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GAF, I may have ruined a man's life.

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I think the takeaway from this thread is to be extremely careful when posting on Facebook. I mean, this should go without saying, but still. And I'm not even talking about posting racist remarks. I'd hope that most of us on this forum aren't going to do anything like that. I talking about being careful when posting anything that might be taken as remotely offensive by anyone.

Because what I learned today is that if one of your FB friends has had a bad morning, he or she might actually go out of their way to find your company's HR department contact info online and e-mail them a screenshot of your post.

That has to unnerve you, at least a little bit. Social media is a great tool, but man, it is also a pretty scary weapon.

the best way to do it is to just not have Facebook at all, or any social media account attached to your actual identity
 
If I catch you saying the N-word please believe HR is getting involved. Call me a snitch. But you aren't going to call my people any form of the N-word. I don't bang with you like that.
 
hX4RCKW.gif

Grape or orange?

How do you feel about the guy he reported

Just telling it like it is..

Adults use the term "butthurt" 😐
 
I see a right wing White dude using the N word I'm all for reporting him to his employer. Fuck that, he ain't down w/ the culture like that.

Once again, it's like weekly motherfuckers need a god damned reminder for this shit. Let me help some of ya'll help yourselves.

Hahahahaha, cute. I've actually met Tim Wise and we've spoken before (I attended one of his lectures and he kindly signed a book).

The use of "nigga" is definitely racist, but it's mild in the sense that well-intentioned individuals have said it without realizing how offensive it is to black folk.
 
Bunch racists like, pulling on collars "oh no the garden of facebook has been compromised by the op now my freedom of speech is gone"

Nah OP you do you. Probably improved the lives of everyone that racist works with if he got fired.
 
That's up for HR to determine

But can I just say, how often are you accidentally posting racist shit on your twitter?

It's not that hard to be a mature adult when you post to social media. I mean, there are certain words I do NOT use because I don't want to offend. But that requires me thinking about the potential consequences for my words when used publicly rather than pretending social media is some bubble where I can be a bigoted asshole with zero real world repercussions.
 
I don't agree with the person's views and I would have handled the situation differently. You know, like a rational adult.
Letting the employer's know what kind of person they have working for them seems rational to me.

Calling someone a snitch doesn't seem like something a "rational adult" would say btw

How would you have handled it
 
the best way to do it is to just not have Facebook at all, or any social media account attached to your actual identity

Not necessarily, especially if you're actively job hunting. Having no social media account in this day and age often raises flags for Employers, because they think you might have deleted it and then wonder what you might be trying to hide by doing so. Better in this situation to have a social media account that you don't use
 
Maybe the guy is a teacher, we don't know

Precisely, we don't. OP hasn't provided more details yet people on GAF are happy to draw judgement at potential job loss over stupid, albeit insensitive pictures/memes.

Best course of action is report to FB and de-friend (or confront if you know well enough to interact with the person). I still stand by that unless OP shares more.
 
Not necessarily, especially if you're actively job hunting. Having no social media account in this day and age often raises flags for Employers, because they think you might have deleted it and then wonder what you might be trying to hide by doing so. Better in this situation to have a social media account that you don't use

That sounds like super paranoid employers. Is social media like a massive requirement in America(I'm taking a wild stab you're American or living there).

I've never once been asked about Facebook or twitter in interviews I've done in Ireland. And if I did I'd straight up lie and say "nope" cuz it's none of their business. I've the privacy settings on Facebook cuz the info is private and I'd never link to an employer on it
 
Now you may well just be an honest person but why not just say "I don't have Facebook or other social media accounts". Or were you hooked up to a lie detector test during the interview. Genuinely curious what that'd be like for me

I try and be as honest as I can, so if the guy was like "you said fuck on this FB post," I would just be like, "yeah, I did." They seemed to be more puzzled by the fact that I didn't have or want kids than anything.

But the lie detector test was separate, and I don't know. They prep you for it beforehand and even discuss specific points in your history that they might ask about, but I failed it twice. So I don't know, since I don't know how the machine works.

Precisely, we don't. OP hasn't provided more details yet people on GAF are happy to draw judgement at potential job loss over stupid, albeit insensitive pictures/memes.

Best course of action is report to FB and de-friend (or confront if you know well enough to interact with the person). I still stand by that unless OP shares more.

I think the best course of action is to just not have a FB. It's wonderful over here.
 
Not necessarily, especially if you're actively job hunting. Having no social media account in this day and age often raises flags for Employers, because they think you might have deleted it and then wonder what you might be trying to hide by doing so. Better in this situation to have a social media account that you don't use

Or even better, be more selective and unfriend people who post racist material. Or not be friends with them on FB in the first place.

It would be funny if the guy he reported was the fire chief :)
 
Precisely, we don't. OP has provided more details yet people on GAF are happy to draw judgement at potential job loss over stupid, albeit insensitive pictures.

Best course of action is report to FB and de-friend. I still stand by that unless OP shares more.

Name me a job where being a racist isn't going to potentially lead to negative consequences such as harrassment. If there really is no negative (and this is the first time such an offense has been reported), then the guy shouldn't be in danger of losing his job in the first place
 
Since all Trump supporters are racist shouldn't we be reporting all people with positive views on him to their respective HR departments?
 
Hahahahaha, cute.

Cut this silly shit out.

I've actually met Tim Wise and we've spoken before (I attended one of his lectures and he kindly signed a book).

Irrelevant.

The use of "nigga" is definitely racist, but it's mild in the sense that well-intentioned individuals have said it without realizing how offensive it is to black folk.

Does the mofo we are discussing sound like a "well-intentioned individual" to you. Obviously folks can use the N-word and not be Black and not be racist. My point is that this asshole is pretty obviously a bigoted douche to use a pic of a Black man and have the temerity to use that word then try to flip it to mean someone else (Trump).

So yea, he's a racist asshole and I have zero sympathy for shit like this. I just hope his job doesn't put him in any position of authority to be able to impact the lives of minorities in any way. I doubt he'd be unbiased.

Since all Trump supporters are racist shouldn't we be reporting all people with positive views on him to their respective HR departments?

Only if they use the word Nigga with Obama in a pic, then yea.
 
Ain't because you get people fired that they stop being racists, they'll just hunker down.
Unless it's a case where said job is so intrinsically related to race, like say he's a cop, I'm usually wary of people being fired over their politics.

Still, hard to be sorry for him.
 
Or even better, be more selective and unfriend people who post racist material. Or not be friends with them on FB in the first place.

It would be funny if the guy he reported was the fire chief :)

I honestly think this is a horrible "solution". The only thing ignoring and separating yourself from racist assholes does is allow them to create an echo chamber where their views are reinforced and they become worse as a result.
 
I try and be as honest as I can, so if the guy was like "you said fuck on this FB post," I would just be like, "yeah, I did." They seemed to be more puzzled by the fact that I didn't have or want kids than anything.

But the lie detector test was separate, and I don't know. They prep you for it beforehand and even discuss specific points in your history that they might ask about, but I failed it twice. So I don't know, since I don't know how the machine works.



I think the best course of action is to just not have a FB. It's wonderful over here.

True.

Name me a job where being a racist isn't going to potentially lead to negative consequences such as harrassment. If there really is no negative (and this is the first time such an offense has been reported), then the guy shouldn't be in danger of losing his job in the first place

You do realize people can have personas in a workplace where they are model A citizens but maybe a little bit of a dick in their personal life? Heck what is next, reporting people because they work in customer services and posted something on their FB calling customer x they spoke to today a huge fucking asshole? I mean that is offensive, company guidelines will say never discuss customers (even if you blank names). Guess what though? People do it all the time.

Yeah, the reality of the matter is NEVER use social media if you can't filter yourself. However the OP went out of his way to look up and report and most people don't go around doing that. On privately owned social media platforms they use report/block functions.
 
Letting the employer's know what kind of person they have working for them seems rational to me.

How would you have handled it

I have no idea who the person's employer is. The person who posted the stuff on Facebook was neither a friend of the OPs or a coworker. I personally would not have taken time out of my day to report someone over questionable political views.
 
The congratulatory responses in this thread are unbelievably frightening.

The idea that I could make a mistake and say something mildly racist on FB and risk losing my job and potential livelihood because someone was offended by it is problematic to say the least.

You could've defriended him, confronted him about it, or even complained to FB, but you messed with the guy's job and potentially his family?

I remember saying something sexist on an online forum once (I was a teenager then, but still) and the idea that someone could screw my life over like that over a lapse in judgment and something that I could've grown out of is unnerving.

I can understand if it's something blatantly racist (saying something bad about black people, etc.) and if it's a serious concern (let's say it's a teacher or something), but the picture he posted was mildly racist at worst.

People like you are why America is so fucked up when it comes to race. You are the "white/black moderate" MLK spoke about in his letter from a Birmingham jail. You're ok with racism as long as it's not overt or violent. This man should have been conscious that something like this could happen when he chose to espouse his views on a public forum where his job info could easily be found.
 
Precisely, we don't. OP hasn't provided more details yet people on GAF are happy to draw judgement at potential job loss over stupid, albeit insensitive pictures/memes.

Best course of action is report to FB and de-friend (or confront if you know well enough to interact with the person). I still stand by that unless OP shares more.

You're not wrong, but at the same time I don't really have much sympathy for the victim in this case. If you wouldn't want your employer to see something, maybe don't post it online? Also don't post shit online that may impact other people and then shrink away from the blame with, "well it was only mildly racist..."
 
True.



You do realize people can have personas in a workplace where they are model A citizens but maybe a little bit of a dick in their personal life? Heck what is next, reporting people because they work in customer services and posted something on their FB calling customer x they spoke to today a huge fucking asshole? I mean that is offensive.

Yeah, the reality of the matter is NEVER use social media if you can't filter yourself. However the OP went out of his way to look up and report and most people don't go around doing that. On privately owned social media platforms they use report/block functions.
I really doubt something like this will get anyone fired in most companies anyways unless they have an existing track record of similar problems and have already been warned
 
What has done can't be changed.
Move on, man. And have a cold beer.
 
I honestly think this is a horrible "solution". The only thing ignoring and separating yourself from racist assholes does is allow them to create an echo chamber where their views are reinforced and they become worse as a result.

Yeah, somewhat. But in reality the situation here is that what *should* happen is that the poster of the material in question is challenged by those who object to it. Try and make them realise the errors in their ways. But you assume that you have an element of a relationship with that person to make them want to see the error in their ways.

Given that 1) OP saw questionable material on this person's feed before and 2) he avoided confrontation and went straight to searching for and anonymously reporting his content to his employer means that I suspect he was not close to the poster in the first place - and that's where I think the question of him being "friends" on FB comes in.
 
The congratulatory responses in this thread are unbelievably frightening.

The idea that I could make a mistake and say something mildly racist on FB and risk losing my job and potential livelihood because someone was offended by it is problematic to say the least.

This is actually more frightening. This mindset is held by a ton of people and it's way more problematic than your worry. The idea that being 'mildly racist' in public is akin to making a mistake is hilariously terrible. And the twisted logic that someone might get offended (not that you are being offensive) is like the cherry on top.

The two ideas that diet racism is somehow excusable and that people get offended, rather than you being offensive, is exactly why racism (and by extension, sexism) are still so fucking rampant. As long as you hold back a little, well, we should all forgive him for his mistake - like he forgot to pick up milk at the store or some trivial shit. And hey, if you say something offensive, it isn't your fault if other people get offended by it. It's a mentality that completely shifts responsibility off the person and onto everyone else.

It's really not that hard to refrain from making racist or sexist comments in a public setting with your personal information attached.
 
Ever since I was young I was told not to share too much on social media, but it was weird seeing my white classmates overshare once I was in college. I treat social media as if the media would one day investigate into my life

If I posted a picture with my legally owned guns I would get called a thug
If I posted a picture with a red solo cup I would get called out
If I posted ignorant political and personal belief I would get called an idiot


Funny how oversharing works.
 
I wouldn't worry so much. He's a racist, for one thing. He's totally comfortable basically bragging about his racism, for another. Finally, you almost certainly had no meaningful impact on his life at all. Can't think of a single reason to give a shit.
 
You're not wrong, but at the same time I don't really have much sympathy for the victim in this case. If you wouldn't want your employer to see something, maybe don't post it online? Also don't post shit online that may impact other people and then shrink away from the blame with, "well it was only mildly racist..."

That is true, but in context it's not the persons employer who is their friend on FB and has seen something, it's the OP who says this person isn't even a friend.

I don't have sympathy as such for the "victim", I'm just a bit bemused that people go around looking up employers to report social media posts.

I really doubt something like this will get anyone fired in most companies anyways unless they have an existing track record of similar problems and have already been warned

Probably not, but given it is what the OPs worry is, I'll take it seriously enough. Some companies might not if they find it themselves, but if they receive a complaint from a random citizen sometimes the gloves come off as that citizen could be anyone (journalists/media especially).
 
I have no idea who the person's employer is. The person who posted the stuff on Facebook was neither a friend of the OPs or a coworker. I personally would not have taken time out of my day to report someone over questionable political views.
Racism is not a "questionable political view". It's fucking racism
 
I'd wager that most people don't have a lot of sympathy for the FB user who posted those memes. The second one in particular is pretty gross and I'll never understand why people feel the need to post this type of stuff on a public site. I mean, what the heck are you doing....

I think what's a bit unnerving to some is that a guy who had a bad morning went onto FB, saw the post of a guy he barely knows (and is not a co-worker of), located the contact info for this person's HR department online, and sent an e-mail of the picture.

I think that's a reasonable situation to feel a bit creeped out by, regardless of what the person posted. I'm not calling him s snitch, because I believe there are plenty of situations where someone should report another....but this instance in particular just feels weird to me.
 
That is true, but in context it's not the persons employer who is their friend on FB and has seen something, it's the OP who says this person isn't even a friend.

I don't have sympathy as such for the "victim", I'm just a bit bemused that people go around looking up employers to report social media posts.



Probably not, but given it is what the OPs worry is, I'll take it seriously enough. Some companies might not if they find it themselves, but if they receive a complaint from a random citizen sometimes the gloves come off as that citizen could be anyone (journalists/media especially).
THat's only going to be the case if it goes viral. I really doubt any company beyond super small businesses with very liberal owners would fire anyone for this on its own. And I doubt a guy with attitudes like this is working for a company like that anyways
 
Different kinds of people are bothered by different kinds of things. You don't get to project your hardened sensibilities on to others. You can debate it though. And you can answer my question.

I'm not sure what you meant by the bolded. It's a trivial fact that people are bothered by different kinds of things, and yet the claim that I can't project my sensibilities onto others doesn't necessarily follow precisely because I'm simply debating the issue rather than forcing people to adopt my viewpoint. Your entire claim is one huge non-sequitur.

And yes, I can answer your question but the way you initially posed it and the way keep insisting I answer it seems overly aggressive and I just don't see the need to go there with you.
 
The congratulatory responses in this thread are unbelievably frightening.

The idea that I could make a mistake and say something mildly racist on FB and risk losing my job and potential livelihood because someone was offended by it is problematic to say the least.

You could've defriended him, confronted him about it, or even complained to FB, but you messed with the guy's job and potentially his family?

I remember saying something sexist on an online forum once (I was a teenager then, but still) and the idea that someone could screw my life over like that over a lapse in judgment and something that I could've grown out of is unnerving.

I can understand if it's something blatantly racist (saying something bad about black people, etc.) and if it's a serious concern (let's say it's a teacher or something), but the picture he posted was mildly racist at worst.

It's not (whatever year it was when you were a teen) anymore. Social media is a part of life and what you put on there should have similar consequences to what would happen if you screamed that shit off a rooftop. And if doing that might get you in trouble and your job then don't post it on social media either.
 
I'd wager that most people don't have a lot of sympathy for the FB user who posted those memes. The second one in particular is pretty gross.

I think what's a bit unnerving to some is that a guy who had a bad morning went onto FB, saw the post of a guy he barely knows (and is not a co-worker of), located the contact info for this person's HR department online, and sent an e-mail of the picture.

I think that's a reasonable situation to feel a bit creeped out by, regardless of what the person posted. I'm not calling him s snitch, because I believe there are plenty of situations where someone should report another....but this instance in particular just feels weird to me.
It is much different than hearing someone saying racist stuff while on a smoke break from their job?
 
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