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| Jessica Bennett's son (left) and Joe Rickey Hundley (right) |
While this all seems to be an appropriate response to the actions of Joe Rickey Hundley, in addition to serving jail time, Hundley might be losing his job. The CEO of AGC Aerospace & Defense, where Hundley works as an executive, says that Hundley's action are in violation of the company's values. Even though his transgression took place in his personal life, the company feels they need to be active in this matter. While Hundley is currently suspended from work for the duration of the investigation, it appears that he will not be returning to work. Unfortunately for Hundley, in a world of lightning fast news media, one particular mistake quickly wiped out his reputation, especially at work.
Do you think it's right that one mistake, while being prosecuted in a court, should carry over into other aspects of one's life (ie: losing one's job)?
4 comments:
I believe these actions should carry over. Though it may have been said in the heat of the moment, Hundley still acted in an inappropriate way. His actions still reflect badly on AGC Aerospace & Defense and therefore should be punished accordingly. If he can react so badly to something as simple as a baby crying, who knows what he could do if he ever comes under real pressure. The company is right in taking proactive actions against this type of racism and abuse. It sets an example that no one should be allowed to get away with hitting a child and making such racist comments.
Sometimes it's questionable whether or not actions done "off the job" should reflect back to the job, but in this case I agree with Grace, and feel that they should carry over. It's true that it can be very strenuous and even maddening to sit next to a crying child, especially if you don't feel the parent is trying to be considerate of other passengers and resolving the issue. However, using "the n-word," and committing an act of violence against anyone, particularly a child so young, are very revealing actions, and even if they don't directly reveal anything about his work ethic or job, such hateful behavior shouldn't be tolerated.
I agree with both Grace and Eavan in that it is fair for these actions to carry over and for Hundley to lose his job. What he did was wrong and immoral under all circumstances. AGC Aerospace & Defence has a reputation to uphold that would be tainted if they still allowed a man who did horrible things to stay as CEO. Hundley must accept all the consequences for his actions. Like Eavan said, insulting any innocent person and using physical violence in any way should not be tolerated.
I felt that this instance is one which closely ties in with the issue of Facebook privacy. Given that your boss or supervisor adds you as a friend on Facebook and you accept his request, can he legally penalize you based upon what is uploaded to your account? Facebook is admittedly limited to the one's personal life...
But even so, in response to Eli's question, the individual in this case committed a crime, redrawing the line between personal and private. At this point, it seems to be less a question of whether the company could take action and more of one regarding the extent of the consequences. If Hudley had been arrested for smoking pot or driving under the influence, would he have been similarly suspended/fired? Maybe, maybe not. But it's true that, while the legal system brought him to justice for child abuse, societal norms held him accountable for unconscious/unspoken/private bigotry.
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