Fired PR executive apologizes for AIDS in Africa tweet

I haven't seen this posted here in the social issues forum yet, so here goes.

Fired PR executive apologizes for AIDS in Africa tweet

NEW YORK — A public relations executive who ignited an online furor after posting a message on Twitter joking about AIDS in Africa, apologized on Sunday, saying she was ashamed of her comment.

Justine Sacco, who was subsequently fired from the prominent New York-based Internet media company IAC/InterActive Corp after the tweet created a firestorm on social media, issued a statement of remorse on Sunday to ABC News and South Africa's The Star newspaper.

Just before boarding a plane for South Africa on Friday, Sacco posted a tweet to her online account, saying: "Going to Africa. Hope I don't get AIDS. Just kidding. I'm white!"

I think my Give-A-Damn meter has officially died from PC overload this year. While I do agree the lady's "joke" was utterly misinformed & in grossly poor taste, I can't find it within me to be as outraged as everyone else. Coming off the coattails of the Duck Dynasty guy's comments/opinion/whatever, there's an undeniable trend of reaction overkill in the US (yes, I hear the reader chorus of "Well no sh**, Sherlock!")

Are we not mature enough to pause to snicker & scoff at the stupidity of the offending person and simply carry on? Does jumping on every conceivable offending comment have to be a mantra? I personally think that whatever comes out of someone's mouth off the clock, is theirs to say and should have no weight in a firing unless it clearly breaks a law on the books or is indisputably malicious. On the clock stupidity is another ball of wax, and I can understand firing people who'd do that kind of thing on company time. But on personal time? Come on. Are we no longer able to differentiate between a stupid employee and the company itself? What's that saying about babies & bathwater?

Let's be crystal clear, I'm not advocating being blatantly offensive for the hell of it or anything. I'm advocating being able to be yourself on your own time without having to worry about whether or not you keep your job. This kind of BS sets up a slippery slope for firing people for a vast multitude of things said away from work. It's been going on for some time, I know, and it's wrong. I'd go so far as to call it a form of job discrimination or corporate thought policing.

reply to post by Nyiah


I read about this earlier today, and I laughed and laughed and laughed.
It was probably the funniest thing I've seen in a while. The icing on the cake is that she was a PR rep. Just classic, you can't make this stuff up.

Just my opinion, but people will find any reason to be offended these days. And everyone seems to be overly sensitive. Sure it was in bad taste, and she should know better.

But holy cow, I think I ruptured my spleen laughing.

reply to post by Nyiah


I am so totally in agreement with you here!!!

Sure she made an off the cuff remark that was insulting. Ya, I get it. But as Bill Hicks would say, "I've got 4 words for ya. Yah And So What?"

Here we just sit by with our thumbs up our butts along with our heads while Wall Street Rapes our economy. Our Government is Raping our Nation. Media is Raping our Minds. Etc, Etc....

Yet some nobody makes a lame and offensive tweet and the world loses it's sh*t completely causing her to lose her job and feel as if she must humiliate herself even further in front of the world for a damn Tweet!

WTF is wrong with everyone in this world??? It's like we have absolutely no concept of how to Prioritize ourselves anymore in regards to anything.

It's no wonder we have 16 y/o A-holes killing people and getting off because they are Too Rich to know better while some poor sap gets 25 years for smoking a joint in his own living room!

The world has gone Full Retard!!!

reply to post by Nyiah

Let's be crystal clear, I'm not advocating being blatantly offensive for the hell of it or anything. I'm advocating being able to be yourself on your own time

I'd go even farther to advocate people just be themselves and as offensive as their are in real life. That let's us learn who they really are and we can avoid them. Lose her job? No.

Hey look some other white guy just read her tweet.

reply to post by Nyiah


This proves to me that the modern tech of the "tweet" allows people to speak their mind instantly,... and that WILL BE THEIR UNDOING...


Twitter and other forms of instant social media will eventually force modern tech-junkies to STOP AND THINK about what they spew out of their minds and into the collective "mindstream"...or pay the social consequences...

watchitburn
reply to post by Nyiah

 

Just my opinion, but people will find any reason to be offended these days. And everyone seems to be overly sensitive.

What gets my goat ... they're empowered by something/someone that allows them trespass into my life.

reply to post by coastlinekid


Or in other words, it teaches people to never say anything unless it's first Censored, Sterilized and Deemed acceptable after Review by Some sort of Authority or else you're in trouble. Yah, sounds like a great path toward the free flow of ideas and information.

If that's the way it's going to be, just shut the whole damn thing down and go back carving stuff in stone. That way you'll all have plenty of time to think about how not to accidentally hurt someones feelings while you etch your comments in to some rock.

reply to post by coastlinekid

This proves to me that the modern tech of the "tweet" allows people to speak their mind instantly,... and that WILL BE THEIR UNDOING...

Indeed... It lets anyone speak their mind.

In that sense, it allows many to prove how little they have to say.

I really can't believe someone who works in PR could be this profoundly stupid. Then again, I suppose I can with some of what we see happening in the world today. It's a class all her own though.

I'd say it almost earns a new award, in fact. Call it the Career Darwin.

In her favor she owned up the the mistake. Doubtful it will help very much, twitter folks don't seem to be as forgiving as ATS folks.

At least here you can own up to a mistake and people will generally accept the apology and move on.

mOjOm
reply to post by coastlinekid

 

Or in other words, it teaches people to never say anything unless it's first Censored, Sterilized and Deemed acceptable after Review by Some sort of Authority or else you're in trouble. Yah, sounds like a great path toward the free flow of ideas and information.

If that's the way it's going to be, just shut the whole damn thing down and go back carving stuff in stone. That way you'll all have plenty of time to think about how not to accidentally hurt someones feelings while you etch your comments in to some rock.

Pretty much. Conversations & idle chatter, allowable only after being PC power-washed first. Those who deign to do otherwise shall suffer by way of job terminations and undue nationwide public ridicule. WTH kind of society is this anymore? Not a free one, that's for sure (I know, we're more leashed than we realize)

And I do agree with the poster who said to allow people to say whatever they want so we know who the dicks really are right off the bat. That makes it so much easier to weed out the dillholes in life, but with PCness on the rise, it makes doing that not necessarily harder, but more time-intensive. I don't want it to seem like I'd be all for people who are otherwise decent people to be jerks because they have free reign to do so. That's one of those things that's kind of like a trick question. Only the actual jerks are going to go whole-hog off the bat, and that's beneficial to people. You automatically know who's not worth your time.

That said, a braindead tweet is not one of the qualifiers there.

reply to post by Nyiah


Exactly. There's no better way to know someone than by letting them freely and honestly speak their mind. Otherwise all you're doing is asking them to LIE to you. How perfect is that for anyone who doesn't want you to know the truth in the first place??? By implying that their honesty is not allowed you're giving them no choice but to lie instead. What's even more goofy is that they aren't even honest enough with themselves to admit that they are afraid to hear the truth. Instead they act like they are open to hear someone be honest, but after they hear what they say, they bring down the hammer on em in some way.

Jack Nicholson said it best as we all remember, "You can't handle the truth!!"

Nobody said anyone has to agree or support what is said, but you can't be afraid to hear it. If you are, just admit to yourself that honesty and free speech is too much for you to handle and let the rest of us talk while you go outside and play.

"with regard to freedom of speech there are basically two positions: you defend it vigorously for views you hate, or you reject it and prefer Stalinist/fascist standards" - Noam Chomsky

reply to post by Nyiah


I wasn't offended but of COURSE she should be fired. Her job is public relations. As in not pissing of the public. The sheer stupidity of posting that 'joke' (I'm more offended by how unfunny it was than the subject matter) alone would make me question an employee and possibly fire them. The fact that it's her job to know better pretty much cements that she should be fired.

This isn't nonsense PC. This is not someone getting furious because they identify as a bisexual turtle and insist on being called a tursexual (weird, spell check says no). This is a company with an image, and not firing her could potentially cost them lots of dough, and she has demonstrated a complete lack of common sense. The media poo storm is ridiculous, but her getting fired is not. She is a representative of that company, and I'm pretty sure they don't want to be portrayed as finding racism or a very serious illness as humorous. Also, let me see her contract.

You're allowed to think and say whatever you want (yeah yeah not yelling fire in a theater) but there are consequences. A company can choose to axe you for being overtly offensive. You can't walk up to a black customer and drop the no no word. You can't work at a daycare and make jokes about raping the kids without expecting the IRL banhammer.

Let's be honest, would you rather hire this company now or a company without the 'scandal'? I would rather hire the one with a clean slate. I would also rather use the company that fired the chick over the one that didn't. Don't give me any nonsense about respecting the company for protecting free speech. Would you hire a company with an outspoken Black Panther member? I would not. I would steer clear of them, even if they did good work because I wouldn't want to be associated.

OP two things for you. The first, I need the name of the woman in the avatar. I'm all sorts of smitten kitten. Meow. Second, I think I know the phrase about the baby and the bathwater. Don't cook the baby in the bathwater, use chicken broth.

Whilst personally I don't agree with sacking her, you have to see it from the company's point of view.

She is their head of PR and keeping her on could damage their PR relations.

Again, not saying I agree with their decision, but it's based on business.

Justine Sacco has been fired from her job.
Megyn Kelly has started an online petition to get her to replace Phil Robertson on Duck Dynasty.

reply to post by rupertg


Phil was hired to present a real personal image of....himself. He did. His employer however couldn't accept that, and suspended him. An incorrect action based on the known circumstance.

Justine Sacco was hired to present a good public image of...her employer and her employer's clients. She didn't. Bad if it was a personal visit to SA, but even more so if that was a company trip to SA for a business purpose. So her employer definitely couldn't accept that, and fired her. A very correct action based on the known circumstance, and maybe even more so if a company flight and company time.