Posted: Sun May 12, 2019 1:01 pm Post subject: Author Loses Book Deal Over Silly Tweet
Quote:
When D.C. author Natasha Tynes tweeted about a Metro employee’s apparent rule violation on Friday, she didn’t realize her book deal would be in jeopardy as a result.
Tynes tagged WMATA in a tweet regarding an employee in uniform breaking a rule by eating on the train. The controversy on Twitter, however, began quickly, with several people commenting on the race and gender of the employee.
She later apologized and deleted the tweet. She has since set her account to private. Anonymous social media watchdog account UnsuckDCMetro then tweeted the photo multiple times, sparking more backlash.
Deleted, but this is the internet pic.twitter.com/Aps3TbkrEu
Barry Hobson, the chief of staff for the Metro workers union said the employee was taking a meal break while in transit from one assignment to another, The Washington Post reported.
On May 8, Metro issued a “cease and desist” order preventing officers from issuing criminal citations in D.C. for fare evasion; eating; drinking; spitting, and playing musical instruments without headphones.
After hearing about the tweet, Tynes’ publishing house, Rare Birds Books, has decided not to publish her latest novel.
Tynes’ publisher, California Coldblood, has also cut ties, saying it will postpone the book’s publication date and discuss appropriate next steps to officially cancel it.
Hall Monitors Run Amok _________________ I'm On point, On task, On message, and Off drugs. A Streetwise Smart Bomb, Out of rehab and In denial. Over the Top, On the edge, Under the Radar, and In Control. Behind the 8 ball, Ahead of the Curve and I've got a Love Child who sends me Hate mail.
Context matters. In the last two years there have been hundreds or more instances of white people policing black people's behavior in public. Everything from drinking coffee at Starbucks, barbecuing, walking down the street, hanging out in dorm common area, walking down the street, sitting in parked car etc.
White people have gone viral shaming, screaming, belittling, antagonizing, bullying and calling the cops on black people for doing nothing more than every day activities.
The author who tweeted this out may or may not have had racial intentions when she tweeted out the photo and tagged the employee's boss.
But, she should have known how it could be either misinterpreted or interpreted correctly -- she was trying to shame and police a black person eating in public and intentionally tagged the bosses account in order to get her in trouble.
I don't know if the punishment should be a publisher pulling her book deal. But she brought it on herself by not minding her own business.
(The author is Jordanian American. Still trying to police a black person's behavior, though.)
Context matters. In the last two Centuries there have been millions of instances of white people policing black people's behavior in public. Everything from drinking coffee at Starbucks, barbecuing, walking down the street, hanging out in dorm common area, walking down the street, sitting in parked car etc.
White people have gone viral shaming, screaming, belittling, antagonizing, bullying and calling the cops on black people for doing nothing more than every day activities.
The author who tweeted this out may or may not have had racial intentions when she tweeted out the photo and tagged the employee's boss.
But, she should have known how it could be either misinterpreted or interpreted correctly -- she was trying to shame and police a black person eating in public and intentionally tagged the bosses account in order to get her in trouble.
I don't know if the punishment should be a publisher pulling her book deal. But she brought it on herself by not minding her own business.
(The author is Jordanian American. Still trying to police a black person's behavior, though.)
(Corrected for Optimum Accuracy) _________________ I'm On point, On task, On message, and Off drugs. A Streetwise Smart Bomb, Out of rehab and In denial. Over the Top, On the edge, Under the Radar, and In Control. Behind the 8 ball, Ahead of the Curve and I've got a Love Child who sends me Hate mail.
Menchies _________________ I'm On point, On task, On message, and Off drugs. A Streetwise Smart Bomb, Out of rehab and In denial. Over the Top, On the edge, Under the Radar, and In Control. Behind the 8 ball, Ahead of the Curve and I've got a Love Child who sends me Hate mail.
Yeah, I don't get why there's this backlash against this author. Was it simply because the woman eating was black?
Quote:
"When you’re on your morning commute & see @wmata employee in UNIFORM eating on the train," Tynes wrote in the tweet, which she has since deleted. “I thought we were not allowed to eat on the train. This is unacceptable. Hope @wmata responds. When I asked the employee about this, her response was, ‘worry about yourself.'"
Quote:
Hobson’s statement also referenced a Wednesday email from the Metro Transit police chief telling officers to stop writing tickets for fare evasion, eating, drinking, spitting and playing music without headphones until further notice.
Seems like they give out tickets for eating and drinking on the metro there. People get ticketed for this.
She was pointing out the hypocrisy in that when she saw this employee eating on the train and when confronted, telling her "worry about yourself"
I'm surprised that people are justifying what happened to her based solely on the color of her skin.
Here's what should have happened:
- Natasha takes a picture and posts it to Twitter
- People should either ignore it or rag on her for being so petty
END OF STORY.
We can't get into a game where, depending on the color of one's skin, the same behavior is ok or decidedly not ok. And if we're going to make the argument that she should mind her own business, well, that is fine, but, could be applied to the entirety of call out culture as well.
Joined: 02 May 2005 Posts: 90299 Location: Formerly Known As 24
Posted: Mon May 13, 2019 10:17 am Post subject:
vanexelent wrote:
Huey Lewis & The News wrote:
vanexelent wrote:
This may have derailed her literary career.
can't we please have just one of these threads that doesn't get sidetracked
I think it's the appropriate platform.
I like where this train of thought is going. _________________ “We must always take sides. Neutrality helps the oppressor, never the victim. Silence encourages the tormentor, never the tormented.” ― Elie Wiesel
I dont get it. Yes it was very petty but I dont see anything racist/sexist implied in that tweet. And as a black person myself I hate to be patronized into some protected class. _________________ (bleep) Kawhi
Joined: 12 Feb 2002 Posts: 3829 Location: South Orange County
Posted: Mon May 13, 2019 10:28 am Post subject:
audioaxes wrote:
I dont get it. Yes it was very petty but I dont see anything racist/sexist implied in that tweet. And as a black person myself I hate to be patronized into some protected class.
Welcome to the era of hypersensitivity. Where anything can be perceived as a slight and everyone is wary of everyone else's motivations.
Yeah, I don't get why there's this backlash against this author. Was it simply because the woman eating was black?
Quote:
"When you’re on your morning commute & see @wmata employee in UNIFORM eating on the train," Tynes wrote in the tweet, which she has since deleted. “I thought we were not allowed to eat on the train. This is unacceptable. Hope @wmata responds. When I asked the employee about this, her response was, ‘worry about yourself.'"
Quote:
Hobson’s statement also referenced a Wednesday email from the Metro Transit police chief telling officers to stop writing tickets for fare evasion, eating, drinking, spitting and playing music without headphones until further notice.
Seems like they give out tickets for eating and drinking on the metro there. People get ticketed for this.
She was pointing out the hypocrisy in that when she saw this employee eating on the train and when confronted, telling her "worry about yourself"
Nobody Likes a Punk Biatch _________________ I'm On point, On task, On message, and Off drugs. A Streetwise Smart Bomb, Out of rehab and In denial. Over the Top, On the edge, Under the Radar, and In Control. Behind the 8 ball, Ahead of the Curve and I've got a Love Child who sends me Hate mail.
Yeah, I don't get why there's this backlash against this author. Was it simply because the woman eating was black?
Quote:
"When you’re on your morning commute & see @wmata employee in UNIFORM eating on the train," Tynes wrote in the tweet, which she has since deleted. “I thought we were not allowed to eat on the train. This is unacceptable. Hope @wmata responds. When I asked the employee about this, her response was, ‘worry about yourself.'"
Quote:
Hobson’s statement also referenced a Wednesday email from the Metro Transit police chief telling officers to stop writing tickets for fare evasion, eating, drinking, spitting and playing music without headphones until further notice.
Seems like they give out tickets for eating and drinking on the metro there. People get ticketed for this.
She was pointing out the hypocrisy in that when she saw this employee eating on the train and when confronted, telling her "worry about yourself"
What's the difference between what this author did and what the kid in this video did?
Seems like both are viral shaming.
TREMENDOUS difference.
1) The author took a picture of an unsuspecting person and then attempted to use the picture against them by sending a tweet tagged to her employer with a notation indicating a hope that her employer would somehow intervene.
2) Low level employees, especially those of color, are often separated from employment for a myriad of comparatively minor offense which their colleagues aren't at equal threat of being separated from employment for.
3) Police can routinely kill people and generally receive no more than a paid vacation for their actions. The chance of a Police Officer being separated from his employment for a violation like parking on a sidewalk is ZERO.
So the kid acting like a little punk carries with it no threat, whereas the author acting like a biatch carries with it a credible potential threat that's been exposed well enough that any sentient citizen is aware of the potential consequences of said actions. Until this nation arrives at a point where such disparate outcomes are still normal, then sentient citizens need to be aware of the gravity of their actions. The fact that Police are 70% more likely to harm an unarmed innocent Black man compared to an unarmed innocent white man, is why greater care must be taken when calling police to investigate nominal infractions of simple codes (ie, things that aren't even crimes, but rather just simple rules).
Beyond that, folks need to be educated re: the whole "See Something Say Something" meme that's been popularised since 9-11. It was never meant to be a license for the general public to try to become a bunch of little Barney Fifes. Proactively engaging in rules enforcement behaviours is not in the perview of the general public. We hire an abundance of rule enforcement personnel, and put in place rules enforcement protocols, at a level that's deemed sufficient to satisfy the demand of the general public. If the general public demanded a higher level of enforcement than whats is in place, then it would change it's posture accordingly, just as Metro changed it's enforcement policies re: eating, fare evading, etc to better reflect the current demands of the general public. They were giving out far too many silly tickets for rules that the general public did not want to be as vigorously enforced. Enforcement authorities have access to all of the pertinent information, whereas the general public only has access to a small snippet, and is but one reason why the general public shouldn't be attempting to weasel it's way into active enforcement activities. _________________ I'm On point, On task, On message, and Off drugs. A Streetwise Smart Bomb, Out of rehab and In denial. Over the Top, On the edge, Under the Radar, and In Control. Behind the 8 ball, Ahead of the Curve and I've got a Love Child who sends me Hate mail.
Joined: 16 Jun 2005 Posts: 40345 Location: Dirty South
Posted: Mon May 13, 2019 12:13 pm Post subject:
Surfitall wrote:
audioaxes wrote:
I dont get it. Yes it was very petty but I dont see anything racist/sexist implied in that tweet. And as a black person myself I hate to be patronized into some protected class.
Welcome to the era of hypersensitivity. Where anything can be perceived as a slight and everyone is wary of everyone else's motivations.
maybe I am missing part of the story....but I see nothing the person who tweeted the picture did that was racist or sexist. It appears those attacking the person are the ones that have issues with racism as they appear to only see the Metro Workers Sex and Race.....as if that defines the worker. Nevermind.....it makes prefect sense now.
I dont get it. Yes it was very petty but I dont see anything racist/sexist implied in that tweet. And as a black person myself I hate to be patronized into some protected class.
Welcome to the era of hypersensitivity. Where anything can be perceived as a slight and everyone is wary of everyone else's motivations.
maybe I am missing part of the story....but I see nothing the person who tweeted the picture did that was racist or sexist. It appears those attacking the person are the ones that have issues with racism as they appear to only see the Metro Workers Sex and Race.....as if that defines the worker. Nevermind.....it makes prefect sense now.
Yup. Kind of like in the Twitter thread, the racism that comes from the left never gets counted as racism.
And it's all coming full circle now with the promulgators of call out culture saying she should have minded her own business. Wow.
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