The question comes in light of the recent young republicans leaks. Firstly, I’m not a republican and I think the shit they were saying was out of line, regardless of context. That said, the situation, among countless other times similar things have happened made me think. Is it reasonable to hold individuals accountable for statements made that they thought were in private. I think the public figure aspect is obviously the main catch here. In instances where the individual is a public figure, they kind of made their bed in my opinion. That said though, the more normal and sensational these events become the more realistic it is to widen in scope. Would it be reasonable for a future employer or date to pull up your group chats/private messages/anonymous posts?
Agreed. I’ve often referred to it when talking to my friend group as “emptying the bucket”. Everyone has things they think or feel that are “NOT OK©”. And for the most part we realize that these things aren’t to be mentioned in polite society as it would do fuck all to help any situation. So we add those drops of venom to the bucket. And we fill, and fill, and fill, and fill until we either find an outlet to empty it or it spills over and becomes an unhinged rant on some form of social media or a public freak out.
Private conversation with friends is supposed to be where you can empty the bucket without it harming others or, usually, getting you in trouble. It’s supposed to be between you and the other person. Not something the other person is stockpiling for the day they need to cancel you.
And I want people to have places or people they can empty the bucket with. I want people to be able to get all the venom out and then go be a person who functions in the social systems we have in place.