This exchange is kind of amazing:
When you read the first post, it’s like, “Aw, man, that’s rough,” because you have no idea what the first person ever posted that the sister thought deserved exposure — you just know that, generally speaking, trying to get someone fired from their job for private texts and/or social media posts is a horrible thing to do.
Then you get two steps down and you realize, “Wow, this person really is a flaming racist!” And you start to wonder what kind of power he/she may hold over black employees where he/she works.
I know a white woman who literally told me she’s “really racist” and even related a couple stories about herself to back it up. I was horrified, but not once did I think, “I should find out where she works and call up her employers and let them know.” Nor do I think that now. She may have views and attitudes I find 100% disagreeable, but that’s no guarantee that she ever has or would inflict damage at her job or on her fellow employees on account of those views and attitudes. I can’t just “turn her in” for something she might do — this isn’t the world of “Minority Report” (no pun intended).
Not only that, but I have a black friend married to a white woman who has a sister. For all I know, he could be the “one” mentioned in the third post. (Highly unlikely, of course…but not impossible!) So this exchange hits me kind of personally.
The only time I myself ever tried going after someone’s job was when a priest was using his priestly credentials on social media to amplify his own beliefs (e.g., “Paul wasn’t a real Apostle, so feel free to ignore half the New Testament”) that explicitly contradicted the doctrine of the Christian denomination he represented. I found the priest’s diocese, called the main number, and left a complaint for the bishop or whoever. Don’t know if anything came of it. But I made that call not because I found the priest’s views disagreeable, but because he was specifically working against his employer while using the fact of his employment to give himself credibility. (The social media forum I was on at the time scolded me even for that — that’s how nonexistent “cancel culture” was back then.)
Now, I don’t know what’s in the texts and posts that the sister of the person above intends to send, but I hope it’s something in a category like “Racist Comments Made About Fellow Employees” or “Racist Things He/She’d Do If He/She Were a Supervisor” or something truly job-specific. Because there are a lot of people, I imagine, who set aside their personal feelings on a regular basis to just put their heads down and do the jobs they’re paid to do, showing whatever respect and courtesy is due to people during the course of doing their jobs, and saving their real feelings for private conversations and the occasional ill-conceived social media post. And so long as they behave rightly toward all in their place of employment and get the job done, that should be what matters most. People are paid to do, not be, certain things.
Categories: Social Media Society
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