My buddy is in town for a couple of days. He’s some bigwig with a company looking to recruit PSU students this week at the Job Fair.
Tonight as we finished dinner, contemplated playing some Settlers of Catan (pass), and discussed the mystery of the self-locking oven door*, he made the following comment:
My wife is a tank.
His wife, who is a lovely woman and a great friend of ours, has been going to the gym, getting healthy and strong. He meant his words to be a compliment, and nothing else.
I joked that his words were tweet-worthy, and posted his statement on Twitter and Facebook. In a matter of minutes, tons of people who don’t know either of them were reacting to his statement.
I felt bad for her, because that comment and the ones that followed could have hurt her feelings. I felt bad for him, because his innocent comment was being judged by lots of people who have no idea of his relationship with his wife.
And the person to blame for the whole scenario? Me.
Fortunately, she’s a good sport, with a great sense of humor and a healthy self-image. She knows that he loves her, and understood what he meant by his comment.
But I think I learned a lesson. What gets put out in the public forum must be carefully scrutinized. A funny comment is out of bounds if it comes at the expense of someone else’s feelings or reputation. Things that get posted on twitter or fb can’t be withdrawn, and sometimes bear bad fruit. Just ask Larry Johnson. He learned that lesson today.
I’m going to apologize to them, and watch myself more carefully. I don’t want my words to hurt anyone.
*we still can’t get the oven door open. brownies are a loss. no more baking until Mr Fixit can come help. He’s also got a dishwasher waiting for his TLC.
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