adult cyber bullying: katie moody, torrey smith and everyone else

Comments (24)

1. 

   Frank Tuesday - 25 / 09 / 2012 Reply

   Well Ray Rice was right....
2. 

   Josh Reynolds Tuesday - 25 / 09 / 2012 Reply

   I imagine Ray Rice meant "dharma" but that's not important right now. Yes, a terrible thing to say, but get a grip people. It's not something to call in death threats about.
3. 

   Kim Tuesday - 25 / 09 / 2012 Reply

   I agree that Ray Rice was right. Katie's comments were awful. But to your point - she made a very stupid comment from her PERSONAL twitter account (that is in no way tied to her professional life). Calling for her to be fired is a bit extreme. If I could get people fired for doing and saying horribly inappropriate things in their daily lives outside of work, there would be a lot of unemployed people. I think she deserved to be called out on her terrible remark but at this point, people need to let it go. Katie was clearly an idiot and I'm pretty sure she's learned her lesson.
4. 

   Steve Tuesday - 25 / 09 / 2012 Reply

   You guys are right, it is her own personal opinion. But how biased are you sounding when you are telling people to stop calling for her job, and saying that she is being ganged up on? When you put something out where millions of people can see it, what do you expect to happen. You will be getting millions of people's response's. Now you are saying that each person can't have their personal opinon about it? A little biased to me.
5. 

   Sherry Tuesday - 25 / 09 / 2012 Reply

   You say that "Social media often makes individuals think they are invisible. You can ‘hide’ behind a screen name.. etc..." Isn't that what Katie was doing. She felt she can say despicable things about someone she didn't know while hiding behind her computer. Everyone is afforded the same freedom of speech, even the people responding to what she said. If someone was bullying Katie for no reason then that is cyber bullying. Twitter is not a private account. People don't post on Twitter for only them to see. They post on twitter to get a reaction or state an opinion. That doesn’t mean the response should be death threats and bodily harm, but if someone feels that she should be fired, then they are allowed that opinion. Everyone that uses Twitter knows that what you post, millions of people can see. If someone in congress were to put something similar out on Twitter it would be all over the news. She put it out there and now she has to deal with what she said.
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     heather Tuesday - 25 / 09 / 2012 Reply

     Sherry - absolutely agree with your statement that Katie was hiding behind social media. I am by no means saying she was in the right. My point here is -- when individuals respond with same sort of behavior, are we really making anything better? Calling for her to be fired is one thing; seeking out her employer and emailing them is another. I also agree with your statement that everyone should be responsible and held accountable for their behavior.
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       Sherry Tuesday - 25 / 09 / 2012 Reply

       Heather – I see your point and agree to some extent. Some responders probably took it too far. But this is what happens when you write something that lacks basic common sense and human sympathy. She works at a Hospital and this tweet shows her lack of empathy towards others that are suffering. In a way it does reflect her ability to show empathy and you need that empathy at a hospital. People need to learn that they cannot just say anything they want in the social media realm. She may feel horrible and who knows if she feels bad because she wrote that or because she got such a backlash, but with choices come consequences. If I did something like that my work would be all over me. Employers are now taking social media very seriously. That is why some don't hire people because of what they see on twitter, facebook, etc.
6. 

   Ben Hebert Tuesday - 25 / 09 / 2012 Reply

   I wrote the original article that started this firestorm and in hindsight feel bad about it now. There was no intention to bring cyberbullying to anyone, but to make everyone know that their information online is 100% public and that they should be aware of what they are sharing on social media.
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     heather Tuesday - 25 / 09 / 2012 Reply

     Hi Ben -- I read your original article and think you are right on the money here: "If you say something, it’s permanent. It doesn’t matter if it’s a tweet, facebook status or you’re giving a speech about how 47% of Americans are entitled and pay no taxes. It only takes a second to take a screenshot or record a video. I’m not trying to limit anyone’s freedom of speech, but there are some things that you just don’t joke about." I think, all too often, people are emotional and start typing off comments without pausing to think a minute about the effects. It is permanent. It is out there, and there is no taking it back. It would be great if people would stop and think about what they would say if they were in the same room as the person they were tweeting or facebook messaging... adults, kids and teens alike. My point with this article is that as wrong as Katie was, it doesn't make how individuals went after her "right."
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       Charles Tuesday - 25 / 09 / 2012 Reply

       To play devil's advocate (and as others have commented here), a potential health-care employer searching the Internet on Moody's online history seeing her words and this shxtstorm would [should] think twice about hiring her. There is good reason for John's Hopkins to look at this behavior by their employee as highly detrimental to their public image, the public's perceived quality of their administrative FTEs and at how Moody's colleagues treat her moving forward. We are both in agreement that e-mail bombing Moody's supervisors is poor behavior and not helpful to the situation.
7. 

   Pablo Tuesday - 25 / 09 / 2012 Reply

   It's Johns Hopkins...not John's Hopkins...
   • 

     heather Tuesday - 25 / 09 / 2012 Reply

     Thanks, Pablo. You're right. I've corrected that.
8. 

   Terry Tuesday - 25 / 09 / 2012 Reply

   I disagree that what she tweeted from her personal account has no bearing on her professional life. Having spent 30 years in the professional world, and with an MBA plus experience in management, what that 'personal' tweet reflects is character and judgment. I would have reservations about an employee's capacity to exercise different judgment in the office than that shown in his/her non-work life. There is a reason that potential employers will look at a candidate's social media page. It does matter.
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     Sherry Tuesday - 25 / 09 / 2012 Reply

     Terry - I agree
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     Enn. Tuesday - 25 / 09 / 2012 Reply

     What she did was abhorrent, frankly. And she should 100% be called on the carpet with the anger of 1000 suns that has been her lot for the past two days. I do draw the line at the posting of personal information - her phone number, address, etc. And the threats of physical violence. Call her an insensitive b*tch, a stupid tw@t, soulless, etc. But lets not resort to veiled and outright threats to come to her house and throw a Molotov cocktail through her window. I'm ambivalent about trying to get her fired. On the one hand, it has little to do with her professional qualifications. But on the other.... She tweeted this. This wasn't an email that got leaked, or a personal conversation that got outed. This was the electronic equivalent of standing in the middle of town and shouting something for everyone to hear. It's her personal account - but it is a very public forum. And while I don't think they can fire me for the affiliation, I don't think many employers would look to kindly if their employees made public and inflammatory comments that could be tied back to them. And the last thing is - I work for a branch of Hopkins, too. And there is a certain standard that is expected. I don't want to make too much of it, but there is a certain amount of empathy that is to be expected by any employee of JHMI and JHSOM, because at our core, we are an institution that serves people's health. In that light, her insensitivity is very troubling; it shows an incredible lack of empathy to people who are grieving, sick, or suffered trauma. I don't know where she works exactly (well, given the fact that her foursquare posts were still accessible for some time, I could make an educated guess) - but the fact is she very possibly DOES come into contact with people who ARE grieving, sick, or have suffered trauma. And do her employers trust that she is capable of empathizing with these people, even when she had a bad day - or her team lost? Should they trust it? I dunno. We think that there are two spheres in this country - public and private. But there aren't - there are three. Public, private, and a civil sphere in between in which we are private citizens, but we must operate and interact with other citizens in a civil manner. That is what is getting trampled on, here. That - besides the death of Torrey Smith's brother - is the tragedy here.
9. 

   John-John Tuesday - 25 / 09 / 2012 Reply

   Hi Heather, Would love to interview you about this for a story I'm writing about this in The Baltimore Sun? You game?
10. 

    Enn. Tuesday - 25 / 09 / 2012 Reply

    Also, I believe she made a grave error in judgement in the aftermath. After this happened, she attempted to delete the post and locked her twitter account. But things remain. As noted by herself and posters here, it goes viral before you can do anything. She notes - in an archive that survives on yfrog - that she attempted to delete the post before it could be retweeted. You can also read her sinking mood as she realizes how gravely she messed up, and can read her apologies. You can also see where someone advises her to delete everything. And she concurs that maybe that's the best course of action. DON'T. What then happens is a million prying eyes do start pouring over your public profile, and then they have a chance to see your contrition. She didn't do the best job of it - but she does acknowledge that she made a horrible, tasteless attempt at a joke, she was bitter about losing, did it without thinking, she made a mistake and she was wrong. BUT hardly anybody saw any of that because she locked her account. Instead - they just piled on, and started wondering why she didn't make an apology.
11. 

    nicole Tuesday - 25 / 09 / 2012 Reply

    "But what’s even more abhorrent is what happened next. You see, this isn’t a cyber bullying story about how Katie Moody taunted Torrey Smith with a tweet. It’s about how Katie Moody quickly became the victim...." -So now she's the victim? Please explain. People responded to her, and some did it with the same level of callousness that she did. Seems fair. Also, I think, as others have pointed out, it is too easy to simply separate her from the remarks she made on Twitter and her profession. If I am a teacher, and I make a comment on my Facebook saying I hate kids and sometimes want to hit them in the face I doubt that my employer would shrug this comment off as unrelated and irrelevant (doubt that parents would, too). Simply put, this woman screwed up by making an asinine comment. While I will not hunt her employer down to complain about this, if she loses her job I will not feel any sympathy for her. In these tough times, she should feel blessed to even have a job. Freedom is speech is most definitely free, but it doesn't mean you bypass the consequences of freely speaking your mind.
12. 

    Shannon Wednesday - 26 / 09 / 2012 Reply

    As far as the comments on her job go, I disagree. She's a hopeful doctor and when you're in that sort of profession, especially a health profession, you're not just representing yourself but the facility you work for. I am a nurse and my coworkers and I are forever being warned about what we can and cannot put on Facebook and how to behave in public. The community sees certain professions--nurses, doctors, cops, etc--in a certain light and when you go into the spotlight and make a fool of yourself, you're casting a negative light on the profession, your facility, and your education. it's not fair, but this is something we are fully aware of when we enter the field. The fact that she made a callous comment about death and mourning (when she's a future doctor, no less) is even worse.
13. 

    Jack Wednesday - 26 / 09 / 2012 Reply

    Should she be fired from her job for a personal tweet? Not in the abstract, but now that equally repugnant people have made death threats and her real name and employer are public knowledge, Johns Hopkins is going to have to ramp up security and alter its office operations--all that is going to cost money. She may keep her job, but she also may find herself never able to get another one, because Google is going to make this story available to employers in perpetuity.
14. 

    Sheila Wednesday - 26 / 09 / 2012 Reply

    I think this whole thing is ridiculous. Who cares what some person says in their tweets, facebook, wherever. She never threatened anyone. She just has a warped sense of humor. She is what some people would have called a 'nobody' - Im not sure how many followers she had at the time of this tweet, but Im positive she was not considered a celebrity in anyones eyes. To have the general public threaten her job because of this tweet......Well, thats just steps over the line. I myself couldnt believe how much the media 'sold' this players brothers death. Cant we just talk about football? And yes, I did tweet something along those lines and was unfollowed by a few people. Had I had the response she got, I would have been proactive instead of reactive.
15. 

    John Friday - 05 / 10 / 2012 Reply

    This is just like the president. A lot of people says things about him and never follow up with them. However, the president knows the whole world is listening. Now so does Katie. She put it out there and now has to deal with it. Whether it is appropriate, does not matter. And also, if my credit score can have an impact on my job, why can't my tweets? I can control my tweets better then my credit. She is among the STUPID that don't realize what they do. If someone would get offended if the president was to say it during one of his speeches, then don't put it on the net. Lesson leared.
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      John Friday - 05 / 10 / 2012 Reply

      Learned, lol! That's ironic.
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      heather Friday - 05 / 10 / 2012 Reply

      John - I think you hit the nail on the head here. My point with this commentary was not whether or not Katie should be fired. That's between her and her employer. It was that everyone needs to monitor their online behavior. ESPECIALLY because we need to set a civil example for our kids. Truthfully, as an employer, I'd be as concerned (if not more) about the person who went digging for her boss' contact information and posted it. Agreed that tweets show character - but I don't know that a public, mob-mentality-you-must-fire-this-person was called for in this case. A simple "Wow. Can't believe you'd say something like that -- it's so hurtful" would have sufficed. Heck, even stronger language provided it's not vicious. Everyone has a right to an opinion, but there are ways of making points know without cyber-attacking. Civility. That's what I was trying to get to here.