Many took immediate joy from reports that Adam Smith, the man who posted a YouTube video of himself hassling a Chick-fil-A drive-thru worker, was fired from his CFO gig following the incident. However, opinion is split on whether this was a fireable offense.
Aaron Walker (who blogs as Aaron Worthing) knows a thing or two about bullying, what with having had a SWAT team called to his house to intimidate him. But Walker, an attorney, is pensive about the whole affair.
Soooo, the jerk who did this to a Chick-Fil-A employee http://t.co/WlKGEgCo was apparently fired today http://t.co/bnBlyD6P h/t @DaleFranks
— Mandy Nagy (@Liberty_Chick) August 2, 2012
seems dubious to me. So he was a douche. Doesn't seem like a firing offense. @Liberty_Chick @dalefranks
— (((Aaron “Worthing” Walker))) (@AaronWorthing) August 2, 2012
I think the behavior has to be much more extreme tan that before it affects your professional life. @CoFemale @liberty_chick @dalefranks
— (((Aaron “Worthing” Walker))) (@AaronWorthing) August 2, 2012
@AaronWorthing @Liberty_Chick @dalefranks He bullied her, then put it on YouTube. Reflects badly on his company. Legit firing offense.
— Lady L. North (@LadyLNorth) August 2, 2012
PJ Media blogger Bob Owens is wary of the firing as well, pledging to “fight until my last breath for his right to be a bigoted jerk.”
Man who berated Chick-Fil-A employee has been fired. Millions take joy in his termination, missing the point. http://t.co/ytADsBOj
— Bob Owens (@bob_owens) August 2, 2012
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Another lawyer, William A. Jacobson of Cornell Law School and the Legal Insurrection blog, isn’t cheering either. “Aren’t many of the arguments you can make in favor of the termination just variations on the arguments used against conservatives all the time?” he writes.
Why I’m not cheering the termination of Vante’s CFO for his political stunt http://t.co/G867f2mP
— Legal Insurrection (@LegInsurrection) August 2, 2012
Is this one of those cases that walks the fine line between fireable offense and stupid mistake?
https://twitter.com/MikeHardin/status/231157191200092160
While liberals insisted a visit to Chick-fil-A was a proud statement of anti-big bigotry, conservatives argued they were asserting the right to free speech and practice of religion. Is Smith’s YouTube stunt just an equal, if opposite, exercise of free speech?
https://twitter.com/51percenter/status/231165563408367616
Can't wait for someone to cry "But the 1st Amendment…" over Vante firing Smith. #ILoveTheSmellOfStupidityInTheEvening
— Drew McCoy (@_Drew_McCoy_) August 2, 2012
Were these really the actions of a corporate chief financial officer? And if so, does his position in the company demand a more harsh treatment? Shouldn’t his behavior at least match that of the woman working the drive-thru window?
.@DLoesch The firing of Mr Smith was due to his executive status and bad behavior. If you're name is on website, you'll be held higher std.
— Dave ⭐️⭐️⭐️ (@dfrick7) August 2, 2012
@joleen_c But I agree, the server handled it very well. If he'd been lower rank, I'd have said firing was harsh but a CFO should know better
— Kate (@kateinva) August 2, 2012
https://twitter.com/amylutz4/status/231163217966141441
The Chick-Fil-A idiot should not have been fired. Ridiculed mercilessly? Yes! But not fired. #tcot #p2
— Jack (@Mr_Fastbucks) August 2, 2012
@Mr_Fastbucks To be fair, they probably fired him for his monumental lack of judgement – not a good quality in a CFO
— VoxAZ (@VoxAZ) August 2, 2012
For the most part, Smith’s (former?) employer Vante is receiving accolades for the firing.
Kudos to medical equipment supplier Vante for doing the right thing. http://t.co/Yr5enSUN
— Dick Carlson (@DickCarlson) August 2, 2012
Adam Smith firing is a warning to corp CFO's everywhere: don't film yourself bullying fast food employees & post on internet. #LifeLessons
— Stars and Stripes (@StarznStrypz) August 2, 2012
@KatrinaLimited Kudos to his company, Vante, for showing that some people still believe with bad behavior comes accountability. #ChickFilA
— ?????????????™ (@RedPillReport) August 2, 2012
Sometimes things turn out right… Exec Bullies Chick-Fil-A Worker, Then Promptly Gets Fired For It http://t.co/yRk6emcJ via @BI_Careers
— Sherry Thatcher (@skthatch) August 2, 2012
https://twitter.com/gopfirecracker/status/231165214912045056
yeah I don't really approve of this http://t.co/NQXPJIEm
— Ursus, Director of Weather and Banana Programming (@AceofSpadesHQ) August 2, 2012
@AceofSpadesHQ they are an employment at will company. My company has done the same in the past. We have to sign a code of conduct form.
— Charlie Flohr (@Charlie_Flohr) August 2, 2012
@AceofSpadesHQ – the guy entirely brought it on himself. He could have AT LEAST berated the *manager* of the place instead of that girl.
— ┊radιo corpѕ ? (@radiocorps) August 2, 2012
https://twitter.com/TheRealPebo/status/231140921083834368
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