Von DangerouslyMarch 12, 2010 at 11:52 AM

    You should have a retort that will make them feel equally freaked out.
    Something like,
    "Last guy who tried that I had to introduce him to my collapsible asp. He eats through a tube now."
    :uncomfortable laugh:

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  7. People are freaks. I did not hear about the Detroit attack. Was that this year?

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  8. Monkey, the club drugging was this year, the hallway attack was two or three years ago.

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  9. I'd stay away from these people :]] The jokes can be funny if you're just hanging out and talking with your friends. If a total stranger....RUN FOR IT!!!

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  10. Get over yourself. This country has become so "sensitive" that its digusting. Its a JOKE. Jesus.

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  11. Are all women claustrophobic they always seem to scream when I put em in my trunk.

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