So stop the presses, before you make that post on your social networks you need to watch what you say. You never know who is looking and it may cost you big time. People do not understand that words can be very powerful. The worst part with something that is said is that you can not take it back. Once those words have been said then it is live in someone’s memory.
Look what happened to Michael Nolan, who was a hotel manager in Austrailia with the Meriton Apartments. Nolan called Clementine Ford (more on her a little later) a “slut” on his personal Facebook account. She then responded by letting his employer know and they in return the employer fired Nolan.
Clementine Ford is a feminist writer who lives in Australia and tends to be very blunt in her writing. Nolan, who must have been a reader of some of her writings did not like what she had to say. On November 25th he made the comment on Facebook due to Ford calling out another man for making out some nasty degrading comments. So he called her a slut for the words that she chooses to use.
Nolan, who had his employer listed on his Facebook profile, made it very easy for Ford to let the employers know what was being said. Ford wrote in response to his actions “I wonder if the folks over at Meriton Apartments are aware that a man listing himself as a supervisor for their business likes to leave comments on women’s Facebook pages calling them sluts. I wonder if they are also aware that he is a racist.”
Within the next day the employer responded to her words. “Meriton Group have now investigated the matter relating to the complaint made about Michael Nolan using inappropriate language on Facebook… Meriton Group does not condone this type of behavior. Michael Nolan was removed from the Meriton site on Saturday 28th November pending an investigation, and as of 2:30pm today 30th November 2015, he no longer works for the Meriton Group.”
Ford did respond to the Meriton Group and did say that she was pleased and that “It’s very reassuring to see a business adopt this policy towards their staff and I appreciate their handling of the matter,”. Ford has even gone as far and posted this on her Twitter account as well by stating that “I will not stop until I have ruined every man’s life by holding his own words against him.”
The goal for Ford is to spread the word in a way that gets back at those who do believe that they are above the moral code of conduct. She hopes that spreading the word will help others from being abused online. “These men don’t get to just go around leaving these kinds of comments and attempting to degrade women just for the hell of it,” and that “Why should they get away with it? Why should there be no consequences at all for them? Why should I put up with that? “There are basically no consequences for men who behave like this, so we have to start making consequences for them.”
Ford did take some heat for putting this information out there for public knowledge to be aware and she stated this in response “To anyone who suggests I have caused a man to lose his job, I’d like to say this: He is responsible for his actions. He is responsible for the things he writes and the attitudes he holds. “It is not my responsibility to hold his hand and coddle him when he behaves in an abusive manner just because it might have consequences for him.” She also stated that “Women are often told to stay silent about harassment because it’s not fair to ‘ruin a man’s career’. Why is their behavior our responsibility? Enough,” she states.
So really in the end some may want to use guns and their fists, but really in the end sometimes the pen is way more powerful than the sword. More than most want to admit. That in the end of all o 9f this there is that other saying think before you speak because once it is said you can never take it back.
