The Internet's Awesome Power To Humiliate

A funny if disturbing story has gone viral on the Internet in the past few days. As I wrote a couple of weeks ago, anyone who is thinking of standing up against injustice in this country needs to be prepared for the vitriol that will be unleashed against them, particularly by the right wing hate machine. In that vein, it seems that a misogynist douchebag down in South Carolina has been whipped up into a frothing of Rush Limbaugh-generated hatred towards Sandra Fluke and was thus compelled to send her couple of extremely vile messages on Twitter. Behold:

Delightful alleged human being, huh? As it turns out, not only is George Tierney an asshole, but a clueless asshole as well. Here is Firedoglake with the story:

Misunderstanding how the Twitter works, George Tierney of Greenville South Carolina seemed to think he was using his “inside voice” when speaking (twatting) to Ms. Fluke on Twitter only to find out, in a very round-about way, that she elected to retweet to her 36,000 followers what George Tierney of Greenville South Carolina had to say to her and she only did this because she is obviously racist against douchebags who like to shout stuff at ladies on the internet because, as we like to say: virtual manhood is better than no manhood at all.

Anyway, that is where I came in when I screen-capped the whole exchange and made a post out of it, which brings us to last week when George Tierney of Greenville South Carolina decided to google himself on the internet and OH HOLY SHIT! he is now kind of semi-famous for Doing Internet Swears At Ladies and now all that money he spent on eHarmony is just fucking wasted because ladies will not want to go on a date with him ever ever again besides the fact that all he ever wants to talk about is golf which is like the third gayest sport ever. Besides, also: boring.

So eight days after I shared The Magic of George Tierney of Greenville South Carolina he wrote an email to my patron d’art, as follows:

Whoever runs this site needs to take my damn comments off of it. I did not give you permission, nor did you ask me for it. It shows up on google and I will see a lawyer if this doesnt disappear. Ask me before posting bullshit about me. You fuckers had no right.

Sincerely,

George Tierney Jr

Adorable, right?

Jane responded:

Dear Mr. Tierney,

It is site policy to establish that you are actually George Tierney, and not someone claiming to be him, in order to engage you on this matter further. Please have your lawyer confirm that you are in fact the George Tierney referred to in the post and I will be happy to discuss the matter with him. My contact information is below.

Annnnnd ….. Mr. Tierney responded:

You dont get to make the rules. I am the george tierney that made the comments to sandra fluke, not to you..take it off google. If it goes to a lawyer, it will be settled in court, with me getting paid.

Sincerely,

George Tierney Jr

Yes. This is true. We are NOT The Boss Of George Tierney of Greenville South Carolina and we DO NOT Make The Rules in much the same way that George Tierney of Greenville South Carolina does not make up THE MAGIC LAWS OF THE INTERNET that say that you cannot

point at and make fun of
be sad about
heh, indeed
…something that someone says in a public forum.

Having said that, and because we are all about trying to help people be better people, we are willing to update the offending post if George Tierney of Greenville South Carolina makes a public apology to Sandra Fluke, and not one of those bullshit, “I apologize if you were offended because I called you a under-rock-dwelling dick sucking cunt” kind of apologies. No, that will not do.

Also, too, stop doing this.

Additionally he could make a substantial but not ostentatious contribution to Planned Parenthood in Sandra Fluke’s name.

Yes, that would be nice. For that we would totally consider updating the Google for him.

Sure enough, this exchange has spread like wildfire and has been picked up by numerous blogs and progressive websites with the bloggers going out of their way to repeat Tierney's name and city of residence as many times as possible. It is one of the most devastating takedowns of a very deserving knucklehead I have ever witnessed.

However, I did want to throw in this little bit of caution. This power of the Internet to put a troglodyte in his place is a great thing...assuming it really was George Tierney of Greenville South Carolina who made those tweets. For just as anyone can create any identity to hide behind on the 'Net, I don't see what would stop a person from creating a fake account using the identity of someone they might happen to have it in for and then go trolling around until they elicit this kind of a response.

Recall that in the Trayvon Martin case, a couple who lived in George Zimmerman's neighborhood received a barrage of harassment when Spike Lee incorrectly put out their home address as Zimmerman's. I don't think it takes too much imagination to envision a scenario where someone who wrongly becomes the target of a virtual vigilante campaign then becomes the victim of real life vigilante violence. Just food for thought.

Update: Glossynews.com scored an exclusive interview with George Tierney Jr. At least in this case, it doesn't appear that he was set up, but it does appear that he is even crazier than his exchange with Fluke would indicate. You can read the whole interview here.


Bonus: Bill Burr takes down a racist on the Internet

The Greatest Day in South Carolina?

Hat tip to Satori at Silent Country.

Last September 30th, I posted a Friday Rant entitled, "The Impotence of Positive Thinking," in which I blasted South Carolina's Tea Party Governor Nikki Haley for her asinine directive forcing beleaguered Palmetto State employees to answer the phone with the phrase, "It's a great day in South Carolina." Well, maybe soon that will really be true for every citizen of the state. Here is Palmetto Public Record with the details:

Two well-placed legal experts have independently told Palmetto Public Record they expect the U.S. Department of Justice to issue an indictment against South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley on charges of tax fraud as early as this week.

A highly ranked federal official has also privately confirmed rumblings of an investigation and possible indictment of the governor, though the official was not aware of the specific timeframe.

Yesterday, Palmetto Public Record exclusively reported that the Internal Revenue Service has been investigating since March of 2011 the Sikh worship center run by Gov. Haley’s father. At least five lawsuits have been filed against the Sikh Society of South Carolina since 2010, alleging that the group bilked contractors out of nearly $130,000 for the construction of a new temple.

Gov. Haley is reported to have managed the temple’s finances as late as 2003, and our sources believe any indictment would center on what happened to the missing money.

You can bet that if Governor Haley is indicted, those state employees will be saying that stupid phrase as they answer the phone while trying to keep from laughing.

Cliffs Club Luxury Golf Communities (Carolinas) Declares Bankruptcy

As I've said before, I'm not a golfer, but I recognize the importance the sport has in an area like the Carolinas which relies on the tourist dollars it brings in. So this story from Bloomberg cannot be a good sign:

Cliffs Club & Hospitality Group Inc., which owns several luxury golf communities in South Carolina and North Carolina, filed for bankruptcy protection.

The Travelers Rest, South Carolina-based company listed assets of less than $50,000 and debt from $100 million to $500 million in Chapter 11 documents filed today in U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Spartanburg, South Carolina.

The eight communities are located between Asheville, North Carolina, and Greenville, South Carolina, according to the company website.

Holy crap! Assets of less than $50,000 and liabilities of over $100 million? Sounds like this move was LONG overdue.


Bonus: George's classic bit on what we should do with golf courses

Force Protection Plant In Ladson (South Carolina) Laying Off 155

Another mass layoff story from the defense war industry--short, sweet and to the point, from a South Carolina television station:

Force Protection plant in Ladson laying off 155 people. News 2 has learned the plant, that was recently purchased by General Dynamics, is notifying 155 employees this week that they are being laid off.

Force Protection spokesman Tommy Pruitt tells News 2 no other layoffs are anticipated at this time.

He says, "the adjustments are having very little to no impact on production side."

And don't forget the Corporate FlackSpeak:

Following a careful assessment of the operations and ongoing requirements of the business, General Dynamics has determined that it is necessary to reduce the size of our work force at the business formerly known as Force Protection. Employees are being notified this week. Approximately 155 employees are affected. The positions are primarily administrative and professional.

Making this change improves the overall strength and competitiveness of the business. We will continue to employ an estimated 600 employees in the greater Charleston, South Carolina, area.

These assholes are so wrapped up in their business school, MBA mindsets that it never occurs to them just how insensitive it is to tell the world that the employees you just fired were holding the company back from being competitive.


Bonus: Bill's classic bit on the first Gulf War--if he only knew

Bose Corporation Shifting Jobs to Malaysia; 200 to be Laid Off

Here is a story from The State newspaper of South Carolina that dramatically illustrates the damage being wreaked upon America's manufacturing sector:

Bose Corp. is laying off 200 workers from its speaker plant near Blythewood as it transitions jobs to Malaysia, a company spokeswoman confirmed Friday.

The company, which peaked at 950 workers in 2003, according to previous reports in The State, has been shedding workers since then in several rounds of layoffs.

When the newest layoffs are complete, the plant could be down to around 200 workers, based on projections from previous layoff announcements.

Sadly, Americans are so asleep as to what is happening to them that the company doesn't even try to hide what they're doing or couch it in their public statements:

The company is building a manufacturing facility in Malaysia in 2013 to support its Asia-Pacific business, Cinotti said. During the transition, some of the work done in Blythewood will be transferred to plants in Mexico, she said.

“Bose is a global company with customers, stores, resellers and subsidiaries around the world,” Cinotti said in a statement. “We’re restructuring our manufacturing operations to respond to the distribution demands of a global business.

“The Bose South Carolina plant currently builds and ships products to our customers in North America – and overseas to our customers in Asia-Pacific.”

Some people, perhaps those who like my father were laid off during the corproate rais of the 1980s, think of the late British financer James Goldsmith as The Devil. Well, The Devil tried to warn Americans back in 1994 that this was going to happen. And now the whole country is going to hell.


Bonus: "These go to 11"

Friday Rant: The Impotence of Positive Thinking

Sometimes you read a news story that is just so dumb that you walk away shaking your head. First term Republican Governor Nikki Haley of South Carolina is a Tea Party darling and, like fellow Indian-American Governor Bobby Jindal of Louisiana, one the party likes to promote to show how diverse it supposedly is becoming. Unfortunately, what Ms. Haley is really proving is that pasty, pudgy old white males don't have a monopoly on low IQ scores occupying high public office these days. As reported by the Charlotte Observer:

Gov. Nikki Haley is ordering state workers to answer phones with a cheery "It's a great day in South Carolina" -- despite a sky-high unemployment rate and the fact that one-in-five residents are on Medicaid.

The Republican issued the order Tuesday during a Cabinet meeting, saying it's part of changing the state and how people feel about their government.

Haley says she wants people to feel positive and says the phrase will put workers in a better mood while reminding them they work for the public.

No word on whether workers not using the greeting will suffer consequences.

That sounds just like the kind of happy-talk bullshit senior managers in corporate America use in lieu of decent pay raises to try and motivate their employees. What's next Governor Haley? Goofy Shirt Fridays at every Palmetto State DMV office? I'm sure THAT would improve the mood of every surly driver who has had to wait in line for three hours to get their license plate renewed.

Listen, Governor Haley...can I call you Nikki? Good. Listen, Nikki, I know you are pretty new at this Governor stuff and all. There must be a lot of pressure on you as a young female of minority persuasion elected to high public office down South where a substantial portion of the electorate still believes a woman's proper place is in the kitchen. So let ol' Billy Boy give you a little advice on this one.

You know what would make "people feel positive" whenever they interact with a state government office? If, when they first call, they actually got a hold of a live person rather than a bewildering automated menu with a couple of dozen options it takes the computerized voice three minutes just to read through.

What's that you say? Hiring additional phone receptionists costs money, which would force you to raise taxes and you're unwilling to do so?

Okay, fair enough. How about when one of your employees DOES finally answer the phone that they do so in a helpful and professional manner and then actually get the caller the information they need? That would engender a heck-of-a-lot more good will than having them drone out some empty-headed greeting as if they were auditioning for a bit part in the next remake of The Stepford Wives.

You see, Nikki, it stands to reason that if an employee is forced to say something they don't really mean, it will be very evident by the sound of their voice. Because a stunt like this isn't going to put your workers "in a better mood." In fact, it is likely to very much piss them off. That's a little bit of Worker Psychology 101, Nikki, which you yourself might have known had you ever held a real job in your life.

Lest people think that my last little barb at Governor Haley is unfair, I invite you to take a peak at her resume right off of her Wikipedia page:

Haley is a graduate of Orangeburg Preparatory Schools, and later graduated from Clemson University with a B.S. in accounting and joined the FCR Corporation (a waste management and recycling company), before joining her mother's business, Exotica International, an upscale clothing firm, in 1994. The family business grew to a multi-million dollar company.

Prep school background before going to college and then essentially falling right into the family business. Former President George Bush the Lesser would be SO proud.

Oh come on, Bill, I hear you saying. You're hardly being fair. Bush was a blueblood inbred who was born on third base and thought he hit a triple. Governor Haley, by contrast, is a dynamic young woman, a shining example of the American Dream...from a family of Indian immigrants who worked hard to BUILD something here in the Land of Opportunity. Shame on you for being so cynical.

So what you're telling me is that NOT being a well connected old white guy gets you free pass when it comes to ignoring reality and trying to prop up the facade of business as usual by making your employees' working conditions a living hell of fake optimism? Sorry, but after Obama I've grown very weary of people giving politicians a pass on their bad acts and lack of leadership simply because of their minority status.

Governor Haley has bought into the American Dream, all right. It's the same delusional Dream most people in this country apparently now have that some day it will be THEM sitting in the catbird seat able to lord it over their former fellow laborers. That's the only explanation I have for how such transparently power-craving individuals like South Carolina Governor Nikki Haley, be they aristocratic old white guys or young daughters of immigrants, keep getting elected to public office in the first place.