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How One Stupid Tweet Blew Up Justine Sacco’s Life

nytimes.com

451–460 of 596 posts

Re: How One Stupid Tweet Blew Up Justine Sacco’s Life

#451

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> It's an offensive tweet. It was offensive to you . It also wasn't offensive to some other people. Offensiveness isn't an objective property; the fact that something offended you doesn't make it "an offensive thing".

And segregation wasn't offensive to most southern whites. Your counter argument is silly because you could use it to argue that nothing is offensive.

> And segregation wasn't offensive to most southern whites.

Does racial segregation offend you, then? If so what are you actually doing about it? Are you putting your kids in a diverse school? Are you encouraging them to date people from other races? Are you married to one currently? How much of your social circle, other than acquaintances, involve non-whites?

There is no way you are going to "fix" societal issues without demonstrating a resolution in your own life.

Re: How One Stupid Tweet Blew Up Justine Sacco’s Life

#452
post #78

As dislikable as the tweet's content is, it's truly frightening how quickly an incredibly large pitchforks-and-torches mob can come to life via the internet.

> As dislikable as the tweet's content is Did you read the article? By thinking for a few seconds, the point of the tweet is obviously not racist. Not a smart tweet, in retrospect, but. Here's her explanation from the article: > I thought there was no way that anyone could possibly think it was literal. (...) Living in America puts us in a bit of a bubble when it comes to what is going on in the third world. I was ma…

This is the saddest thing. It's so trendy to have offended narcissistic egos today that people don't even recognize when someone is on YOUR side, defending YOUR cause with sarcasm!

Re: How One Stupid Tweet Blew Up Justine Sacco’s Life

#453
post #362

This is the reality of social media. If you offend the wrong person, you will most likely get fired from your job and or get unwanted attention in other parts of your life..all for just expressing an opinion. It's essentially online bullying by people that want to silence you for having an opinion that is different than their own. The ex-Mozilla CEO knows this well. An online bullying campaign was launched against hi…

> The ex-Mozilla CEO knows this well. An online bullying campaign was launched against him and he was forced to quit. It's kind of weird to think that Brendan Eich is still active in the web standards community, even though he's been forced to leave Mozilla. A man without a company.

So basically without a company a person is nothing?

Re: How One Stupid Tweet Blew Up Justine Sacco’s Life

#454

Earlier quoted context omitted.

She has plenty of reason to now explain it as being ironic, but we'll never know if that was her original intent, will we? Her other tweets from the same period strike me immature and mean-spirited.

Since, we'll never know the context, better call her a racist, publicly shame her. and get her fired!

She publicly broadcasted something that was, at best and assuming one gives her the benefit of the doubt, extremely insensitive and in any case indicative that she is perhaps not the best choice to be a communications director.

If an accountant got caught stealing in her off hours should she expect to find herself still employed?

Re: How One Stupid Tweet Blew Up Justine Sacco’s Life

#456
post #142

Humans are sexually dimorphic primates. Primates form status hierarchies spontaneously. Status is zero sum. Higher status males mate with the majority of females. Low status males do not reproduce at all. We are descendants of 40% of males and 80% of females. As religious and legally enforced monogamy decline across all societies, we will see increasingly vicious status wars across all human societies. This writer is…

Uhh, what is the connection here? And how are you so sure that status wars did not happen as much, if only in different forms, during the days of "enforced monogamy"?

My mistake, I should have been more clear. The current "political correctness" paradigm along with all of its associated hate mobs is a ferocious status competition as a result of the unmet sexual and pair-bonding needs of singles.

Single males and females are different, in that females hold out for the absolute highest status man for as long as possible, whereas males try to poach any female who meets their minimum fertility requirements. Both end up frustrated as dimorphic sexes have different sexual optimization strategies which are impossible to satisfy simultaneously.

What's important to note is the psychological state of singleness, and its resulting anxiety, is far more damaging than the actual lack of intercourse. In the past, religious and social institutions attempted to prevent this by encouraging early marriage and enforcing it with strict penalties. In the past few decades, all of this has changed rapidly along with the development of effective contraception.

This confluence of factors has thus lead to fiercer competition for each sex as they double down on their strategies, both of which involve status as the main currency. Males attempt to hoard status, and females attempt to attract it. As such, we see far more ruthless status posturing and attacking, of which this article lists many examples.

I did not believe my comments to be controversial, as any cursory glance of the relevant scientific literature will reveal the mundane facts I've stated. However, it appears my statements trigger an immune response in a group of HN readers, for reasons that I can only guess involve discomfort with the somewhat disturbing reality of man's evolutionary origins and predispositions.

I commend you for asking a question rather than reflexively recoiling in disgust. I do believe we will have to confront our natures eventually. Running from the mirror rarely works long term.

Re: How One Stupid Tweet Blew Up Justine Sacco’s Life

#457

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It's because they are going overboard... I stopped reading when I saw the word "sociopathic".

Do you think campaigning to ensure a group of people don't have certain fundamental rights that others do, for no reason other than your own personal animosity, doesn't qualify as sociopathic? I do.

This matter you are concerned with has always had more to do with recognition and acceptance in society than rights and equality.

You seem sharp set to demonize Eich and otherwise be combative with others in all these comments. Have you ever considered that your attitude would harden peoples' hearts against you rather than warming them?

Do you think you will you ever be able to drop this victim act and heal and move on with life?

Re: How One Stupid Tweet Blew Up Justine Sacco’s Life

#458
post #439

Earlier quoted context omitted.

So your go to alternative is bullying. Well I would prefer to effect no change than to have to force it through with threats and intimidation. SJW is more of a pejorative term these days, I don't know anyone who uses it in a positive way and you are perhaps the first person I have seen that indicates they themselves are an SJW. My experience of those who the term applies to is generally negative and I cannot think of…

What would you do about George Wallace in 1963? Leave aside the question of whether social justice today is comparable to the anti-segregation fight 50 years ago (reasonable people can disagree), and let's just think about segregation. The governor of Alabama literally says in his inauguration speech, "Segregation now, segregation tomorrow, segregation forever." You have the option of going to Congress and passing a…

If the government making laws is "the very incarnation of threats and intimidation" then you have never really been subjected to threats and intimidation.

I hate to burst your bubble but not everyone is from the states, so it is difficult for me to comment knowledgeably on your reply. From what I can see George Wallace was a politician, if you don't like what a politician says you vote against them. I would not condone shooting him or terrorising his family to force a change when there is a legitimate route to address the problem.

Why would my conscience bother me?

Re: How One Stupid Tweet Blew Up Justine Sacco’s Life

#459
post #439

Earlier quoted context omitted.

So your go to alternative is bullying. Well I would prefer to effect no change than to have to force it through with threats and intimidation. SJW is more of a pejorative term these days, I don't know anyone who uses it in a positive way and you are perhaps the first person I have seen that indicates they themselves are an SJW. My experience of those who the term applies to is generally negative and I cannot think of…

What would you do about George Wallace in 1963? Leave aside the question of whether social justice today is comparable to the anti-segregation fight 50 years ago (reasonable people can disagree), and let's just think about segregation. The governor of Alabama literally says in his inauguration speech, "Segregation now, segregation tomorrow, segregation forever." You have the option of going to Congress and passing a…

[deleted]

Re: How One Stupid Tweet Blew Up Justine Sacco’s Life

#460

French guy here. This article only speak about employees in american company getting fired about some data shared on the web. But I would be curious to know what happened to people who faced the same situation working in continental european companies. It would be surprising if people would lost their jobs so easily. Either because I think it's culturally better accepted for private people (I mean not public figures)…

I read of a case here in Germany where workers refused to work with a known pedophile, and the company really struggled to get rid of him. It went through several trials where they weren't allowed to fire him.
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