Livestream engineer apologizes after getting fired for misogynistic tweets

by dominotw • 12 years ago

14 19 12 years ago

I don't like summary condemnations of people "to set the example". The guy has been uncouth and rude but it was just a (drunken? Tourette-like?) outburst.

As a women in tech I am more worried that, if we don't use with other people the same open-mindedness and fair play we ask for, we'll end up being dreaded or hated more than (maybe begrudgingly) accepted. I see nothing wrong in firing someone who promotes discrimination but hey, this was just a guy being a troll. One could as well have used magnanimity in dealing with it. Just my 2 cents.

jd75• 12 years ago

Alternately, also as a woman in tech, we could expect employers not to lump us all together and to judge men who resort to using slurs more harshly than women who don't like having slurs used against them.

ZanyProgrammer2• 12 years ago

Also as a woman in tech (trans as well!) I'm uncomfortable with bringing people's employers into internet pissing matches. Its a nuclear option that seems like overkill, not unlike the whole Adria Richards fiasco. Seriously, people get bitchy at each other on the internet all the time. Calling someone a cunt is not the same as death threats or rape threats.

theboss• 12 years ago

As someone who has only just entered the `real world', I found it so incredibly odd that people's employers very often get involved in these internet dealings by firing someone because they use a sexist/racist/whatever-ist slur.

To people out there. If you are going to talk about somewhat controversial topics, the ``my opinions are my own'' you put on your twitter probably isn't enough protection.

ZanyProgrammer2• 12 years ago

Even if you don't indicate your employer explicitly on a social media profile, its not hard to track someone down via a personal website/LinkedIn, etc.

stock_toaster• 12 years ago

Also firing, what appears to be, a low rung employee for such behavior seems extreme for name calling.

Instead of simply punishing, maybe some type of rehabilitation as a first step would be more appropriate (some type of therapy or sensitivity training)?

southpawgirl2• 12 years ago

I agree with the idea of 'sensitivity training'. Sometimes empathy is only latent and needs to be showed the way to express itself. Harsh punishment is of no use in this.

maxcan• 12 years ago

Its great to know that Shanley doesn't think name calling is appropriate or productive. I shudder to think about what she'd think of something like this: https://medium.com/about-work/finding-out-youre-a-sexist-mis...

edit: more name calling that she would certainly condemn: https://twitter.com/ryan/status/474791621100199936

Udo3• 12 years ago

It's actually a pretty good blog post, the title is sort-of underscoring the central point:

"Yes, I have slut-shamed, body-policed, name-called, bad-joked, appropriated, derailed, co-opted, silenced, objectified, stereotyped, trivialized, slurred, punished, isolated, insulted, benefited, and stayed silent with the worst of them. A highlight reel of my life profiting uncritically and even participating in the systems of misogyny, classism, racism, cis-normativity and homophobia that oppress my friends, my family, my fellow humans would not endear anyone to me, least of all myself.

It fees horrible to talk about. But I am because we all must realize how complete, how intersecting, how deeply fucked up the system is, and the role we play in it."

Irish3• 12 years ago

Its a legitimate disgrace that companies play into this bullshit. The idea that someone can send an out of context screenshot to a company that results in someone losing their job is unbelievable.

If there was even a slight link to the workplace I could completely understand.

This person didn't do anything illegal, at worst he was rude and foul mouthed but because there is an issue in tech, unrelated to him accept that he is seen as the embodiment of the oppressor, he has lost his job and possibly his career. Potentially a family has lost an income that might never be regained.

Someone being fired should be a huge and painful decision for a company not one taken willy nilly over the weekend because someone got offended over something on the internet.

I think this sort of thing does a dis-service to the 'women in tech' movement at large because it is effectively an abuse of the power they are given by the sentiment that there is in fact a problem with inequality and attitudes in the workplace.

A_COMPUTER• 12 years ago

Here is the script:

0. thing I don't like. 1. have a vitriolic outburst at that thing. 2. someone replies in defense with their own vitriolic outburst. 3. If you're fortunate enough the person used a forbidden word in their outburst, dogpile their employer and get them fired. 4. retweet everyone who is outraged at what you've done so that everyone on your follow list can shame and attack them in response.

https://twitter.com/ryan/status/474791621100199936

don't take the bait.

Udo3• 12 years ago

It seems I'm missing the context here that (almost?) everyone else seems to have. What actually happened?

Irish3• 12 years ago

a man called a woman a ct on the internet and lost his job. Actually I don't know what the rules are here so I will just censor the word

Udo3• 12 years ago

I don't care if you spell out the word if you're going to cite it (punctuation would be nice though ;) - but this is clearly not an explanation of what happened.

jack-r-abbit• 12 years ago

Wow... looking through Shanley's twitter history is scary. She certainly has some rude things to say about a lot people. I wouldn't ever call a person the "c" word.. but I can see how a person that was inclined to use that word would send it in her direction. She is really not a very nice person on twitter. It is too bad someone got sucked into her tar pit and then got fired. :(

dudebro11111• 12 years ago

Shanley is a cunt and any "man" who takes her seriously and cowers on twitter by firing someone over her laughable bullshit is an eager-to-please bitch.

What I find hilarious is her ranting and raving constantly about "tone policing", then turning around and doing the ultimate tone policing (god, what a dipshit phrase) by getting a guy fired for saying something she doesn't like.

She is a cunt, he stated a simple, objective, provable fact.

Livestream engineer apologizes after getting fired for misogynistic tweets

Related Stories