You may have seen this week, the story and video that went viral on ESPN reporter, Britt McHenry, being rude to a towing company employee. Now debate is raging about how social media is becoming judge and jury, with calls coming from the public for her to lose her job. I don’t know about you, but I’m starting to find this social media viral thing quite alarming! Lets go through the process. 1. News reporter has a dummy spit and is caught on camera (for the record I think Britt McHenry was nasty and what she said to the towing company employee was awful) 2. Footage gets posted, and because shes a reporter and works in the media it goes viral 3. Vitriol and outrage from Social Media sees her employer suspend her, with the public calling for her to be sacked.
We are clearly living in new times, The public (the collective we) expect people to behave appropriately or within reason, or we let them have it with our comments and via sharing on social media. This girl could be a lovely person who had a bad moment, or she could be helping feed starving children in Africa in her spare time, but the thing is that will never be her legacy now. Social media, viral videos, discussions and the like are PERMANENT. Whatever this woman does in the future, this moment caught on video will be all that is talked about and remembered of Britt McHenry. The fact that her employer suspended her and the world is calling for her to be sacked is another issue. Was this girl working at the time? no. She was having dinner and was on her way home, but does this viral s#*t storm mean that her employer, ESPN is tarnished too? maybe it does? and should she lose her job over it?
These are the new times we need to adjust to, our actions have a domino effect. What about her parents her family and friends… my mind mind boggles.
There is of course clear argument for the case of don’t be mean and rude to people and be responsible for how we behave toward others. I have definitely lost my cool at times when I’m stressed, but in my anger would I say something like “I’m on television, and you’re in a f—ing trailer, honey,” McHenry told the woman, suggesting the employee was a college drop out. “Lose some weight, baby girl.” – I can truthfully say never.
What do you think?
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