PC and Stupidity

Hang her high!

She tweeted what she should not.

Out to dry!

She did it, yes, she did, she posted it.

Said a thing or two she’s now regretting

And some are saying, stupid girl, a dullard, what a tit.

Me, I’m wondering, what about the old days,

The things we did and said that keyboards never caught,

The silly, stupid things, the mad and mental,

The things we did, full knowing, we should not.

I’m thinking she’s a silly girl for tweeting,

Sharing status, dubious, to all,

Putting neck and job online, forgetting,

That others see

That anyone can run with

Make a private call.

I’m thinking that she shouldn’t have, but musing,

How many of us would still have been employed

If everything we’d done and said, back then, had all been

Captured on a timeline, on the internet, for the world.

I’m vexing for young woman caught, so stupid,

Twenty-four or so, so soon to be dismissed

If what she wrote is deemed to be inflammatory or offensive

And why the hell, oh lassie, did you not resist.

I’m thinking of all we others who have ever

Been just as stupid, in our pasts, or presents, never seen,

Are we any less culpable than she is,

For stupid not now showing on big screen.

I can’t stop thinking of that lassie,

Career on hold, most likely, gone for good,

Such a waste, and how two-faced some folk are,

As if they’ve never fallen, always done what they all should.

I’m thinking of the arguments, the counter,

The should-have-known, should-not-have put it there,

I’m thinking of Big Brother and her mother,

Of voyeurism. I’m thinking it’s not fair.

I’m thinking and I’m glad it’s not my daughter,

I’m hoping that good sense and fair play win the day,

I’m thinking still of how we could all be that lad or lassie

And I’m cussing on pc and on the internet today.

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26 thoughts on “PC and Stupidity”

  4. Oh My Goodness! I had a brother who would tease me in high school saying, “The only time Robin opens her mouth is to switch feet!” There are many things I have regretted saying over the years. I agree that the media and the instant way we may say something, sometimes taken out of context and we could be indeed, Hung up to dry! I liked the idea of your saying (British/Scottish) “Twit” but it came out “Tit!” ha ha just telling you in case it was a typo! I wished someone had done this the other day when I wrote the wrong word! 🙂

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    1. The ‘tit’ was intentional. We use the word in a few expressions here, meaning that someone’s been stupid. ‘I felt like a right tit.’ Usually the answer to that is, ‘And a left one.’ Or, ‘What a tit!’ (What an idiot).
      I suppose it’s meaning is very similar to ‘twit’ too, although I never gave that a thought.
      Putting our foot in it is something we all do, we have to do, to learn. Hopefully, we learn. But we have to be given the chances to make mistakes to do so. I just feel an older generation (my generation) are hanging young ones for things they themselves probably did and said but never had to answer for so publicly. Fair enough, she put it out there but maybe we would have done the same with our own idiocies at that age if the internet had been a thing back then.
      Aren’t big brothers just the best at keeping us grounded? :/

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      1. Good to know what “tit” means in this context, Anne Marie.
        I have cell phone which corrected “there” to be their. Ooh, the blogging via phone bugs me but I do go to library to blog, too.
        Yes, siblings generally pick on each other but if someone dared outside family to pick on me, they would be all about protecting me. 🙂 Same with my 36, 34 and 30 year old adult “children!”

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    1. Or a right good lawyer, Chris. I don’t know about you, but we all had to undergo training – awareness raising – on acceptable practice. Some of it is basic common sense but there are a lot of grey areas waiting to be tested I fear. And the young may be the most vulnerable having grown up with a penchant for sharing everything they do on social media. I’m rather glad that my tendency is to keep things to myself, believe it or not.

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      2. Less than five years now!
        We had to do an online ‘course’ , a multiple choice affair. We all trooped off to the ICT suite at the end of the day and began on our own. Soon someone said, ‘I don’t know what the right answers are.’ By this time, I’d already spotted the pattern. ‘Whatever is the worst case scenario – where we’re most screwed – that’s yer man.’
        Talk about trying to put the fear of god in you.
        Yup, less than five years, Chris. And less than that if I win the lottery. Must buy the odd ticket. :/

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  8. I take it that she was sacked for having tweeted something offensive – makes me glad I no longer have an employer – better watch what you post lady momus, or the “Guild of Officious Educators” might descend upon you

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    1. I’m rather past caring what they think, Paul, although I hope I wouldn’t be daft enough to post anything outrageous. Relative, though, I suppose, to the eyes of the beholder. I wouldn’t like to be starting out on my career with the word patrol police watching. I don’t know how many different occupations are governed by these rules but teaching is and so is nursing. My eldest daughter has told me that they can be disciplined if they ‘bring the profession into disrepute’.
      Must be great to be perfect and make up the rules.

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      1. in talking with friends who are familiar with “human resources” policies, I was amazed to hear that a majority of US businesses now vet the social media sites of job applicants – these are employers who run the gamut – insurance companies, banks, government agencies, professional sports teams, heath care providers, etc etc

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  9. Guess it was no coincidence that this one caught my eye, after the post of mine which caught yours. 😀 It is sad for children now. I wonder if this permanence of past performance keeps them children longer, by inviting bullying behaviors–or just encourages more narcissism and tribalism?

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    1. I think it seems so unfair that a generation brought up to share everything, including their dinner, is going to be penalised for the daft things they say. Prospective bosses and whatnots spying on them.
      I know (we know) that we’ve all done and said things that are questionable. I’ve been on FB to my own daughter because of some things posted on her timeline. I knew it wasn’t her who had posted them – some smart arsed ‘friend’. She obviously should have a lock on her phone and people obviously should watch what they share but, good grief, it’s come to something when you’re judged on a few words on social media. I don’t know about making young ones more prone to certain types of behaviour but it must make those with power feel like god almighty. It bugs me. What if David Cameron’s pals had had smart phones when he, allegedly, befriended a pig? He runs the feckin’ country! (badly, right enough).

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      1. It is unfair. And these children and young adults have no idea what’s coming at them to bite them all in their *sses. Survey after survey reports their lack of concern over their lack of privacy. The only reason Russians were able to survive as humans despite despotic government was their fierce pride as a people, enabled by the ability to speak out in private, and maintain an underground economy. Digital money eliminates underground economies. Microscopic cameras and drones and mikes everywhere eliminate the possibility of bartering, or private conversations about ANYthing. Resistance IS futile under such conditions.

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      2. It’s actually really scary when you think of it in its wider implications. I think it’s great that they show little fear as that itself is oppressive and the internet is such a great way to realise that we’re all so alike in our frailties. That there are those who seek to use and control it to suppress or oppress is what makes me mad. All sorts of spying and the power that can be wielded by that knowledge just seems plain wrong to me. Maybe we should all start to post selfie bums and be damned. They can’t hang us all. Can they? God help us all if it gets as bad as Russia. :/

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