I better watch what I say...what do you think of this?

From Fox News:

ALMONT TOWNSHIP, Mich. — A former Wal-Mart cashier says he was fired for joking on his MySpace page that the average IQ would increase if a bomb were dropped on the company's stores.

Read the rest of the story here

First, the FN article took the post out of context, according to the former cashier, he said... 'The exact quote said “Drop a bomb on all the Walmarts, trailer parks, ghettos, monster truck shows, and retarded fake “pro wrestling” events, and the average I.Q. score would probably double.”'(source: http://thewritingonthewal.net/?p=2396).

If you read the article, you see that Michael had a great customer service record and even received a letter from the president of Wal-Mart after compliments from a customer. But one joke, taken out of context, on a personal MySpace page, led to his firing. His appeals have been denied.

My first thought is, that's kind of funny (the joke). Sure it's profiling and stereotyping because most Wal-Mart shoppers (at least at my store) are quite intelligent people and I see more of them than the stereotypical Wal-Mart shoppers. But Wal-Mart is stereotypically a place for rednecks and backwoods folks.

Second, that's out of context. Sure maybe some discipline was necessary but firing him by considering that a threat? Is he going to be banned from all monster truck races too because he made a "threat" on those? Or kept away from all trailer parks? I don't think the punishment fits the crime. Maybe reprimanded and asked to take the post off MySpace and put on "probation".

Third, be careful what you say. There are verses in the Bible that suggest that you watch what you say (James 3:3-12 being one), this just illustrates why...

Fourth, use Facebook instead of MySpace :). Facebook is private and for friends only while MySpace is, by default, public. Michael said that he believes an associate who was angry at him turned him in. On Facebook, don't add him as a friend or remove him as a friend or, best option, don't mention Wal-Mart in your joke if you work there.

That being said, I have to be more careful of what I say about Wal-Mart. Sure there are some negatives to working at Wal-Mart, like any job, but the positives far outweigh the negatives for myself. I would suggest employment at Wal-Mart to anyone.

In other Kevin C. Burns news, my laptop is in Texas being serviced. I'm sad that I'm going to be missing, probably, the entire Stanley Cup Finals in HD (Games 3-7 on NBC) and most if not all of the NBA Finals in ABC HD. But I couldn't stand the problems I was having with my laptop. Would have been a miserable three weeks (or however long the finals last). I hope all the problems get fixed and get fixed soon.

The youth choir, and thus most of my friends, is leaving next Wednesday :(. It's going to be quite weird with almost the entire youth group gone for a Sunday.

Game 3 of the Ducks-Senators Stanley Cup finals tonight. I'm rooting for the Ducks to win the series but I want it to go 7 games so I'm kind of rooting for the Sens tonight...

Spurs play game 1 of the NBA Finals next Thursday. Go Spurs! (still upset it's not the Mavericks in the Finals, grrrrr).

That's all for today. Comments on the story above or anything else? Comment below...

-Kevin C. Burns