Liking the Wrong Thing on Facebook Can Get You Fired

[Leadfinger]

Would you expect a Senator or Representative to hang onto staff who give a Facebook like to their political opponents? No.
This was a pure sign of disrespect for the person they were working for and zero support. Sheriff BJ Roberts has to expect full support from his deputies when things hit the fan, and this juvenile bit on Facebook showed they have zero support for the guy. It isn't just about bruised feelings. The Sheriff's Department is law enforcement, responsible for the same risks the Police go through. If you don't have strong support from your deputies or officers, then you are liable to be left out in the cold and killed during any action.
As far as I am concerned, those people would have been better off quitting their jobs, giving their vote to the opposing guy, and then see if he wins and hires them back into the department. Otherwise they basically just stabbed their boss in the back.

No, that's not right. Elected officials come and go. You support the office, not the person. The sheriff shouldn't be taking revenge on officers for availing themselves of their constitutionally protected political free speech.

 

[Excludos]

So let me get this right: If the employers had written "I like Jim Adams" instead of clicking the "I like" button, then they would have been protected by the first amendment as its a written statement? I love logic sense when there is none..

 

[Cecilthedarkknight_234]

Cyanide and Happiness did it first
[img allign= "middle" src="http://chzdailywhat.files.wordpress.com/2011/04/f0061375-945f-4d06-80e9-58909b993111.jpg" width="500" height="700"]

but seriously, if that was his real reason to fire them, his douchery is on par with the lady that fired her donor after surgery.

Companies have to keep up appearances and don't want some one who works at their branch to like porno or objectionable stuff that might offend some-one. It is so easy to get info on person on face book if you know how and people willingly shell out this info like a bunch of dumb a*****.

People have been fired for saying how much they hate their boss over face-book as well the problem isn't the site it's the morons that use it.

So let me get this right: If the employers had written "I like Jim Adams" instead of clicking the "I like" button, then they would have been protected by the first amendment as its a written statement? I love logic sense when there is none..

The 1st amendment has nothing to do with and if you read up on it said GOVERNMENT shall not infringe on a persons freedom of expression or views. These are corporations/companies that run a business to their own standards as the deem fit "wal-mart has the right not to sell explicit lyric Cd's". Is it fair, No but that's how bossiness conduct themselves.

 

[him over there]

And that is why you never make a facebook using your real name.

And that is why you don't use facebook at all.

Seriously, there has never been anything as useless as Facebook.

Oh gee obviously something that allows immediate contact with all your friends and the ability to share videos, pictures and website between each other near immediately on a user friendly network is worthless. Thanks for the heads up, back to using circuitous work around methods of arranging events, staying in touch and sharing interesting happenings with my people of interest.

If you mean stupid shit like liking a sports team and how arbitrary stuff like that is I agree though.

Thanks for reminding me why I deleted my Facebook over a year ago.

Wait you can do that? please tell me how.

 

[Helmholtz Watson]

These kinds of stories are quite terrifying.

 

[Yopaz]

And that is why you never make a facebook using your real name.

And that is why you don't use facebook at all.

Seriously, there has never been anything as useless as Facebook.

It's not like tons of people use it to talk and stay in contact with people whom otherwise they may of never spoken to again. Nope, definitely the most useless thing ever conceived.

But if Facebook is the only means for you to have contact with the person, what's the point? She/he is nothing more than a random acquintance that you don't give a flying fuck about. If the person would mean something to you, surely you would find another way than Facebook, or at least meet at some point.

Facebook is kinda stupid. I don't care that someone likes this or that. I don't care that someone heard a bad joke and wants to share it with the world.

However I use Facebook in order to keep in touch with some of my friends from high school and we use it to arrange to meet up when we're all in town. I use it to communicate with people, send messages with attachments with people I work with on projects. I get party invitations with updates when there are changes. I have even used it to communicate with my university.

It got its uses even though it's stupid and the programming is sloppy.

 

[aba1]

the simple act of "liking" a page isn't enough to count since you don't actually make any written statements when you do so.

If it is not enough to be considered under free speech, should it not be considered not enough to warrant justified reason to fire a person either?

 

[samsonguy920]

Would you expect a Senator or Representative to hang onto staff who give a Facebook like to their political opponents? No.
This was a pure sign of disrespect for the person they were working for and zero support. Sheriff BJ Roberts has to expect full support from his deputies when things hit the fan, and this juvenile bit on Facebook showed they have zero support for the guy. It isn't just about bruised feelings. The Sheriff's Department is law enforcement, responsible for the same risks the Police go through. If you don't have strong support from your deputies or officers, then you are liable to be left out in the cold and killed during any action.
As far as I am concerned, those people would have been better off quitting their jobs, giving their vote to the opposing guy, and then see if he wins and hires them back into the department. Otherwise they basically just stabbed their boss in the back.

The real question is, does this Sheriff DESERVE respect and support?

This is the kind of guy who FIRES PEOPLE for liking things on the internet.

And last I checked, this is the motherfucking United States of America, you can't be punished for voting for the "wrong" guy. Otherwise at least a third or so of us would be in prison on charges of a Hate Crime for not voting for Obama.

The judge is a moron for allowing this, and the sheriff is acting like a baby. Maybe the deputies liked the other guy because, I dunno, you were doing a shitty job? Maybe instead of throwing a fit of rage about it like a child and firing everyone who made you mad, you should step back and think "Am I as good as I think I am?"

MAYBE, just MAYBE, he should have asked his deputies why they liked the other guy instead of him, and then rectified the situation.

Criminy, this isn't that hard.

Consider that this is a lot of people who were just given one more reason not to like their former boss, and I am thinking the odds are in favor of this Sheriff being voted out if he runs for the next term down the road.
People in that county hearing about this should be asking the deputies and other staff who got let go why they did throw their likes at the running opponent.

 

[Antari]

I have always maintained the dangers of social networking since its inception. Everyone screaming I am wearing a tin foil hat and being crazy. Ya well I'm not as crazy as your average lawyer or judge. So I rest my case.

 

[Krantos]

Whether "like" is protected by the 1st amendment, this is still a case of people getting fired because of their opinion.

That does not seem constitutional at all.

 

[The_Echo]

Perhaps it isn't free speech, but surely it qualifies under freedom of expression. Right?

 

[Excludos]

Cyanide and Happiness did it first
[img allign= "middle" src="http://chzdailywhat.files.wordpress.com/2011/04/f0061375-945f-4d06-80e9-58909b993111.jpg" width="500" height="700"]

but seriously, if that was his real reason to fire them, his douchery is on par with the lady that fired her donor after surgery.

Companies have to keep up appearances and don't want some one who works at their branch to like porno or objectionable stuff that might offend some-one. It is so easy to get info on person on face book if you know how and people willingly shell out this info like a bunch of dumb a*****.

People have been fired for saying how much they hate their boss over face-book as well the problem isn't the site it's the morons that use it.

So let me get this right: If the employers had written "I like Jim Adams" instead of clicking the "I like" button, then they would have been protected by the first amendment as its a written statement? I love logic sense when there is none..

The 1st amendment has nothing to do with and if you read up on it said GOVERNMENT shall not infringe on a persons freedom of expression or views. These are corporations/companies that run a business to their own standards as the deem fit "wal-mart has the right not to sell explicit lyric Cd's". Is it fair, No but that's how bossiness conduct themselves.

iee..did you read the article at all? "nothing to do with it" when the whole thing was about whetever or not the like button was protected by the 1st amendment..

 

[ElPatron]

I think this is fair because honestly, you had it coming.

You separate work from leisure. Imagine you work for EA or something. You're here on the Escapist saying that you're against DLC or Online Passes. From your profile info people can find that you work for EA.

Do you really think you'd maintain your job at EA if people found that an EA employee has been saying things against their business practices? (I defend freedom of speech, but try to make use of it if you're a whistleblower announcing the company you work for is using slave labor in Asia. I would like the "Like" button to be part of our civil rights, but we have to be reasonable when it comes to business)

Same thing with Facebook. Yeah, it's a pain to have multiple accounts. But it's better than being unemployed.

The shitty thing is that stuff like this ruins things for the rest of the U.S.; it makes the entire country look like a big joke to outsiders.

Honestly, I think that the US is pretty cool compared to the absolute joke that is Europe.

 

[Cecilthedarkknight_234]

iee..did you read the article at all? "nothing to do with it" when the whole thing was about whetever or not the like button was protected by the 1st amendment..

yes i did and that's why the judge ruled it wasn't protected under free speech. Do i have to copy paste what the first amendment means... actually here

Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the government for a redress of grievances.

In plain english government shall not regulate freedom of speech however business can if it affects their bottom line. Now since the guy that fired worked for the state you get into murky water since politics where dragged in however it still stands that he is the boss and he fired them becasue of that and it's not protected under the 1st amendment, this why you keep politics out the work era but that's my personal opinion.

 

[ElPatron]

The problem is, two people running for the same office shouldn't be considered enemies.

Look at government services. Do you really think the entire Ministry of the Interior performs a complete employee turnover every four years? Of course not, that would be absurd. So why is it okay when it's local scale?

Cultural shock. I live in a country where corruption is rampant (Portugal) and political views matter a lot of you want to "climb the ladders" - politicians elect "political friends" and people from their party.

Do I agree with it? No.
Is someone who isn't careful with what he/she says asking to be fired? Yes.

 

[Nurb]

It's messed up, but making your damn private life public is pretty stupid too.

people take pictures and upload them and they have information telling everyone exactly where you were at that time, and they don't give a shit. So it's a two-way street: they can't screw with you over personal matters, but you have to stop making sure everyone knows what's going on in your personal life

Facebook, google, and youtube sure as hell know what you're doing.

 

[Lugbzurg]

And that is why you never make a facebook using your real name.

And that is why you don't use facebook at all.

Seriously, there has never been anything as useless as Facebook.

More useless than bells designed specifically for a baby in the womb to kick? I'm not even joking.

Anyway, this definitely seems to be one of those systems that has gotten so complicated, that, it's getting used for completely unintended things, for the worse. It's happened, before. I use Facebook... barely... I come here, on Smack Jeeves and DeviantART a lot more often than I ever do with Facebook.