4 ms·

The lesson: don't be an idiot.

• bryanlarsen 11y ago
  No, the lesson is to never say anything on the Internet. Justine Sacco wrote a remark criticizing racism, and got fired for appearing to be a racist. As Cardinal Richelieu said: "If one would give me six lines written by the hand of the most honest man, I would find something in them to have him hanged."
  • kohanz 11y ago
    The majority of the cases cited in the article are not possibly intelligent thoughts being misinterpreted, they're mostly just bad attempts to be funny that end up being offensive and dumb. I don't think Justine Sacco would appreciate being grouped with these people.
• josefresco 11y ago
  The lesson is more "watch who are you are being an idiot around" or "don't be an idiot in public". The content of the messages were not wrong so much as they were taken out of context. What one hears during a comedy show, or during a conversation among friends does not translate well to a public venue/audience.
  • kohanz 11y ago
    Agreed, but we're splitting hairs, IMHO. Being an idiot in public == being an idiot. If it's not in public, the situation changes completely. If you're making an off-color joke to a tight-knit group of friends, you're not being an idiot (unless you're being recorded and are a high-profile public figure cough Rob Ford cough).