[maxehmookau]

I don't know the individual story, but for me it sounds like a line was crossed.

> Yes her comment on twitter was distasteful and racist

Racism isn't acceptable in any form. If I make a racist comment, I wouldn't be surprised if my employer dismissed me.

I agree, trial by mob isn't acceptable, neither are death threats, and I agree that it's more common and that it shouldn't happen. (To avoid this personally, I don't use Facebook or Twitter) But if I make a racist statement, in public (because social media is public) then I won't be surprised if people start thinking of me differently and I won't be surprised if my employer decides to get rid of me.

[dkersten]

The point is the statement wasn't good -- it was definitely in bad taste -- but I hear people make worse ones over drinks or whatever all the time. The correct response when it happens is to call them out and tell them to cut it out, that its not ok.

Getting someone fired over an off-the-cuff stupid joke is crazy. Getting a lynch mob to literally attempt to destroy someones life over a stupid joke is much much worse than the joke itself, no matter how sexist or racist it may be.

Besides, you don't change people by attacking them.

> I don't know the individual story

The specific story isn't really relevant, although you can look it up to see the context. The point is that the reaction is completely out of proportion with the "crime" and when someone loses everything over something as stupid as a joke, you either radicalise them or you push them to anxiety, depression and sometimes suicide. That is never ok no matter how racist or sexist you were.

> I won't be surprised if my employer decides to get rid of me.

Have you never said anything that you later regretted? I've certainly made jokes I wish I hadn't. She posted it to her 170 twitter followers, stupid sure, but how was she to know someone would pass it on to a journalist with hundreds of thousands of followers who would then spread it and complain to her employer?

I mean, sure, its dumb to assume anything you post online won't get spread and come back to you, but that's a separate issue.

Besides, it looked to me that the employer fired her because thousands of faceless "internet activists" demanded it, not because they themselves deemed the tweet was a fire-able offense.

Remember, this conversation is based off my statement above:

> There's a difference between calling someone out for something untasteful and actively trying to ruin their careers, marriages and lives over it.

By all means, call peoples bad behavior out! But don't go out of your way to try to ruin their lives. That is all I am arguing for.

[mattbee]

> She posted it to her 170 twitter followers, stupid sure, but how was she to know someone would pass it on to a journalist with hundreds of thousands of followers who would then spread it and complain to her employer?

Because her job title was "Senior Director of Corporate Communication" at a PR firm. Her job was to anticipate how people might react to her, and to use that skill to show her clients in the best light.

It's not too much of a stretch for any of us to think "would I get fired if my manager saw this tweet in a bad light?" and then NOT TWEET if you thought "yes". There's only so much you can blame ThE mOB for.

[dkersten]

Sure and I'm not making a judgement on whether or not she should have been fired. Perhaps she should.

My point is that the decision should be solely the employer and not under pressure from the lynch mob. In this case, the mob absolutely did put pressure on them to fire her. Without that pressure, they may still have done so, or they may have reprimanded her in another way, we'll never know. In the end, as long as she changes her behavior, I don't think her livelihood needed to be attacked and she certainly should not have been harassed to the point of severe depression and anxiety (which she talked about in interviews later).

Again, call out, reprimand, whatever is deemed correct. Don't incite a mob to harass them or try to ruin their lives.

[anon4242]

> I don't know the individual story, but for me it sounds like a line was crossed.

I do recommend that you read (google her name and it should come up) it because it is very informative just how destructive these internet mobs can be.

Interestingly enough, she said her post was sarcasm to highlight racism and thought her 170 followers knew her well enough to understand that.