How One Stupid Tweet Blew Up Justine Sacco’s Life

Tidewater · Jul 31, 2015

crimsonaudio said:
Absolutely. Of course, I think she only had about 170 followers, so she probably expected those people who were following her knew her and would see the (poor) joke in context.

But the response from the masses is what fascinates me - she lost everything she had worked for because she said something some folks were offended by. I'm no psychologist, the 'group shaming' mentality seems to point to some serious issues in the people who cannot wait to see something bad happen to someone else, because they think that person 'deserves' it.

Yeah, that is a phenomenon. I have said things that were stupid and insensitive (yeah, I know who'da thunk it?), but when I have it was verbally and the only person who could hear was usually Mrs. Tidewater. She'll give me that look and say, "that was insensitive and stupid."
Nowadays, someone can make a stupid/insensitive comment and a million people can see it.
I see this woman's comments as a maladroit attempt at humor (unless she really believes that white people can't get AIDS, which I honestly doubt).
Maybe the public shaming gives people a chance to avoid having people notice their failings ("Don't look at me; look at her!") and probably helps them feel better about themselves ("I am a good because I have publicly condemned this nitwit.") It sounds very "high school" to me.

TIDE-HSV · Jul 31, 2015

Tidewater said:
Yeah, that is a phenomenon. I have said things that were stupid and insensitive (yeah, I know who'da thunk it?), but when I have it was verbally and the only person who could hear was usually Mrs. Tidewater. She'll give me that look and say, "that was insensitive and stupid."
Nowadays, someone can make a stupid/insensitive comment and a million people can see it.
I see this woman's comments as a maladroit attempt at humor (unless she really believes that white people can't get AIDS, which I honestly doubt).
Maybe the public shaming gives people a chance to avoid having people notice their failings ("Don't look at me; look at her!") and probably helps them feel better about themselves ("I am a good because I have publicly condemned this nitwit.") It sounds very "high school" to me.

She said publicly later that she was well aware that white people can get AIDS. However, IIRC, she had family in SA and knew it had the highest HIV rate in the world and it's almost totally a black disease there. Terrible, terrible joke, though...

92tide · Jul 31, 2015

Tidewater said:
...It sounds very "high school" to me.

imho, this phrase describes social media

TideEngineer08 · Jul 31, 2015

Tidewater said:
Yeah, that is a phenomenon. I have said things that were stupid and insensitive (yeah, I know who'da thunk it?), but when I have it was verbally and the only person who could hear was usually Mrs. Tidewater. She'll give me that look and say, "that was insensitive and stupid."
Nowadays, someone can make a stupid/insensitive comment and a million people can see it.
I see this woman's comments as a maladroit attempt at humor (unless she really believes that white people can't get AIDS, which I honestly doubt).
Maybe the public shaming gives people a chance to avoid having people notice their failings ("Don't look at me; look at her!") and probably helps them feel better about themselves ("I am a good because I have publicly condemned this nitwit.") It sounds very "high school" to me.

There were a couple of instances in the article in which the "whistleblower" media goober that blasted the transgression to the world, thus spurring the worldwide outrage, actually ended up making a fool of themselves later on. If I'm not mistaken, the jerk that alerted the world to Justine Sacco's tweet was actually fired himself later for making an insensitive tweet.

pluckngrit · Jul 31, 2015

What is the endgame for people who are constantly offended by everything?

Tidewater · Jul 31, 2015

TideEngineer08 said:
There were a couple of instances in the article in which the "whistleblower" media goober that blasted the transgression to the world, thus spurring the worldwide outrage, actually ended up making a fool of themselves later on. If I'm not mistaken, the jerk that alerted the world to Justine Sacco's tweet was actually fired himself later for making an insensitive tweet.

I had a boss once who told me, "To err is human. To really foul up takes a computer."

92tide · Jul 31, 2015

pluckngrit said:
What is the endgame for people who are constantly offended by everything?

a seat in the republican primary clown car

pluckngrit · Jul 31, 2015

92tide said:
a seat in the republican primary clown car

Cuts deep huh?

92tide · Jul 31, 2015

pluckngrit said:
Cuts deep huh?

que?

GrayTide · Jul 31, 2015

Tidewater said:
Yeah, that is a phenomenon. I have said things that were stupid and insensitive (yeah, I know who'da thunk it?), but when I have it was verbally and the only person who could hear was usually Mrs. Tidewater. She'll give me that look and say, "that was insensitive and stupid."
Nowadays, someone can make a stupid/insensitive comment and a million people can see it.
I see this woman's comments as a maladroit attempt at humor (unless she really believes that white people can't get AIDS, which I honestly doubt).
Maybe the public shaming gives people a chance to avoid having people notice their failings ("Don't look at me; look at her!") and probably helps them feel better about themselves ("I am a good because I have publicly condemned this nitwit.") It sounds very "high school" to me.

This is the God honest truth. Can I say that?

DzynKingRTR · Jul 31, 2015

this is exactly why twitter needs to go away. everyone now thinks they are a stand-up comedian. now had she been a stand-up comedian, people would have laughed and called her edgy.

now the mob mentality of everyone else sickens me more than her.

side note: welcome back Doc. looking good in that avatar

4Q Basket Case · Jul 31, 2015

Tidewater said:
It sounds very "high school" to me.

You shouldn't talk about high-schoolers that way. It sounds like Pre-K at Play Garden Kindergarten.

mikes12 · Aug 1, 2015

DzynKingRTR said:
this is exactly why twitter needs to go away. everyone now thinks they are a stand-up comedian. now had she been a stand-up comedian, people would have laughed and called her edgy.

When I read the joke I thought it was very similar to some I've heard from Louis CK or Zach Galafianakis (sp?).

Still, a PR rep should be more discerning.

2003TIDE · Aug 1, 2015

crimsonaudio said:
Yes, but also highlights how the rabid responses can ruin someone's life.

Is it any different than witch hunts several hundred years ago? It's not to hard to whip up a crowd into a frenzy.

That being said. If you make stupid comments that have the potential to be seen by millions, you have to own up to the consequences. If you can't deal with that, stay off the internet.

selmaborntidefan · Aug 1, 2015

92tide said:
a seat in the republican primary clown car

Interesting observation and completely out of touch with reality as to who goes around being "offended."

I realize your post is in blue font, but mine isn't.

Without phony umbrage, activists wouldn't have any life at all.

92tide · Aug 1, 2015

selmaborntidefan said:
Interesting observation and completely out of touch with reality as to who goes around being "offended."

I realize your post is in blue font, but mine isn't.

Without phony umbrage, activists wouldn't have any life at all.

maybe completely out of touch with your reality.

Catfish · Aug 1, 2015

selmaborntidefan said:
Interesting observation and completely out of touch with reality as to who goes around being "offended."

I realize your post is in blue font, but mine isn't.

Without phony umbrage, activists wouldn't have any life at all.

A partial list of the things I've seen Republicans claim to be offended by:

Rainbow flags
Gay Pride parades
Pictures of gay people kissing
Pictures of Caitlyn Jenner
Advertisements featuring gay families
Advertisements featuring interracial families
Clint Eastwood's Superbowl ad that implied that the auto bailout was a good thing
Black Lives Matter
Hands up, don't shoot
The NAACP
The Miss Black America Pageant
Muslim women wearing burqas
Muslim women wearing hajibs
Anybody speaking a foreign language inside the borders of the US
Happy holidays!
Holiday Sale!
Sex education
Flag-burning (US)
Flag-removing (Confederate)
Flag-waving (Rainbow)
Women having children out of wedlock
Criticism of Bristol Palin for having children out of wedlock

Tide1986 · Aug 1, 2015

Catfish said:
A partial list of the things I've seen Republicans claim to be offended by:

Rainbow flags
Gay Pride parades
Pictures of gay people kissing
Pictures of Caitlyn Jenner
Advertisements featuring gay families
Advertisements featuring interracial families
Clint Eastwood's Superbowl ad that implied that the auto bailout was a good thing
Black Lives Matter
Hands up, don't shoot
The NAACP
The Miss Black America Pageant
Muslim women wearing burqas
Muslim women wearing hajibs
Anybody speaking a foreign language inside the borders of the US
Happy holidays!
Holiday Sale!
Sex education
Flag-burning (US)
Flag-removing (Confederate)
Flag-waving (Rainbow)

That's an entertaining list. Here's a list of things I know that Dems and liberals are offended by:

Individual Responsibility

Hmmm...I think my list is fairly comprehensive.

selmaborntidefan · Aug 1, 2015

Catfish said:
A partial list of the things I've seen Republicans claim to be offended by:

Rainbow flags
Gay Pride parades
Pictures of gay people kissing
Pictures of Caitlyn Jenner
Advertisements featuring gay families
Advertisements featuring interracial families
Clint Eastwood's Superbowl ad that implied that the auto bailout was a good thing
Black Lives Matter
Hands up, don't shoot
The NAACP
The Miss Black America Pageant
Muslim women wearing burqas
Muslim women wearing hajibs
Anybody speaking a foreign language inside the borders of the US
Happy holidays!
Holiday Sale!
Sex education
Flag-burning (US)
Flag-removing (Confederate)
Flag-waving (Rainbow)
Women having children out of wedlock
Criticism of Bristol Palin for having children out of wedlock

You do realize that you just won a Certificate of Redundancy Certificate, which proves my point. Most of what you have listed up there are just ten different ways of saying "gay activism."

I also notice you CAREFULLY left off Planned Parenthood, but I guess to the activists (no reflection on present company), a dead lion is far more enraging than selling baby parts.

The mere fact you had to list the same things over and over pretty much proves the point. We could summarize yours under two headings, black issues and gay issues.

RollTideMang · Aug 1, 2015

I did get a smug sense of satisfaction when reading that the lady who posted the picture and the joke about the dongle got a little bit of payback coming her way. Not saying I liked the death threats, but I am kind of glad she got fired for getting someone else fired because she overheard a private conversation and was offended.

How One Stupid Tweet Blew Up Justine Sacco’s Life

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