The Story: Bryant Goldbach and his 5-year-old son dressed as Nazis for halloween. After receiving backlash from a trunk-or-treat event they attended, Goldbach took to Facebook to comment on how badly him and his son were treated, and followed the post with a photo of them in their costumes. Quickly after, Goldbach’s post went viral. His Facebook comments were filled with derogatory names, comments that questioned his parenting and suggestions that he leave Owensboro. He was publicly shamed as a 'child abuser,' 'racist,' and 'coward' on Facebook, Reddit, and Twitter. As the backlash continued to escalate, Goldbach attempted to justify the costumes by explaining that he chose the costumes for historical purposes, saying “he hadn't really thought the idea through.” However, after being questioned by multiple stations, he did make an apology statement to ABC affiliate WEHT, stating that, “I think it was in bad taste for me to let my child wear that, probably for me to wear that. It didn’t occur to me. “I’m sorry,” Goldbach told the station, “I feel like I’ve hurt a lot of people, and I’d give anything to make it right.” Communication Breakdown:
Communicatively speaking, Goldbach attempted to restore the situation through a public apology. This didn’t fully “restore” the situation for most. However, some respected the fact he apologized: “The fact that the father apologized is important; the fact he did not know the costumes would be offensive is a very sad reflection on our society,” Rabbi Gary Mazo said. Overall, it’s evident that the costume itself was most problematic for people. However, his hateful rant on Facebook only added to the backlash. Considering that his apology did not “restore” the damage that had been done, I don’t think there is necessarily a solution to his case. This story reminded me of Justine Sacco’s shaming after she posted “seemingly harmless” tweets. Similar to Goldbach, the tweets went viral within hours, culminating in thousands of tweets shaming her. In the same way Goldbach was labeled a ‘racist’ and ‘coward,’ Justine was also labeled a ‘racist’ as a result of her posts. Although the two both apologized for their posts, the criticism and public shaming remained throughout media, and both were left judged and misunderstood. Sources: https://www.owensborotimes.com/features/community/2018/10/father-receives-backlash-after-dressing-son-as-hitler/ https://books.google.com/books?id=_0aNDQAAQBAJ&printsec=frontcover&source=gbs_ge_summary_r&cad=0#v=onepage&q=justine&f=false
1 Comment
Abigail Bowen
11/13/2018 01:21:49 pm
Dani, I am first of all appalled that this father didn't think that his costume would offend someone. I agree that his post on facebook did not help his case. He was seriously uneducated and should have put some thought into the costume before allowing his son and himself to go out on halloween like this. Great analysis!
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