Rory Sutherland

They don't really belong in the public sphere.

You know, they're matters which for, you know, a few hundred thousand years, we simply sorted out amongst ourselves.

We didn't make recourse to the university dean or the Supreme Court in cases where we were bothered by things because you accepted that's just part of life.

And we were allowed then creatively to find ways to get along without recourse to some sort of spurious rule book.

Consequently, you know, I don't think those phrases are inappropriate.

I mean, this is one of the worst things that happens.

You say, you know, was accused.

Someone is described in the newspaper as being accused of inappropriate behavior.

Now, I now have no idea.

I mean, I've literally had to book people for speaking engagements.

You go on their Wikipedia page and it says accused of inappropriate behavior.

Now, I have no idea whether they're the next Epstein.

Or whether they told a knock-knock joke that two people found unpleasant.

Do you have them in Canada?

Knock-knock joke?

Yeah.

At least they're not being complete.

Because otherwise I could have been misunderstood there, you see.

But I now have no idea, literally no idea, whether the person's guilty of some utterly trivial infraction which would only have offended 0.01% of the population.

So it strikes me as highly problematic in the UK.