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posted by martyb on Friday December 28 2018, @03:29AM   Printer-friendly
from the if-it-ever-quacked-like-a-duck dept.

Submitted via IRC for takyon

The year of deleted tweets

In July, Disney fired Guardians of the Galaxy director James Gunn. Cause for termination: a series of offensive tweets, in most cases about a decade old, that were circulated by a right-wing media personality. Gunn’s tweets, many of which were about molestation or pedophilia, were indefensible. But the method in which they were dug up, as well as the people who circulated them — bad-faith conspiracy theorists who used old jokes made in poor taste to brand Gunn as a pedophile — are part of a larger trend in which problematic or out-of-context tweets are being ripped from the past to ruin their author in the present.

Trial by online fire isn’t new. Milkshake Duck, a term coined by Twitter user @pixelatedboat in 2016, gave a name to a cultural internet phenomenon. It goes like this: someone gains online fame for something innocuous, only for it to come out shortly after that the person holds repugnant or problematic views. After a presidential election debate in 2016, for example, the internet became obsessed with a sweater-clad man named Ken Bone. His reign as a viral darling quickly came to an end after people discovered that his Reddit history included comments about stolen celebrity nudes and the “justified” killing of Trayvon Martin.

In 2018, however, the concept of Milkshake Ducking became far more convoluted. Now it’s not just about present problematic views, but holding people responsible for comments they’ve made previously, in some cases years ago. Call it Gunn’s Law: everyone has a past.

[...] Tweet deletion is no longer a matter of curation, but a necessity. Our lives are lived online more each year. We shouldn’t excuse people who spout racist, misogynist, damaging views online in present day. But as we confront our younger, more problematic past selves preserved online, the line between personal growth and punishment deserves breathing room. Until we can accept that, deleting tweets is all we have.

[This concept goes way back in time. Let the one among you who has no sin, cast the first stone. People who live in glass houses should not throw stones. Is it just that things are more visible, findable and more easily promulgated, now? --Ed.]


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  • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Friday December 28 2018, @03:34PM (1 child)

    by Anonymous Coward on Friday December 28 2018, @03:34PM (#779355)

    People have a right to liberty and that includes their right to earn a living.

    [Citation needed]
    Why precisely does Disney owe James Gunn a right to be paid?

  • (Score: 1, Insightful) by Anonymous Coward on Friday December 28 2018, @04:22PM

    by Anonymous Coward on Friday December 28 2018, @04:22PM (#779371)

    Also the stones he chucked at others bounced and hit him. They used the very tools he was using against others on him.

    Take for example the recent NPC fiasco. Massively censored for saying the same things the 'real NPCs' were saying. Why? They did not like being mocked. That was their toy to mock others with. 2016 was the year the 'right' picked up the narcissistic tools of the 'left' and used them against them. The 'left' does not like it. Why because they do things to the 'right' that they would really hate if others did to them.

    But my guess they got rid of Mr Gunn because he had other issues and they were not personal. My guess he was not doing things management wanted and this was a convenient way to 'shake things up'. Take for example Star Wars 8. That thing landed like a wet turd on a porch. Yet Disney wants to blame everyone but the people who made it. No one wants to talk about the elephant in the room. Star wars just is not that good. The effects and 'look' is cool. The thing prints money. But story wise it is mostly a dumpster fire. People were expecting empire strikes back and got attack of the clones with awkward boring bits and talk about sand and economics. When you see a movie going through 2-3 directors that is a good sign of management meddling. If you are not willing to play that game they find reasons to 'remove you'.