How One Stupid Tweet Blew Up Justine Sacco’s Life

#1

Post by veeti » Thu, Feb 12, 2015, 3:49 PM UTC

How One Stupid Tweet Blew Up Justine Sacco’s Life
nytimes.com

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

#2

Post by kefka » Thu, Feb 12, 2015, 4:12 PM UTC

So far, what I see is:

"Don't use Twitter."

And on the smaller side is "Don't upload shit to social media."

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

#3

Post by karangoeluw » Thu, Feb 12, 2015, 4:16 PM UTC

How is she is victim here? How is Twitter bad here?

She made two racist comments in 1 tweet on her own will. That is not something that should be taken lightly, no matter what the platform.

EDIT: Just to be clear, I'm not commenting on whether firing her was fair or not, but rather how her completely intentional tweets makes Twitter the bad guy.

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

#4

Post by fennecfoxen » Thu, Feb 12, 2015, 4:17 PM UTC

kefka wrote: post #2

So far, what I see is: "Don't use Twitter." And on the smaller side is "Don't upload shit to social media."

You missed the bigger point, then: Mob justice is a barbaric and ugly thing; stop patting yourself on the back and thinking you're a good person for being a part of it.

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

#5

Post by paganel » Thu, Feb 12, 2015, 4:17 PM UTC

karangoeluw wrote: post #3

How is she is victim here? How is Twitter bad here? She made two racist comments in 1 tweet on her own will. That is not something that should be taken lightly, no matter what the platform. EDIT: Just to be clear, I'm not commenting on whether firing her was fair or not, but rather how her completely intentional tweets makes Twitter the bad guy.

Exactly. You get to pay for your very stupid mistakes, especially those that affect other people (like this lady's tweet did).

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

#6

Post by steven777400 » Thu, Feb 12, 2015, 4:18 PM UTC

Articles like this lend credence to the occasionally heard wisdom "Don't post anything personal on the internet, ever." I tell people I think that society is moving beyond digging into people's lives for little infractions, since with so much social media, everyone is guilty, but apparently that's not true. Or at least, not true yet.

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

#7

Post by [deleted] » Thu, Feb 12, 2015, 4:18 PM UTC

[deleted]

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

#8

Post by lazyjones » Thu, Feb 12, 2015, 4:18 PM UTC

Aren't all these Twitter sh*tstorms over within a few days, or in the worst case, weeks? People should just sit them out and not panic / call their lives ruined. Seems to work even for politicians.

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

#9

Post by interknot » Thu, Feb 12, 2015, 4:19 PM UTC

For whatever reason, the following snippet prompted me to see who the author was:

  Amid the hundreds of congratulatory messages I received,   
  one stuck out: “Were you a bully at school?”

As it turns out, the author is Jon Ronson. He's well worth checking out. I've particularly enjoyed The Men Who Stare at Goats (the book), The Secret Rulers of the World, and The Psychopath Test.

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

#10

Post by paganel » Thu, Feb 12, 2015, 4:19 PM UTC

fennecfoxen wrote: post #4

kefka wrote: post #2

So far, what I see is: "Don't use Twitter." And on the smaller side is "Don't upload shit to social media."

You missed the bigger point, then: Mob justice is a barbaric and ugly thing; stop patting yourself on the back and thinking you're a good person for being a part of it.

This is not about justice, it's about a bad human being getting what she deserved. When you're an open racist you are a bad human being.