According to MassLive.com, in Camp Pendleton, California a Marine Corps sergeant recently critisized Barack Obama on Facebook by posting anti-Obama comments and images, including allegedly putting the president's face on a "Jackass" movie poster. Since this incident, Marine Corps officials are seeking additional guidance from the Pentagon regarding service members' use of social media. However, the Pentagon's policy is unclear about the use of social media. After a daylong hearing with the Marine Corps administration board, they decided that the sergeant would be given an "other-than-honorable" discharge. This means that that he will lose his benefits and not be allowed on any military base.
.. I've said it before and I'll say it again: you must be careful about what you post on social networking sites because you never know who is going to see it. In my opinion, people are supposed to be able to say whatever they want, which is why we call America "the land of the free", right? But there are some hidden guidelines to this. I, personally, do not care what political affiliation you belong to. You are entitled to your opinion and a vote in the presidential election, if you so choose. The marine did exactly this and clearly expressed his opinion, however, Obama is technically his "boss". Whether you like him and his political views or not, you are not supposed to say anything negative about your boss online. However, we all know that people do not listen and it still happens, whether you work in an office building or in the marines. I think that since the sergeant is a grown man he should have known what he was posting and the consequences that could follow it. Maybe he did know what he was doing and just simply did not care and wanted to express his opinion anyways .. who knows? The point is that whether your boss is the President of the United States or not, you should not be saying anything negative about them on social media websites because you never know who is going to see it.
Marines Seek DOD's Guidance on Social Media Use
I think that this is a very good post! I completely agree with you on the whole "you should not say anything bad about your boss online". However if the people posting about their bosses are idiotic enough to even post it in the first place then they deserve the consequences that comes with this action. They made the decision to post about their boss or company and they have to live with the consequences that follow no matter how harsh they may be. I do feel that the Marine should have known better about what he was saying especially since the President is his boss and Commander in Chief! But he does have the right to Freedom of Speech so this is where the line gets a little blurry. But overall great post!
ReplyDeleteIt is too bad that this got to this point. The Marine should definitely not have done this because the President really is his boss, but at the same time there is the whole thing about the person's personal facebook. Very, very tricky subject, nice insight!
ReplyDeleteI agree with you and PJ, about how Obama is technically his boss, but on the other hand I do where this can be a very sticky situation. I am a strong supporter of keeping things off Facebook and social media that could get anyone in trouble but sometimes it is hard to differentiate what can and cannot get you in trouble, and having a political opinion especially in an election year unfortunately falls under one of those blurred categories.
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