One Stupid Tweet Blew Up Justine Shacco's Life Summary

The Internet is Forever
After reading Jon Ronson’s article “How One Stupid Tweet Blew Up Justine Shacco’s Life,” published February 12, 2015, there are some critiques that can be made. First of all, a summary. The day started out as a normal day for Justine Shacco, a senior director of corporate communications. She was at the airport. She began tweeting about some people around her in the airport, saying things like “Weird German Dude: You’re in First Class. It’s 2014. Get some deodorant” and “Going to Africa. Hope I don’t get AIDS. Just kidding. I’m white!” (Ronson 1). She then turned off her phone for her 11-hour flight. When she landed, her phone was blowing up. Someone had found her tweet and it went viral. People were calling her out

saying “I don’t know how she ever got a PR job” (Ronson 1). Everyone was ridiculing Justine for just a few tweets that were meant as jokes. Jon goes on to talk about how in the early days of twitter he was one of the people shaming. As soon as he began to realize the effect it had on people; he “began to marvel at the disconnect between the severity of the crime and the gleeful savagery of the punishment” (Ronson 1). Ronson began to wonder about the actual people that were behind these screens receiving this ridicule. Noting “sometimes, things need to reach a brutal nadir before people see sense” (Ronson 3). He scheduled interviews with Justine where she explained she just didn’t see how someone could take it as anything other than a joke. Eventually Justine got her life back on track, and realized fame wasn’t all it’s cracked up to be.
Looking at the initial tweets that Justine made, it is hard for me to believe someone would post such things on the internet. While I do understand it is just a joke and meant harmlessly, I also know that people can take posts like that very literally because of how hard it is to convey tone over short pieces of text like those tweets. Personally, I will always think before posting anything on the internet especially since I don’t post often anyway. There are many instances in which people can be fired or not even hired because of posts they make due to thoughtlessness or a misinterpreted statement. Places of employment really do check those social media sites and see what kind of person you are before they hire you. It can either make or break the opportunity for you. Most people don’t realize how permanent all the posts they make are.
Going along with what Ronson says about the incident “the furor over Sacco’s tweet had become not just an ideological crusade… but also a form of idle entertainment” (Ronson 1), goes to show that people find situations like this comical and just pile on because of the ability to remain anonymous among the crowd.

Ronson’s point about how there is a real person on the other side of this really gets to me. Because it really is easy to forget there is another person on the other side of it and that is what makes the internet a scary place. He even reflects on when he was one of the ridiculers, saying it felt “righteous, powerful, and effective.” Ronson soon switched sides realizing the error of his ways. He began seeking out people who were the victims of these attacks, he would interview them and get their side of the story. Most people were destroyed after being publicly shamed, some losing their jobs because of

it.
Ronson did research into public humiliation, finding records of it being used as a punishment used for crimes.

In his research he found record of a physician noting that “ignominy is universally acknowledged to be a worse punishment than death” (Ronson 3). And going along with that, I can absolutely see how that is true. You’ll always be remembered as the person who did something embarrassing or said something wrong. However, looking at the other side, it is also true that “everyone’s attention span is so short. They’ll be mad about something new [tomorrow]” (Ronson 4). It does seem like the internet finds something new every day to be mad about and finds someone new to ridicule.
In later interviews with Justine, Ronson asks about how her life has been since it all happened. She responds that her life got turned upside down, and that it was hard to find work after it all. In the end, she got a job doing what she loves, in communications. Though not an easy journey because of the crowds of people who don’t forget. Justine realized that any spotlight on her was negative and that she was going to go on living her life with that in mind. Also, just the idea of the mob mentality where you can say anything, and then just blend into the crowd and everyone just piles on is a scary

thought.
There is a real person on the other side of who you’re talking to online. It’s not a bad idea to also keep in mind that anything you post online can be seen by anyone and will inevitably be there forever. This could affect job opportunities, relationships, or even just day to day activity. Ronson makes some good points about how people must be considerate and less hateful of people online. For the most part I agree with him, he is very insightful and his writing style is easy to read. Overall, I liked the article and it was very relatable since social media is such a prominent part of our society and the fact that this situation could happen to anyone is so real. I can’t imagine being on the recieving end of all of that fury and ridicule.