Supplied - Michael VadonSurprise, surprise, another politician is in the news for saying something stupid on social media.
Wildrose MLA Derek Fildebrandt commented on a Facebook post that simultaneously praised him for his work and threw shade at Ontario’s Premier Kathleen Wynne.
The post provided a derogatory remark about Wynne, who is a lesbian and married to her partner Jane Rounthwaite. Fildebrandt’s “Proud to have constituents like you!” comment appeared to support the original post’s attitude regarding “Mr Wynne or whatever the hell she identifies as.” Although Fildebrandt claims to have misread the post, he was suspended effective immediately.
After hearing about Fildebrandt’s blunder, my thoughts immediately drifted to Adele. The singer admitted to being banned from her Twitter privileges due to drunk tweeting. Now, any post she writes must go through two people and be approved by a third before being sent out for the public’s viewing. Although it’s a celebrity status precautionary measure, I wondered why the same precautions aren’t being taken by politicians?
Wouldn’t a team of professionals screening tweets and other comments on social media save these politicians from embarrassment and a forced apology that’s too little, too late?
But the problem isn’t that politicians are lacking a three-person security system that will prevent them from logging into their Twitter accounts and utterly embarrassing themselves. Instead, the problem is they have these thoughts and the desire to broadcast them for the world to see.
Politicians are people too. They have opinions and they make mistakes. But unfortunately for them, the line between personal lives and work lives is blurred, causing any little fuck-up to directly torpedo their professional lives and leave them grasping at the remnants of their careers.
Their impulsive reactions and desire to run their mouths make them who they are. Humans are flawed. But society tells us that politicians shouldn’t be. Perhaps we expect too much: they need to be role models and not sinners, they must be perfect and can’t make mistakes, they should fight for what’s right and not let important issues fall by the wayside and they must never do wrong.
It’s a false reality.
Let them make mistakes. Let them damage their reputations. And let citizens watch it happen.
Fildebrandt isn’t the only politician to fuck up on social media. NDP candidate Alex Johnstone made a comment on Facebook about the phallic-shaped electric fence at Auschwitz then tried to apologize by pleading ignorance. NDP candidate Tom Moffatt tweeted about the karma associated with the Fort McMurray fire which showcased his sympathetic side, don’t you think? And, of course, the cringeworthy arrogant, sexist and racist tweets littered throughout presidential candidate Donald Trump’s Twitter page. There’s actually too many to include.
As much as politicians probably need a social media manager (a glorified adult babysitter), I don’t think they should have one. This way, we can see them for who they are: the good, the bad and the ugly.
So when politicians are angry in the heat of the moment or trying to be funny but are seriously falling flat, it’s inevitable that when they reach for their cell phones or laptop to log onto social media, I’ll reach for my bowl of popcorn. In 140 characters or less, you’ll witness a politician’s regret and quite possibly their demise. Speak, regret, apologize, repeat.
