Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, Tumblr – the list goes on and on. The number of spaces and places to say or do something eyebrow-raising is massively public now, and stupidity that once would have the people around you simply roll their eyes can now get you blackballed, ridiculed, suspended or fired.
Individual stupidity has the capability to spread like a virus with serious repercussions, whether it’s the Dalhousie dentistry dolts that made obnoxious, sexist comments on a Facebook page or the new NDP MLA whose questionable content on her page had her ridiculed even before she could take office.
Last week’s stupidity centred on a trend that’s emerged in sporting events, where passersby interrupt the female sports broadcaster by shouting out a vulgarity calling for the sexual violation of the woman.
Often, the broadcaster will just carry on with their newscast, but last week, City News reporter Shauna Hunt had enough, telling a group of intoxicated men at a soccer event that she heard this remark too often and that it was disrespectful and degrading. The men she interviewed on camera laughed her off, and told her it was funny, and when she asked one what his mother would say, he told her, “My mother would die laughing, eventually.”
But it was the newscaster that got the last laugh, as a couple of the men interviewed were caught out by name, occupation and place of work. One of these not-so hilarious jokers, an engineer for Hydro One earning a reported $106,000 a year, has been fired for violating the company’s code of conduct and another man’s job might be on the chopping block too. Police also warned this behaviour may constitute grounds for bringing forward charges too.
Schools and parents are already teaching young people about being careful about what they post online. But it’s not enough to tell them about the consequences of making poor choices, so much as it is to instill in them the self-respect - respect for others, women and men - that would prevent them from being ignorant, rude or vicious bullies in the first place. We have to cheer Hunt, Hydro One and police for sending the message that this kind of verbal abuse will not be tolerated, not in this country.
