The Moral of the Story

Chances are you’ve never heard of Lindsey Stone.  Until a few days ago, I’d never heard of her.  But her immoral story is one with a moral.

Lindsey had her picture taken while making a rude finger gesture and pretending to shout beside an Arlington National Cemetery sign that says “Silence and Respect”.  She then posted the photo on her Facebook page.  I don’t think the result was quite what she expected.

It turns out the response to her post was very negative.  So much so that she responded by posting on Facebook "Whoa whoa whoa... wait. This is just us, being the d*****bags that we are, challenging authority in general. Much like the pic posted the night before, of me smoking right next to a no smoking sign. OBVIOUSLY we meant NO disrespect to people that serve or have served our country."

Ms. Stone might have thought she was challenging authority, but in reality she was acting like an inconsiderate jerk.  Apparently what she failed to understand is that such signs are posted because many people, either lacking common courtesy, common sense, common decency, or all three need a reminder to be considerate of others.  Her so-called rebellion against authority was nothing more than an act of childish and inconsiderate behavior by a 30-year-old adult who should have known better.

Ms. Stone and her supervisor were on business travel when the photo was taken.   Someone posted a Facebook page called “Fire Lindsey Stone” and over 30,000 joined the group.  Her employer, a Cape Cod-based nonprofit organization that assists adults with learning disabilities, was inundated with angry emails and phone calls, ultimately firing Ms. Stone and her supervisor, who snapped the picture.

I’ve seen several web posts about free speech and whether or not Ms. Stone should suffer for a bad joke on her personal Facebook page.  Some posts favored her firing and others did not.

While Congress and the states cannot pass laws that abridge the freedom of speech, this does not extend to employers.  Employees whose speech and behavior embarrass or reflect poorly on employers can be fired.  While Ms. Stone probably thought her behavior harmless, she was, at the time, a living, breathing representative of her employer.  Like it or not, her behavior reflected poorly on her company, and they terminated her.

Did her behavior warrant firing? Fortunately, I didn’t have to make that decision.  But the moral of the story is that our behavior, especially stupid, rude, and inconsiderate behavior can and often has unintended consequences.  Before engaging in such behavior, think about the possible consequences. And, don’t advertise your moral failings by posting the photos on social media sites for the world to see.