Facebook Faux Pas
KSR6450
574 Posts
One of our employees is a local politician and FB addict (like several of us - no names mentioned). He posted his status as a joke about Obama pre-empting Charlie Brown. Made national and international news. I had a lovely day Friday fielding all the hate mail through the website and a lovely weekend as well.
Just wondering what your take on this would be. He did nothing wrong as far as work is concerned but has caused us (me) some serious headaches!
Just wondering what your take on this would be. He did nothing wrong as far as work is concerned but has caused us (me) some serious headaches!
Comments
That said, he has the right to be a tool and express himself. A couple of his comments were borderline discriminatory though. He may not survive those. He mentions wistfully that in the old days "only property owners could vote". That could be misconstrued as a racist comment given that originally only white landowners had voting rights in this country.
Its still not as stupid as the city of Bozeman asking applicants for their Facebook log in AND passwords. That is still the undefeated champ of social media buffoonery.
I have another 'friend' from high school who is a local Memphis politician. She puts things out there that are far worse than what he said. It really is a double standard.
For anonymous spouting off, Twitter is better than Facebook. You just have to keep your spouting to 140 characters or less.
Hopefully for him and his career, the adage is true: all publicity is good publicity.
That is the problem I have with social networking sites....people are more apt to type stupid or hurtful things into a computer than they would ever say in person and so often without any thought about who else might see it or where it might end up.
This hasn't just sullied the mayor's reputation, either, beccause when I Googled it one article I found brought his brother into it also, and a couple things I read seemed to be focused on painting the town and the general area as a bunch of ignorant, racist hicks. So this has the potential to be much wider-spread than the mayor just making himself look like an idiot (which I have to say, in reading what he posted, was my opinion of him, especially if he was just joking and really doesn't have a racist bone in his body).
Kind of like you saying "faux paus" when it is "faux pas"? :angel:
A [B]faux pas[/B] (pronounced [URL="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:IPA_for_English"][FONT=Arial Unicode MS]/ˌfoʊˈpɑː/[/FONT][/URL], plural: [I]faux pas[/I] [FONT=Arial Unicode MS]/ˌfoʊˈpɑː(z)/[/FONT]) is a violation of accepted [URL="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Social_rules"]social rules[/URL] (for example, standard [URL="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Norm_(sociology)"]customs[/URL] or [URL="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Etiquette"]etiquette[/URL] rules). The term comes originally from French, and literally means "false step".
I'm sorry - it has been too long and I couldn't help myself. My fingers were typing before my brain could stop them...
And it continues today. Received via our website just now...
Is it a bank policy to discriminate against any Obama supporter? Do you support the premise that only land owners should have rights? Maybe if you would pay more attention to your business and hire the right people focused on their job versus spewing hatred, you would not need TARP funds.
This is a really interesting story, Linda. Fortunately, these things will blow over but it will probably feel like an eternity to this guy.
Is there any chance that your bank will distance itself from this guy? Meaning fire him? Hopefully not.
[LEFT][COLOR=#000000][B]The views of Russell Wiseman, Mayor of the Town of Arlington, expressed on his Facebook account do not reflect an official position of the Town of Arlington. His comments were not made on a Town computer, or using Town computer services[/B]. The Town recognizes Barack Obama as the President of the United States, and in accordance with the Constitution, recognizes both the freedom of religion and the freedom of speech.
[/COLOR]
[COLOR=#000000] [/COLOR]
[COLOR=#000000]So the town recognizes Barack Obama as President? Such a bold stance...
[/COLOR][/LEFT]
Meanwhile, the "Pantless and Proud" Facebook group has only one member.
[URL]http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/12/08/the-funniest-facebook-sna_n_383847.html[/URL]
I love the boss that comments on his employee's whiny post. "I guess you forgot you added me. Don't bother coming in on Monday. And yes, Im serious."
[URL]http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/12/08/the-funniest-facebook-sna_n_383847.html[/URL]
I love the boss that comments on his employee's whiny post. "I guess you forgot you added me. Don't bother coming in on Monday. And yes, Im serious."[/QUOTE]
OMG! These were hilarious! Unfortunately, I was reading the one that really was supposed to be a PRIVATE post when someone came in my office. Quick click off, but I know I looked guilty.
It is interesting when your children, grandchildren, nieces, nephews and/or their friends forget they 'friended' you and say stuff they would rather you didn't know. I am always careful to pretend I don't see those.