Eidos Employee Fired Over "Hate Speech" on Facebook

Andy Chalk

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Nov 12, 2002
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Eidos Employee Fired Over "Hate Speech" on Facebook


An Eidos Montreal tester has been fired for writing on his Facebook page that he hopes someone kills Quebec's newly-elected premier.

On September 4, the Parti Quebecois, led by Pauline Marois, was elected as the new government of the Canadian province of Quebec. The election led to the usual cross-country hand-wringing, as the Parti Quebecois' raison d'être is separation from the rest of Canada, but the real ugliness came in the form of a nut who tried to murder Marois during her acceptance speech; he missed her but killed audio technician Denis Blanchette and injured three others. The shooter reportedly shouted, "The English are waking up" as he was being led away by police.

Unfortunately, the ugliness didn't stop with the shooting. "You just can't find good assassins these days!" Blake Marsh, a now-former tester at Eidos Montreal, wrote on his Facebook page. In a follow-up comment, he added, "I give this ***** a month before someone with better aim comes forth and does what must be done."

The comments were brought to the attention of Eidos Montreal General Manager Stephane D'Astous, who said there were dozens of emails about it waiting for him when he arrived at the office Wednesday morning. He consulted with a lawyer and then immediately fired Marsh, who had been with the company for four years.

"I think he thought that social networking posts were private matters, but in fact, they're not," D'Astous said. "When you cross the line so clearly, like in this situation, and you associate yourself not just with your person but with your employer, that's totally unacceptable."

Marsh has since shut down his Facebook page, but he may yet face charges for uttering a threat against Marois. "We investigate as soon as we get a report... and if charges can be filed, they will be filed," said Sûreté du Québec Lieutenant Guy Lapointe, who noted that this isn't the only case of online threats the SQ is looking into. "People on their Facebook are posting all sorts of things and they're not thinking of the consequences."

Sources: CTV News [http://montreal.ctvnews.ca/video-game-tester-loses-job-over-hate-speech-against-marois-1.945792#ixzz25mUg2lRq], Global News


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Fappy

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Jan 4, 2010
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What an idiot. You'd think people would understand that you can get fired for this shit by now.
 

Desworks

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Chiave said:
"Hate Speech" is analogous to "Free Speech."

Just Saiyan.
Of course, "Free Speech" doesn't apply to being fired for saying something, it just applies to not being arrested for it. Unless, of course, it constitutes a threat, in which case all gloves are off. But that's a matter for the Police to decide, Eidos are now free and clear of this mess.

The one real thing that sucks for this guy is the fact that the story hit the gaming press though. Losing his job presumably taught him the important lesson he needed to learn about not being a complete tool online, but whose going to hire the guy now that his name is synonymous with "hateful bastard"?
 

Soviet Heavy

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Jan 22, 2010
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Someone actually took a shot at her? Wow.

Still, I fucking hate the Separatists. I don't think they realize just how nasty things could get if they actually leave. Their infrastructure is shit, their construction companies are filled with corruption, and they are bleeding the Maritimes dry with hydro bills.

Plus could you imagine just how bad congestion would get on the bridges over the Ottawa River if they had to set up fucking border stations? My home is five minutes drive to Quebec, and putting a border gate at fucking Portage-Du-Fort? It's a pissy little town that's only contribution is a convenient cheap liquor store.
 

FallenTraveler

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Chiave said:
"Hate Speech" is analogous to "Free Speech."

Just Saiyan.
do they have free speech in canada o.o

OT: Well, at least he was fired for a legitimate reason unlike most testers.
 

yuval152

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Fappy said:
What an idiot. You'd think people would understand that you can get fired for this shit by now.
I don't think the diablo guy got fired.

OT:He should've known it was gonna bite him in the ass.
 

Fappy

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yuval152 said:
Fappy said:
What an idiot. You'd think people would understand that you can get fired for this shit by now.
I don't think the diablo guy got fired.

OT:
He should've known it was gonna bite him in the ass.
The Diablo guy was being a jerk, I'll grant you that. However, he didn't say, "I hope someone shoots you and you die."

Big difference IMO.
 

McMullen

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Mar 9, 2010
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While not a direct threat, it does seem to be advocating an assassination. I'm not sure what the laws are in Canada, but if you say the equivalent thing in the US, you should know you just asked the police, FBI, or even Secret Service to come arrest you.
 

Myndnix

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Still awaiting the day that people finally realise that anyone can see what you post on the internet, and especially on Facebook.
 

DTWolfwood

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Oct 20, 2009
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You know I don't find it hard to keep my business separate from my pleasure <.<

I don't add anyone I work with on my FB period. This is among the reasons why its a good idea.
 

cynicalsaint1

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Not sure there's cause to press charges here ... but yeah - I can see why the dude was fired.
 

Covarr

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May 29, 2009
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Seriously, when are people gonna figure out that you shouldn't put something on the internet if you don't want people to see it? Seriously, Facebook is not some sheet of paper locked up in a safe, it's a website with hundreds of millions of users, connected to an internet with billions.

P.S. Thanks
 

RedEyesBlackGamer

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Jan 23, 2011
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Chiave said:
"Hate Speech" is analogous to "Free Speech."

Just Saiyan.
Except that employers don't have to respect their employees' right of free speech. Just sayin'.