Yes, Calling Out Old, Offensive Tweets Is Annoying — But It’s Also Necessary

By Michael Arceneaux


On a recent episode of ESPN’s First Take, the controversy surrounding newly-minted Heisman Trophy winner Kyler Murray and old, homophobic tweets he published as a teenager elicited an incensed response from the show’s anchors. Their condemnation was not towards Murray and the tweets, nevertheless towards the USA Today reporter who gave them national attention. The practice of digging up a public figure’s old tweets typically was ordered as “the ugliest of human characteristics,” and the most recent instance of this from the reporter, a “inhumane” act.


While those descriptors struck me as hyperbolic, this point of view is nonetheless quite regular. Case in point, the Murray debacle managed to unite writers of opposing political ideologies: commentators from the conservative outlet National Review to its more progressive counterparts like Mother Jones and The Intercept were in unison with their umbrage with one journalist arguing that what was happening to Murray was "oppressive." Similar arguments were made in response to anti-gay tweets from Kevin Hart that, also, were announced on following Hart getting good news — in his case, a gig hosting the 2019 Academy Awards that he ultimately backed out of in light of the headlines.


Murray and Hart are just the latest victims of an ongoing pattern where public figures — entertainers, professional athletes, politicians, social media celebrities, and thus on — have had their old tweets come back to haunt them. It’s SZA, it’s “Brother Nature,” it’s Yung Miami of City Ladies fame, it’s Doja Cat, it’s Amy Schumer, it’s Buffalo Expenditures quarterback Josh Allen, and thus several, several others. In case if you have previously mentioned anything that would be deemed “problematic” on social media so you're a public figure, it’s more likely than it is unlikely that those remarks and the person beyond them will be exposed.


there really is something grating to the nerve over the new reality that select folks are simply waiting in the wings for the correct possibility to “expose” a celebrity and taint either a massive accomplishment in their respective careers, or worse, fully dismantle it. It does indeed recall that old mantra “they bring you up just to tear you down.” And yes, I am in agreement with the notion that people should be allowed to create mistakes, and more importantly, not be defined by them.


Although, once debates about digging up old tweets surface (and they do so with ever increasing frequency), I routinely hear my main go to Whitney Houston proverb: “Watch what you mention, baby girl. Watch what the fuck say.”


in case you post something on the world wide web, each person can visualize it. This is a nugget of intel that continuously slips the minds of far also several. It’s not a riddle: If you post something on the world wide web, literally anyone and each person can visualize it.


Some people are playing spoiler, and sure, a select few might be playing a game of holier than thou as they flex their purported moral superiority. Even so, we are all accountable for the things we mention, and no matter what someone’s intentions might be in back of the exposure, ultimately, a person has to accept the implications of their actions. Meanwhile, there’s something to be mentioned about priorities.


Are a lot of people on Al Gore’s internet jackasses for sitting on old tweets and just waiting for someone to pop off so they can go upside their heads with old feelings they should have never expressed in a public sphere? Maybe. However you know, any time As soon as I think of "oppression," I think of the systemic racism that keeps it up and continues to marginalize Black people In the
U.S.. If I were given a pop quiz in which I was asked to cite news stories that speak to inhumanity, I would think of migrant children needlessly losing their lives to an immigration policy best summarized as “the cruelty is the point.” An athlete or actor being contained to account for a decade-old homophobic slur doesn’t rank the same in either instance.


I, also, think about the people impacted by the ignorance displayed in several of those resurfacing tweets. Children are killing themselves because of anti-gay bullies in a moment in history where it is a increasingly dangerous time to be a member of the LGBTQ community. These prominent people gon’ be alright.


case in point, soon following the USA Today story was published, Kyler Murray said the following on Twitter: “I apologize for the tweets that have come to light tonight from any time Once I was 14 and 15. I used a poor choice of word that doesn’t mirror who I am or what I believe. I did not intend to single out any individual or group.”


Seconds later, one presumes Murray went right back to debating whether to join the NFL or MLB. Any time celebrities are called out for their past prejudices, it is a momentary inconvenience for them — one that typically ends soon after they allocate an apology. That is true of Murray and yes it is true for others who have previously expressed troubling views like anti-semitism, racism, sexism, and other nefarious thoughts like a disdain of Beyoncé.


No one likes to be called out, yet in case you mention something harmful, you deserve to be — no matter any time once you mentioned it. Some can call this “oppression” if they so pick, although that is a unfortunate suggestion that underscores a larger concern for the offender rather than the offended. More time should be spent on making sure people understand that their words matter — again, there really are repercussions for what you mention. Obviously, it’s key to recognize growth, although there really are times as soon as growth requires penance.


If a person doesn’t like these types of callouts, it’s not as if they don’t have options. They can go vintage and imagine journaling as instead of tweeting. They can visualize about deleting all of their older tweets. If all else fails, there really is the alternative of not saying anything harmful and offensive on the world wide web to start with.