NBA Strips Photographer’s Credentials Over Offensive Facebook Post

ahalpert

ahalpert

Major Contributor
An NBA photographer was kicked out of the Orlando bubble for sharing a "Joe and the Hoe" Biden/Harris meme on Facebook.

Be careful what you write online! You have a right to freedom of expression, and your employers have the right to fire you at will.

I don't like the idea of someone being fired for their political views (although his sexist/racist meme arguably has nothing to do with politics), but if you take your views public, you implicitly represent your employer/s and must comport yourself with dignity.

What do you guys think?

http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/PetaPixel/~3/RGcD8FzZPSo/
 
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One of the reasons that I’m not on social media. You can’t get in trouble for going to the party when you didn’t go to the party, if you know what I mean.

What amazes me still, are just how STUPID some of these people that post on social media are that work IN THE MEDIA! They know how this works and what can happen, because the story has repeated itself time and time again.

I’m not taking any side or anything like that. I’m just saying my career isn’t worth some comment on FaceBook or retweet or whatever that someone may not like and they trace it back to me and then my clients have to distance themselves from me(aka: FIRE ME), because right or wrong, this IS the world that we live in now and with social media, the squeaky wheel does get the oil. And the oil is usually someone else’s blood.
 
Run&Gun said:
One of the reasons that I’m not on social media. You can’t get in trouble for going to the party when you didn’t go to the party, if you know what I mean.
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Doesn't this forum count as social media? Or do you reckon that it has less general visibility and anyway your real name isn't on your posts?

I have noticed that folks like John Brawley who face deep vetting from big networks tend to be more politic in their posts and also talk less trash about other people in the industry and their work
 
ahalpert said:
Doesn't this forum count as social media? Or do you reckon that it has less general visibility and anyway your real name isn't on your posts?

I have noticed that folks like John Brawley who face deep vetting from big networks tend to be more politic in their posts and also talk less trash about other people in the industry and their work
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Technically you can consider this as social media, but generally speaking, what I consider social media is FB, Twitter, Instagram and things like that. This is very niche, to say the least, but I still tread lightly even here under a screen name. One, it’s just the polite thing to do and two, if someone wants to figure out who you really are bad enough because of something you said, they can.
 
Run&Gun said:
One, it’s just the polite thing to do
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This is my larger problem with the internet - for some reason, it turns everyone into a gremlin. Some say it's because you dont get emotional feedback online as you do in in-person conversation, so people's empathy isn't triggered the same way. Then there's the bandwagon effect of like-minded people egging each other on and becoming a mob.

I spent a month or so on twitter earlier this year and it was a pretty negative experience. Once I made a comment trying to agree with someone that was misinterpreted as disagreement and I felt the full torrent of communal anger bearing down on me. It's an echo chamber and the echoes get progressively nastier.

I feel like the internet has ruined everybody. Everything's on there, but it's turned everyone into an a-hole
 
ahalpert said:
This is my larger problem with the internet - for some reason, it turns everyone into a gremlin. Some say it's because you dont get emotional feedback online as you do in in-person conversation, so people's empathy isn't triggered the same way. Then there's the bandwagon effect of like-minded people egging each other on and becoming a mob.

I spent a month or so on twitter earlier this year and it was a pretty negative experience. Once I made a comment trying to agree with someone that was misinterpreted as disagreement and I felt the full torrent of communal anger bearing down on me. It's an echo chamber and the echoes get progressively nastier.

I feel like the internet has ruined everybody. Everything's on there, but it's turned everyone into an a-hole
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There is something to be said for the in-person communication experience. You do lose subtleties like certain kinds of humor in text only, especially if you don’t know someone, but some people just can’t understand, read or interpret the subtleties of conversation no matter what, in-person or written. Things have to be solidly black or white, yes or no for them to ‘get it’. I end up in arguments with my GF constantly, because she misinterprets my responses all of the time. “Why do you always have to contradict me?!” Me: “I was agreeing with you”. Because she’s one of those people that you have to give the Yes/No answer to. If you elaborate on something, she usually thinks you are arguing with her and I don’t know if this comes from the way that she was raised or because of her job.

I’ve never been on FB, twitter, Instagram, etc., but I think my Mom has made the decision to keep the family business going after deciding she was going to close it last year. So obviously there is going to have to be a social media push for the business, now, but even knowing what I know with how careful you have to be, it kind of scares me, because all it takes is one mis-step in this powder keg that we live in, to set it off.
 
ahalpert said:
Doesn't this forum count as social media?
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Definitely not. Social media is the umbrella term for the apps and services that made the term mainstream, such as: Facebook, Twitter, Instagram... more recently Snapchat, TikTok, Meerkat, Periscope and whatnot.

They all pretty much have the "look at me, see me and like me" in common. A social media account is typically tied to a person. Often there's the "if you want to me my friend, I can be yours" aspect too.

I'm well aware that there are some very broad definitions of 'social media' out there, probably including the earliest BBS users and phone line hackers. I just don't agree with that definition.

My definition is also much more convenient, since everything in it is more or less crap and can be disregarded in one fell swoop. =)
 
Like anything, there are shades of grey and social media doesn't need to be categorized as all bad or all good. Some of it by design is worse and more harmful to society than others. Social media whose sole purpose is to generate 'likes' and approval is the most harmful, and the most conducive to toxic interactions devoid of nuance, especially in the case of Twitter where you are very limited in how much you can communicate with one tweet. It rewards the most provocative and the least nuanced communication. Instagram I have less of a problem with, only that it's pretty shallow and superficial. Facebook I don't mind because it's very easy to curate who you let see your page, what information you get, and who you friend. People who complain about Facebook don't know how to configure it, or have terrible friends they should probably dump. Forums like this one, and even reddit so long as you are selective about which subreddits you visit, generally are a positive experience for me.
 
Run&Gun said:
I end up in arguments with my GF constantly, because she misinterprets my responses all of the time. “Why do you always have to contradict me?!” Me: “I was agreeing with you”. Because she’s one of those people that you have to give the Yes/No answer to. If you elaborate on something, she usually thinks you are arguing with her and I don’t know if this comes from the way that she was raised or because of her job.
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Have you ruled out Asperger's? Either way, do you see that part of your name before the ampersand?
 
ahalpert said:
What do you guys think?
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It's ridiculous. It's also ridiculous social media information is a mandatory requirement on visa applications for the USA.

That said, I cant show a lot of my work on my website because I know it would upset certain clients of mine. I've also been warned a few times to be careful what I post becasue I'm being checked by Secret Service of a Government or Organisation I'm making something for. Anyone who has seen my Twitter feed knows I generally ignore this. You only live once and I refuse to hide behind the sofa...
 
I don't feel sorry for the guy. It isn't as if he posted some reasoned treatise comparing the platforms of various candidates. Instead he posted a name-calling rhyme.

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The good news is that the Internet lets you communicate with millions of people at the touch of a button. The bad news is that the Internet lets you communicate with millions of people at the touch of a button.

In the old days, people were not any nicer deep down. But the available technology limited your blast radius. An offhand remark was limited to a cluster of two or three people in the school hallway, the office break room, or the living room. Maybe you said it to someone miles away, but it was over the phone, so it was to just one person at a time.

It also wasn't written down. The message self-destructed immediately, evaporating after a few feet of split-second travel through the air. I suppose it would be written down if you put it in a letter. But like the telephone, letters usually reached just one other person. The traveled slowly through the mail and took a lot of work to make copies of.

---

The internet has given everyone a stage, an opportunity that is genuinely new for the majority of people. Even celebrities could not do it this often and easily.

Unlike the old days, the internet lets you broadcast immediately to dozens of people at a time, instead of just 2 or 3.
Unlike the old days, this correspondence is written down, giving them hard evidence.
Unlike the old days, it is electronic, rather than paper, so it can be reproduced at the speed of light for 0¢.

Perhaps Facebook should come with a warning: Danger! TNT!

Posting on Facebook is like using a blowtorch, next to a room full of fireworks, in a warehouse full of ammonium nitrate (Beirut).
 
My artist friend from Belarus - who had a long career as a set designer on the Soviet/post-Soviet TV - posted a fairly recent photo of herself in an old Soviet era military uniform. I share little fondness for the old Soviet era (Belarus still has its police and the military in the same uniforms while many streets still have names from the USSR era, though most regular folks dislike that) and replied quite caustically ~ "Goosestepping to the regime? Heil Hitler!"

My post then gets taken off by Facebook for "Nazi propaganda".
 
combatentropy said:
... Posting on Facebook is like using a blowtorch, next to a room full of fireworks, in a warehouse full of ammonium nitrate (Beirut).
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That was likely a munitions factory.

As to the 'offensive" meme, it's offensive to some. It's dumb to others. It's hilarious to others still.
 
Calling someone a “Hoe” isn’t politics.

This is about what is appropriate to say in public, even if it’s your personal opinion.

It’s not that complicated.

Don’t call someone a “Hoe.”

Your thread topic says all you need. “Offensive post”

You’re free to express yourself. Just don’t expect to be employed by a company that likely don’t share those values and have a code of conduct that precludes you being able to make a statement like that.

JB
 
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combatentropy said:
I don't feel sorry for the guy.
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I don't feel sorry for him, personally, his views are the opposite of mine, but I'm uncomfortable with people being fired for writing stupid things on their social media. Everyone has a right to show what a dickhead they are. When it becomes an incitement to hate and commit hate crimes is where I draw the line. Did this guy do that?
 
DLD said:
There are unnamed TV "comedy" programs alleging a certain well known fgure has engaged in a certain behavior at a certain hotel in a certain town in Eastern Europe. Rings a bell?
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I have no idea what show you’re referencing here.

But if you’re talking about a show that deals in SATIRE, I’m pretty sure most will understand the difference between comedy and someone posting an offensive meme on their personal Facebook profile.

JB
 
Liam Hall said:
I don't feel sorry for him, personally, his views are the opposite of mine
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The reason I didn't feel sorry for him has nothing to do with whether his views align with mine. I don't feel sorry for him because of how he said it.

Freedom of Speech lets you voice support for any opinion you deem fit. If you believe the earth is flat, go right ahead and talk about it.

It does not guarantee that you can express your opinion any which way you want. If you want to express your support for flat-earth-ness by blowing up the nearby globe factory, that isn't okay. A more down-to-earth example was a landmark case, decades ago, when the Ku Klux Klan wanted to march through town square at 2:00 a.m. The town forbade it. They said you can march in the afternoon. I forget the name of the case, but I think it went to the Supreme Court. I just remember it from my journalism class. The point is, the town did not limit the Ku Klux Klan's freedom of speech based upon what they wanted to say but how they wanted to say it.

The novel thing about the Bill of Rights was not that they let you do whatever you feel like doing (as some people seem to interpret it) but that you will not be censored by content. There was a time when you could not say "I don't like the king's policy on such-and-such". No matter how nicely you said it, you would still be beheaded. But there are still lots and lots of limits on how you can say stuff, even in the USA.

Anyway, that's a bit of a rabbit trail because Bill was not charged with a crime. His employer just decided to exercise its at-will employment, as ahalpert said.
 
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Although I don’t approve of spewing contentless insults, I also am not happy with the cancel culture. If the guy wrote whatever stupid thing he did on his own time without implying any buy-in from his employer, then it seems pretty sad that he’d lose his job over it when it had nothing to do with it. It’s a nasty trend where what people do privately is now somehow in the purview of the employer, like smoking, or ahem using locally legal subtances. But, I guess “at will” employment has its consequences.

It amazes me how much folks share on social media. I feel sorry for young people in particular. You write something stupid as a youngster, often not believing it, just as a youth to be “rebellious” and now even though you’re a different human years later, it never goes away and you’re judged as such. I wonder how many of us who are slightly older would’ve fared if every dumb thing we blurted out was held on record forever. We all make mistakes, or say things we don’t really mean, or change our minds or grow up. Now you’re not allowed to grow up.

For that reason alone I think social media should come with a warning like getting arrested Miranda Warnings - anything you say can and will be used against you. You should have to sign it every time you want to post. At least young people should have to pass a class or get a license like a driver with driver education. Otherwise it’s easy to ruin your whole future.

But hey, people say crazy things and sign their names to it. I mean, if you want to work, it’s best to hew to the dvxuser TOS - no politics or religion - because you’re always offend some part of your clients or employers. There’s a reason why you don’t discuss certain things in polite company. Do you want to limit your work opportunities by needlessly offending part of the population?

That said, I am not on ANY social media - FB, Twitter, instagram whatnot. Not especially because I’m “against” social media as such - but for a very simple reason: it’s a time sink! I post here on dvxuser and one other computer related site (where I rarely post) and that’s the extent of my online life. And as it is I think I waste too much time on dvxuser. I cannot even imagine sinking endless hours on FB or twitter.

It has its plusses and minuses. If I ever want to market myself or my projects I may have to finally establish an online presence. So far I have not been hassled at the border, but I imagine the border officials might raise an eyebrow when they see someone who isn’t THAT old, but who claims zero online presence - I can give them my email address, but that’s about all I can do... SUSPICIOUS!!!! LOL. Prospective employers too want to have access to your social media - what can I say, it makes it suspicious that I don’t have any?! Frankly I resent that I’m somehow being pressured to join social media which are PRIVATE companies, just so that I can function in society. Why should the government (border officials) care that I don’t want to buy Burger King meals, or be on social media or any PRIVATE companies customer. They make it seem like it’s an obligation like a government thing. That’s messed up! It’s a private business!!!

Anyhow I’ll continue to stay off of social media, because I personally - so far - don’t need them and am not interested in what they have to offer. YMMV.
 
It doesn’t pass the sniff test does it.

He said something inherently offensive. Maybe not to you readers here, but I also think most of the participants in this discussion have never been called a hoe, even in jest. I’m pretty sure KH would find it so.

Let’s call this out as offensive.

Even so he got to exercise his free speech.

He made presumably public post. Posting on facebook IS PUBLISHING. You’re no longer just expressing a private opinion. You’re indelibly making a public declaration. That then warrants a public response by the people that employ you whom likely have also declared a zero tolerance policy towards their employees making vilifying statements, something I’m sure this employee agreed to when he signed up to the job.

There’s no room for this comment. I can accept that someone might have those thoughts or talk about it with friends at a BBQ. But you’re putting it out there by putting it on social media.

JB
 
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