Facebook and the Latest First Amendment Martyr
You may have seen this photo. The woman pictured, Lindsey Stone, is flipping off a sign at Arlington National Cemetery. Stone was fired from her job with a Massachusetts non-profit after she posted the photo to Facebook, and the picture went "viral," as they say.
Stone protests that the picture was meant to be ironic - not disrepectful. Maybe so, but that excuse was not good enough for her employer. Predictably, commentators across the web started whining about Stone's First Amendment "right" to post photos to Facebook "without retribution," as one well-meaning, but misguided, veteran put it on Business Insider.
Sorry, guys. The First Amendment restrains only government suppression of speech. It was never intended to guarantee consequence-free speech. When the amendment was ratified in 1791, the Founders understood, for example, that individuals would continue to be liable to defamation lawsuits if they engaged in slander. And that’s a good thing, as I explain over at Fox News.
I sympathize (to some extent) with Stone for losing her job over this indiscretion, but her employer has every right to dismiss her. The First Amendment is not a guarantee of lifetime employment -- unless you work for the ACLU. The full article is here.
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Sep '10
Re: Facebook and the Latest First Amendment Martyr
When people boycotted the Dixie Chicks for bad mouthing Bush, Al Gore said, "They were made to feel un-American and risked economic retaliation because of what was said. Our democracy has taken a hit." Yes, not buying Dixie Chick albums puts democracy at risk. Way to go, Al.
Americans like to say that they are free, but it is sad that so few even understand what that means.
Edited on November 29, 2012 at 5:02pmAug '11
Re: Facebook and the Latest First Amendment Martyr
I don't think she should've done what she did. It makes her look bad. Not because she gave a finger to someone, even a dead person, but because she thinks this makes her look edgy. How old are you again?
In any case... she was there on official capacity, so it's kinda hard to know where one draws the line in "duties while on the job." With that said... I don't think she should've been fired.
I'm very much concerned about-- as Greg Gutfeld called it-- the "tolerati" essentially remolding society by being "outraged" and "offended" at everything. Is this really a firing offense? Is this really one of the worse things we can think that's been done? I think the answer to these things is "no." Let's not kid ourselves-- she's juvenile. But it probably isn't firing worthy.
Also, Greg Gutfeld's book "The Joy of Hate" was a lot of fun and very intelligent. I listened to the audio version and it was great!
Oct '11
Re: Facebook and the Latest First Amendment Martyr
Correct - there is no such thing as simple decency or respect. Decency and respect are informed by culture, mores, tradition, maturity, and a lot of subjective judgment. I would never inherently know to take my hat off for the national anthem, but that wouldn't stop the death stares. It's too bad the issue these people focused on was one of First Amendment violation, because if they had complained about overreaction and peoples' inability to just ignore childish behavior from an adult, they would have had a point.
Oct '11
Re: Facebook and the Latest First Amendment Martyr
Goldgeller:
I'm very much concerned about-- as Greg Gutfeld called it-- the "tolerati" essentially remolding society by being "outraged" and "offended" at everything. Is this really a firing offense? Is this really one of the worse things we can think that's been done? I think the answer to these things is "no." Let's not kid ourselves-- she's juvenile. But it probably isn't firing worthy.
Also, Greg Gutfeld's book "The Joy of Hate" was a lot of fun and very intelligent. I listened to the audio version and it was great! · 12 minutes ago
The Gutfeld/Breitbart (RIP) anti-outrage cause is EXACTLY what I thought of when I heard this story. Back when I was 13 I met a 12 year old girl who had been raped by a guy with AIDS, contracted AIDS herself, and had a child from the incident who also had AIDS. The school kids would make fun of her for getting raped by poking her and saying "[the rapist] is coming to get you!". I tend to save my outrage for stuff like that.
Sep '10
Re: Facebook and the Latest First Amendment Martyr
Funny that that would come from someone on Fox News. I mean, without manufactured outrage, all of the 24 hour news channels would be left with about two hours of programming each day.
Edited on November 29, 2012 at 6:35pmOct '10
Re: Facebook and the Latest First Amendment Martyr
Kevin Walker: "
Like Adam, I am sympathetic to Lindsey's plight. Her photograph was a tasteless, crude, and ill-advised joke--not a political statement.
How do you know that? Because after-the-fact-of-dire-consequences that's what she claimed? And why does it matter? How can we ever know precisely what the motivation is of someone purposefully giving offense? Politics? Chemical imbalance? Wanton disregard for what we once quaintly called "decency"? Who cares in an Alinskyite world?
As a society, why should we be required to even try and sort that out? An employer certainly cannot be expected to bother trying. Hence the guy fired for accosting a Chick-fil-A server, then proudly posting his video of it. Sounds kind of similar, huh?
Here's a thought experiment: suppose she'd shown disrespect to the Prophet Mohammad? Would Liberals be arguing for her free speech rights?
Oh, sorry ... not an experiment at all. Ask the guy who made the video that Our Dear Liberal Leader says caused the death of an Ambassador and three other brave Americans in Benghazi. The Constitution is a one-way ratchet for Liberals . . . that is the first thing you must know.
Oct '10
Re: Facebook and the Latest First Amendment Martyr
QuickerBrownFox
The Gutfeld/Breitbart (RIP) anti-outrage cause is EXACTLY what I thought of when I heard this story. Back when I was 13 I met a 12 year old girl who had been raped by a guy with AIDS, contracted AIDS herself, and had a child from the incident who also had AIDS. The school kids would make fun of her for getting raped by poking her and saying "[the rapist] is coming to get you!". I tend to save my outrage for stuff like that.
Horrifying story. But the key is "school kids," who are among the cruelest creatures on the planet. Which is part of the reason we distinguish them from adults, who are presumed to know better and expected to behave as though they know better.
Edited on November 29, 2012 at 6:27pmAug '11
Re: Facebook and the Latest First Amendment Martyr
QuickerBrownFox
The Gutfeld/Breitbart (RIP) anti-outrage cause is EXACTLY what I thought of when I heard this story. Back when I was 13 I met a 12 year old girl who had been raped by a guy with AIDS, contracted AIDS herself, and had a child from the incident who also had AIDS. The school kids would make fun of her for getting raped by poking her and saying "[the rapist] is coming to get you!". I tend to save my outrage for stuff like that. · 1 hour ag
o
Exactly. And wow... what a sad story.
Vance Richards
Funny that that would come from someone on Fox News. I mean, without manufactured outrage, all of the 24 hour news channels would be left with about two hours of programming each day. · 1 hour ago
Edited 49 minutes ago
Maybe that's true. I don't watch much news TV or even Greg Gutfeld. Jonah Goldberg wrote a review of the book for Amazon which swayed me. Either way, that doesn't diminish the force or wisdom of his arguments. It's a very good book.
Sep '12
Re: Facebook and the Latest First Amendment Martyr
Consequence-free speech: What a concept! Renders the entire utility of speech nugatory, wouldn't you say?
Rat banana shudder shutter cover slightly under sunset tomorrow night in the pool with coconuts cream.
Sep '11
Re: Facebook and the Latest First Amendment Martyr
There's more to this story.
First, the picture of Lindsey Stone is not just at Arlington National Cemetery. It is in front of the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier.
Second, Lindsey Stone was a manager of a group home in Massachusetts--a co-worker took the photo while they were supposed to be supervising 40 people with mental disabilities who were on a trip.
The group home industry has a problem: there are homes that treat their residents with dignity and respect; and there are cesspools where the staff has figured out that the residents aren't capable of complaining. And--worst of all--there are wretched facilities (some in New York chronicled by the New York Times) where residents were raped, repeatedly, over a period years--the staff knew the victims could not complain, and would never be able to testify in court.
Nobody is calling Lindsey Stone a rapist. But, early in this controversy, a number of people (including me) began asking LIFE, Inc.--her employer--whether this photo spoke to the question of how she'd treat my daughter. Does the home Stone manages treat their people with respect?
(More)
Edited on November 30, 2012 at 4:25pmSep '11
Re: Facebook and the Latest First Amendment Martyr
(Cont'd from #30)
What really changed the situation, I think, was when former colleagues of Stone (and the woman who took the picture) posted comments to the effect that Stone and her friend really were the sort of party animals who gave a home a bad name. Other photos Stone has posted on her Facebook wall would see to support that.
The board of directors of LIFE suspended them, "pending an internal investigation." I venture to guess that the internal investigation amounted to a much more detailed review of their employment history (and, according to several posts, Stone's arrest record) than had been done before. The board then terminated both of them.
Frankly, they did the right thing. I'm the father of a young adult with mental disabilities--I'd be extremely leery of a facility managed by these two bright young things. If that's how they demonstrate the proper display of decorum, dignity, and respect--in front of 40 of their residents, at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier--how do they behave when no one is looking?
Edited on November 30, 2012 at 4:14pmSep '11
Re: Facebook and the Latest First Amendment Martyr
There's another point to be made: this isn't about the First Amendment. This is a cautionary tale: be careful what you post on a public forum. Because someone may take a very different spin on it than you do.
In the summer of 2006 a high school senior thought it would be funny to post a page on Facebook entitled, "I'm going to UConn, and on the first night I'm going to get drunk with...." And invited his friends to post pictures of their friends.
Fun, right? Kids posted pictures of their friends--often obviously drunk; those kids got "tagged", saw the gag, and posted pictures of their friends, and within a few days a fun little gag had turned into an Internet phenomenon.
Then the provost of the University of Connecticut saw the page. With roughly 40% of his incoming freshman class promising to engage in an orgy of underage drinking on the first night of Freshman Week.
Daughter #2 was an out-of-state freshman. She says freshman orientation was, uh, interesting.
Privacy settings and "handles" won't help you--what you put on the Internet is truly in the public domain.