Twitter can be a playground to share your thoughts or crack some jokes, and in the case of former Business Insider CTO Pax Dickinson, sometimes you can get hurt.
It all seems to have started with this tweet:
i know this may be shocking to some but not everything that’s crass or sexist indicates “hatred of women”
— Pax Dickinson (@paxdickinson) September 9, 2013
Responses were fairly mixed, and it helped to fuel future tweets around the similar subject:
IMO accusing someone of “misogyny” over some low-grade sexism means you owe another apology. https://t.co/OZjkXRRHe4 — Pax Dickinson (@paxdickinson) September 9, 2013
Am I supposed to be ashamed of this conversation? #idgi https://t.co/vsjNwNZLO4 — Pax Dickinson (@paxdickinson) September 9, 2013
“misogyny” is “hatred of women”. It is not misogyny to tell a sexist joke, or to fail to take a woman seriously, or to enjoy boobies.
— Pax Dickinson (@paxdickinson) September 9, 2013
by using the word “misogyny” to describe minor slights, you encourage men to disregard all claims of misogyny, including valid ones.
— Pax Dickinson (@paxdickinson) September 9, 2013
Just a few hours later, a popular tech gossip blog ran a story about his tweets. The news must have got Business Insider’s attention, and Tuesday morning, posted an official statement:
A Business Insider executive has made some comments on Twitter that do not reflect our values and have no place at our company. The executive has left the company, effective immediately. Business Insider’s team is composed of more than 100 talented men and women of many backgrounds, and we highly value this diversity.
Pax cracked a joke about the situation, and shared his thoughts on working with Business Insider:
I gained 850 twitter followers and +7 @klout in less than 24 hours. Now offering social media consulting services. — Pax Dickinson (@paxdickinson) September 10, 2013
still have much love for everyone at @businessinsider. best smartest people I ever worked with. don’t hold me against them.
— Pax Dickinson (@paxdickinson) September 10, 2013
While Twitter may be a free platform to share your thoughts, sometimes they can come with a price.
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