It’s a truism in social media circles: brands should be more human. Of course, humans have a full range of emotions — they can be angry, not just nice or funny. Do we really want angry brands? Brands like Amazon that attack people on social media are going to find out they’re making a mistake….
Dave Maimaron, the head coach of the Duxbury, Massachusetts high school football team, condoned policies that made sport of the Holocaust. Then the town cut ties with him. Duxbury’s letter about the firing is evasive and defensive. What happened in Duxbury Imagine that you a high school football fan at a game between Duxbury and…
Robert Aaron Long confessed to shooting eight people in the Atlanta area on Tuesday. Captain Jay Baker, spokesperson for the Cherokee County sheriff’s office, said he had a “really bad day.” Is this how we now describe white people committing mass shootings? What Capt. Baker actually said In this space, I evaluate people’s actual words…
New York Governor Andrew Cuomo is now the subject of multiple allegations of sexual harassment, including both suggestive speech and unwanted kissing. I’m not here to litigate Cuomo’s conduct. He’s agreed to have his attorney general investigate his conduct. As I have before for others, I’ll analyze his apology statement for its effectiveness in communication….
I have been in love with Dr. Seuss since childhood, and happily raised my own children on his lyrical work. Much of his imagery is delightful because it is so exaggerated; some of it is racist. If you want to understand why the company that manages his content has ceased to publish some of his…
Today I undertake a morbid and probably misguided analysis of the depth of the COVID-19 tragedy in America, examining the number of years of life lost. Trigger warning: this post discusses causes of death including suicide. Why would I undertake such a task? We are all reeling from the shocking numbers here. Half a million…
Yesterday, the Supreme Court stopped consideration of all lawsuits in the 2020 election. Justice Clarence Thomas dissented. I think he has a point. I just wish he’d made it better. Before you decide to have my innards roasted on a spit, let’s talk about principle. My principle is to evaluate arguments regardless of whether I…
Tim Boyd, major of Colorado City, Texas, posted a statement on Facebook telling his frozen citizens that lack electricity to “sink or swim, it’s your choice.” Then he resigned. Apparently bullying suffering people is not the right approach for government officials. As you’re no doubt aware, Texas is in crisis. It’s suffering through snow and…
On Saturday, Republican Senators Mitt Romney and Susan Collins joined five other Republicans and all the Democrats and independents in the Senate in voting to convict former President Trump in the impeachment inquiry. Rather than equivocating, these Senators issued direct, clear, and declarative statements. Mitt Romney’s statement is short and direct Romney, the only Republican…