Maybe there is a lesson to learn here from Roseanne Barr's firing. No, this thing has nothing to do with the First Amendment. But maybe, just maybe, her firing--and the cancellation of her show, which led to the firing of dozens of innocent others--could provide a wake-up call for the rest of us:
Actions, and words, have consequences.
If you're going to get on social media in the deepest part of the night, maybe while taking a little something for sleep, and if you're going to tweet your opinion about every news item or political event, and if you simply must have the world know every fleeting thought that pops into your head, then maybe one day you'll say something that'll ruin your year. And maybe the years of others.
Unfortunately this may only apply to conservatives. For there is another comedian, we have heard, named Samantha something, who used an unfortunate vulgar phrase to describe one of the president's daughters. We must admit we've never heard of this particular leftist comedian, but we repeat ourselves, before this controversy. But suffice it to say that (1) what she said cannot be published in a family newspaper and (2) she wasn't fired from her television job on TBS because of it.
Sure, it's a double standard. But one that we're all going to have to live with.
The best lesson might lead to this policy, which an editor of some note taught us years ago: When a vulgar piece of correspondence comes in the mail, write your reaction if you must. But then put the letter in a drawer for a few days. Then reread it, to see if it really should be stamped and sent. More likely, you'll just throw away your response to the jerk and let the matter blissfully disappear into the past.
One day, we may figure out how to do that with social media. Until then, tread carefully.
Editorial on 06/06/2018