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My first question on the site, so I hope it fits the boundaries of The Workplace.

I had recently read a horrific incident of the one Justine Sacco, whose professional & hence personal life turned upside down due to innocuous tweet intended as a joke. I have also seen many instances of people being fired from their workplace for posting offensive yet totally unrelated, to their work or company or industry, tweets/posts/blogs. I am definitely not talking about posting pornographic stuff against the law.

So, what justification should you give when you are about to be fired for an offensive comment you made online, to potentially save the job/to come out with a positive mindset? There can be numerous types of offensive content so I will narrow it down to religious, ethnic & racially offensive things.

Giacomo1968
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KharoBangdo
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    Yea... that lady was like the PR manager or something. She was pretty high in the hierarchy AND she does PR. If you got someone like that making racist comments... well I don't blame the company for firing her (for potentially damaging their reputation). – Jack Mar 25 '15 at 09:56
  • On the content's merit, it was a joke, PR or not PR. It was her personal space. Only the virality made it a demon. – KharoBangdo Mar 25 '15 at 10:01
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    @KharoBangdo: The internet (or her public twitter) isn't her personal space, though. As a business professional in the 21st century she should have known that. Regarding the question: I don't see how an "offensive comment you made online" is any different than "an offensive comment you made during a business meeting". – Godzillarissa Mar 25 '15 at 11:02
  • Would the merit of her joke have had any less merit if she had instead used a pseudonym to publish it? It amazes me how many people don't do this, but obviously should. – Brandin Mar 25 '15 at 11:04
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    @KharoBangdo Nah, as a PR Manager she should've known the hellstorm she would've created by making comments like that. Usually cases like these, it's because the Internet goes on a witch hunt which eventually leads to harassing the employer until they fire them. – Jack Mar 25 '15 at 11:19
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    This question about Facebook has a lot of similar issues. My answer there is a bit more specific to the asker, but this answer is very related to what you are asking. – enderland Mar 25 '15 at 11:41
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    I don't like answering hypothetical questions. We don't do Harvard Business School case studies either for the same reason. Are you the one who made the offensive comment in the first place, and are you the one being fired for making that offensive comment? If you say "yes", the next question is what is the context of your comment i.e. what prompted you to make that comment? The question that comes after is when and how did you realize that the comment was offensive? Did you realize the minute you made the comment or did you realize when you got nailed for it? Many questions, no answer. – Vietnhi Phuvan Mar 25 '15 at 12:01
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    This is all opinion based so this question should be closed. But that said the subject in question was the public relations manager for a major company. Meaning she should've known better. She should've really known better. The New York Times piece that you were talking about really oversimplifies the situation. It makes it out as if this is her being a victim. In my humble opinion I do not think she is the victim. I don't think that was a joke. I don't get it. And I don't feel sympathy for her in any way. Meaning I feel she is simply a high profile idiot. – Giacomo1968 Mar 25 '15 at 12:50
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    This is going to depend hugely on the comment (even within the very wide range of subjects you mention) and on the circumstances. So there is really no way we can answer this. – DJClayworth Mar 25 '15 at 13:19
  • Having said that, I feel bad for Justine Sacco. Self-righteousness and Internet lynch mobs are a combustible combination. And Internet lynch mobs, like lynch mobs everywhere, don't stop to ask "Is this what you meant?" If things get taken out of context, it is a pretty rare employer who stands by you - They won't stand by you if it's cheaper and things get back to normal more quickly if they let you go. It's a business decision. Employer are in business to make money. Getting sucked into fights detracts from making money. – Vietnhi Phuvan Mar 25 '15 at 13:35
  • The excellent Jon Ronson has written an entire book on this subject. An extract dealing with this incident was published in the NY Times – Laconic Droid Mar 25 '15 at 14:47
  • Just to be clear, my intention in asking the question was never one of morality. Neither mine nor Sacco's. It was just, you made a tweet that was dark & offensive but funny. Somebody takes it out of context & it goes viral. You are about to be fired for the "public outrage". What should your response be? How can that be opinion based. Shouldn't it be too broad or something. – KharoBangdo Mar 25 '15 at 17:17
  • Also I didnt want to engage in a debate over Sacco's morality. But after the Charlie Hebdo attack, many people knowingly RT'ed unambiguously offensive religious & political cartoons. So yeah Je Suis Hypocricy. Je Suis Justine Sacco – KharoBangdo Mar 25 '15 at 17:20

2 Answers2

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If things are already at the point where they are considering firing you, it is very unlikely that you can salvage the situation. Companies need to protect their own reputations and if they feel that association with you is damaging to them, they will fire you. The best you can do is apologize publicly to the person or group who were innsulted and if possible remove the offensive content. And not a non-apology either (I am sorry if you were offended) but a real one that acknowledges that what you said was wrong.

There is nothing new about this although the opportunities to do something publicly offensive have certainly increased. But people have bee fired in the past for offensive letters to the Editor of the newspaper or for participating in certain types of protests, etc. If you embarass your employer, you are likely to be fired. It really is as simple as that.

HLGEM
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    After following the link, what she posted was definitely nasty and not what I expect from a decent human being. "I am flying to South Africa, hope I won't get AIDS" is a deep insult to anyone living there. Who would think something like this would be funny? – gnasher729 Mar 26 '15 at 11:18
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Own it. Take responsibility for it. Don't make lame excuses. Accept the consequences for it. Take the opportunity to examine yourself and the situation and decide whether there is anything about yourself that should be changed. If there is, express that to your superiors and let them know you will change as a result. Do what you can to repair the damage, if possible. Money may not be the solution.

Kent A.
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