# Public relations director fails at public relations. **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [December 21, 2013, 8:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/public-relations-director-fails-at-public-relations/676918 "2013-12-21T20:09:39Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 11\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![AK84](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/85e7bf/32.png) [@AK84](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AK84)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2013, 12:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/public-relations-director-fails-at-public-relations/676918/41 "2013-12-23T12:06:24Z")
She is South African, so maybe there is/was some in-joke here? ---
**Author:** ![zoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zoid/32/336_2.png) [@zoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/zoid)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2013, 12:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/public-relations-director-fails-at-public-relations/676918/42 "2013-12-23T12:27:26Z")
If there is I’m betting it’s not one that will help her case. ---
**Author:** ![Sam\_Lowry](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e95f7d/32.png) [@Sam\_Lowry](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sam_Lowry)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2013, 8:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/public-relations-director-fails-at-public-relations/676918/43 "2013-12-23T20:42:12Z")
I do feel a little sorry for her, since she was on a plane trip for 12 hours and didn’t know what was going on. A lot of people might write an offensive tweet, then people start getting offended, then the offender can delete the tweet and apologize before things get too crazy. Steve Martin wrote a tweet recently that some people were bothered by, but he was able to respond quickly, instead of after 12 hours once things got out of hand. > [@bengangmo](#): > > Who said there has to be a lot of thought behind it? And who said it wasn’t / couldn’t have been a joke. > > I’ve always believed that for things this stupidly offensive\*, we have the wrong end of the stick - perhaps within her circle of friends they’d just been discussing the prevalence of aids in the black South African community, perhaps one of her friends had made an ignorant statement, and she was poking fun at that person’s expense. > > What I think is that if it is one bad joke / ignorant statement / racist howler out of a whole ream of meaningless, or otherwise quite reasonable statements why hang her out to dry. > > I know there have been one liners that I’ve thrown out there in sarcasm, a fit of annoyance or whatever that could be taken as pure nastiness should they be taken out of context > > \*absent a pattern of similar behaviour I agree to some degree. I try to be careful when posting comments, especially sarcastic ones to friends’ facebook pages. Anyone who knew me would be able to tell I was joking, but a stranger seeing a joking comment I made might take it at face value and be bothered. Sometimes there’s context, and I don’t like it when a mob goes after someone without considering the context. But in this case, it does seem to just be an offensive joke. [And someone found some other tweets that I’m assuming she’s regretting now](http://www.buzzfeed.com/jenvesp/16-tweets-justine-sacco-regrets-hxg7): > [@](#): > > As I sit and eat a bagel with lox, i would like to send love to my jews who are all starving themselves right now. #hungryhungryhebrews > > — Justine Sacco (@JustineSacco) October 8, 2011 > [@](#): > > I don’t understand why this ugly chick from England has become such an inspiration. > > — Justine Sacco (@JustineSacco) April 18, 2009 > [@](#): > > Someone get the rape kit ready for Tom Brady. Go Giants! #SuperBowl > > — Justine Sacco (@JustineSacco) February 5, 2012 > [@](#): > > Maybe what I really am, Is wanting AIDS #GIRLS > > — Justine Sacco (@JustineSacco) April 23, 2012 This isn’t a case of someone having a brain fart and tweeting one stupid thing. This is a case of someone who has repeatedly tweeted stupid things. She doesn’t deserve to be drawn and quartered for it, but it makes sense to me that she’s lost her job as a PR person. > [@aceplace57](#): > > I’ve never figured out how a small twitter account can go viral in a few hours. I’d guess she had maybe a couple dozen friends and family following her? > > Somehow this just exploded. [This is a good summary of what happened](http://www.buzzfeed.com/alisonvingiano/this-is-how-a-womans-offensive-tweet-became-the-worlds-top-s). She had just 200 followers, but someone sent her tweet to Sam Biddle, editor of Valleywag, who then posted about it, and a lot of people saw that. > [@mhendo](#): > > Yeah, i’m never sure exactly how to feel about these internet crucifixions. > > On the one hand, many of the people caught by them seem to be self-absorbed assholes or morons, and hard to feel sorry for. The Facebook photo of this woman, in her hoodie and stupid glasses, makes me dislike her immediately, and the fact that she works in a profession that attracts a disproportionate percentage of phonies and jerkoffs and fakers doesn’t exactly help. > > On the other hand, the vigilante blood-lust that seems to drive so many people in these incidents seems, at times, to be even worse than the offense to which they are reacting. I’m certainly glad i didn’t have Twitter or Facebook when i was younger and less thoughtful. I hate to think that my whole life, my reputation, and my ability to keep a job might hinge on whether or not some dumb thing i said as a throwaway comment was picked up and distributed worldwide. I agree. She said some very stupid things and deserves to be fired in my opinion. But the feeding frenzy does seem disproportionate to her offense. ---
**Author:** ![TokyoBayer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tokyobayer/32/13989_2.png) [@TokyoBayer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TokyoBayer)\ **Post date:** [December 24, 2013, 3:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/public-relations-director-fails-at-public-relations/676918/44 "2013-12-24T03:52:29Z")
I remember back in our earlier days of innocence, people thought that the Internet, as it was still called back then, would produce a kinder world. ---
**Author:** ![mhendo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mhendo/32/3159_2.png) [@mhendo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mhendo)\ **Post date:** [December 24, 2013, 4:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/public-relations-director-fails-at-public-relations/676918/45 "2013-12-24T04:20:05Z")
> [@TokyoBayer](#): > > I remember back in our earlier days of innocence, people thought that the Internet, as it was still called back then, would produce a kinder world. Did “people” think that? I certainly never did, and i’m not sure why anyone with any understanding of human history would think so. The internet has enabled some people to do some great and kind and humane and thoughtful things, but it has also enabled people to act like selfish assholes and tyrants and bigots and cowards. New technology doesn’t really change human nature, and those who believe that it does are naïve or just not very thoughtful. ---
**Author:** ![TokyoBayer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tokyobayer/32/13989_2.png) [@TokyoBayer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TokyoBayer)\ **Post date:** [December 24, 2013, 4:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/public-relations-director-fails-at-public-relations/676918/46 "2013-12-24T04:48:31Z")
> [@mhendo](#): > > Did “people” think that? I certainly never did, and i’m not sure why anyone with any understanding of human history would think so. Blah. Didn’t finish my comments. Yes, I remember article in the media talking about it, but no, I didn’t think so. There is a lot of good, a hell of a lot of more convenience, and an opportunity for mob mentality to wild. ---
**Author:** ![PunditLisa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/4af34b/32.png) [@PunditLisa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PunditLisa)\ **Post date:** [December 24, 2013, 12:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/public-relations-director-fails-at-public-relations/676918/47 "2013-12-24T12:20:10Z")
While she can certainly be trained to stop tweeting every stupid thought that enters her mind, can Justine ever be conditioned to stop thinking such ignorant, hateful things in the first place? Can you even teach empathy at this late stage in her development? ---
**Author:** ![zoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zoid/32/336_2.png) [@zoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/zoid)\ **Post date:** [December 24, 2013, 12:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/public-relations-director-fails-at-public-relations/676918/48 "2013-12-24T12:59:12Z")
> [@PunditLisa](#): > > While she can certainly be trained to stop tweeting every stupid thought that enters her mind, can Justine ever be conditioned to stop thinking such ignorant, hateful things in the first place? Can you even teach empathy at this late stage in her development? What, are you saying I’ve been lied to by every single movie on the Lifetime channel? ---
**Author:** ![Mighty\_Girl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/7bcc69/32.png) [@Mighty\_Girl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mighty_Girl)\ **Post date:** [December 24, 2013, 1:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/public-relations-director-fails-at-public-relations/676918/49 "2013-12-24T13:11:10Z")
> [@Lasciel](#): > > Apologies for the double-post, but the Breitbart article makes me want to scream. > > Actually, it might blow his little mind, but I don’t mind him (or anyone else) looking at my personal online accounts associated with my actual real name and real job, and contacting my employer over my content published there. > > In fact, I’m relatively certain that even if he did, with the most controversial statements I have there, I won’t get fired over it. Why? Because I’m intelligent enough to realize that people judge me by what I put out there! If it’s not proper enough to say when I’m on the desk at my workplace,\*\* it doesn’t go on the internet associated with my real name.\*\* Hell, half the time, it doesn’t even go on the internet under one of my throwaway accounts. > > Shit, people, if you work in the public eye, and you are on the internet, then your internet activity is in the public eye, and it is very possible that you’ll get judged and held accountable for it IN REAL LIFE. > > Why is this such a difficult concept for people? My job exists almost entirely on the internet, and largely depends on my public image. Am I ever so glad that my old Geocities page found its way into the dustbin of the internet, and that I never used my real name in those days. I use the same filter as you: "How would this look if it found its way to the front pages? In fact I treat each and every media channel as if it were completely public and open. All my Facebook posts are public. Thinking only your friends see what you post on Social Media may be a recipe for disaster. If I need to communicate something in private to my friends I call them, or email them (I am careful what I put in writing too). Nothing turns a minor internet celebrity into a big internet celebrity faster than fucking up. ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [December 24, 2013, 1:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/public-relations-director-fails-at-public-relations/676918/50 "2013-12-24T13:13:05Z")
> [@Sam\_Lowry](#): > > I agree. She said some very stupid things and deserves to be fired in my opinion. But the feeding frenzy does seem disproportionate to her offense. Someone whose day job is Public Relations probably ought to be keenly aware of the possibility of just such an outcome. ---
**Author:** ![Poysyn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/f4b2a3/32.png) [@Poysyn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Poysyn)\ **Post date:** [December 24, 2013, 4:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/public-relations-director-fails-at-public-relations/676918/51 "2013-12-24T16:03:10Z")
> [@Mangetout](#): > > Someone whose day job is Public Relations probably ought to be keenly aware of the possibility of just such an outcome. Agreed. She is expected to be an expert in engaging the media and the public. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/public-relations-director-fails-at-public-relations/676918.md?page=2)