Chattanooga Pulse

As online social networks such as Facebook and Twitter continue to grow in popularity, there is growing concern over what is appropriate to write in seemingly private—but often all-too-public—online forums.

Hayes Leford, who until this past Friday was the Vice President of Public Affairs for the Chattanooga Chamber of Commerce, learned the hard way that expressing an opinion on Facebook could have serious repercussions.  On the eighth anniversary of the September 11th terrorist attacks in New York and Washington, D.C., Ledford posted what many saw as a racially charged rant on his Facebook page.

“This picture says it all, even after eight years. It symbolized our anger after those ragheaded bastards manifested theirs through death and destruction. There is no substitute for victory and plenty of work left to be done. There is something to be said about the ‘Chicago way,’ but Sean Connery (in the film ‘The Untouchables’) left out the last line … when they send one of yours to the morgue, you send a thousand of theirs straight to hell,” Ledford wrote.  “We don’t need to be reckless in our resolve, nor fail to remember that they came at us. Measure it right, use overwhelming force and decapitate those sons of bitches once and for all.”

Even though Ledford deleted his comment a few days later, by then it was too late.  Many of the 730 friends he had on the popular social networking site, which included local and state officials as well as many prominent members of the business community, had already seen the remarks.

The response was immediate and overwhelmingly negative.  A number of political and business blogs picked up his comments and were amazed that the chief lobbyist for the chamber would make such statements, especially in an online forum as visible as Facebook. As the reaction spread, chamber officials were placed in a very uncomfortable position, finally deciding to suspend Ledford without pay for a month.  A day after the suspension was announced, Ledford resigned.

Yet there are many who feel that both the chamber and many segments of the local media overreacted.  Several of them made the case that Ledford was not speaking for or on behalf of the chamber when he made his comments, and that he was merely expressing what millions of other Americans felt.  They question what authority any employer has in punishing someone for freely expressing their personal beliefs on their own time and in a non-workplace environment.

Others argue, though, that Ledford, by his very position, represented the business interests of the city and should have known better than to write such vitriolic comments.  “It wasn’t like he was just sending out an e-mail to a few friends or family members,” one chamber member (who asked to remain anonymous) said in response to the incident.  “He was writing in a place where hundreds of political officials and business leaders routinely visit.  Even worse, it sends a very negative view of the city and the chamber to businesses that are looking to locate in Chattanooga.”

Whether or not Ledford’s comments will have any long-lasting impact on the chamber or the city remains to be seen, and with his resignation, the chamber will hopefully be able to put this incident behind them quickly.  Yet the question about what is proper to post on a social network remains unanswered and likely won’t be answered for a long time.