Yesterday afternoon, the celebrated Monterey Bay Aquarium showed some love to Abby the otter with this tweet:
Abby is a thicc girl
What an absolute unit
She c h o n k
Look at the size of this lady
OH LAWD SHE COMIN
Another Internetism ! pic.twitter.com/s5fav2gu09— Monterey Bay Aquarium (@MontereyAq) December 18, 2018
Did you find any of that problematic? Well, apparently some people did.
This is a good tweet. It brought waaaaay more people joy than displeasure. Do not apologize for something that is a net good. Ignore the haters. https://t.co/hfQ9JkfJSV
— Matt’s Idea Shop (@MattsIdeaShop) December 19, 2018
Too late. All aboard the Apology Train:
Hey everyone. It has come to our attention that some of the references in this tweet are problematic and insensitive. We're posting here in the thread so that people who have engaged with this tweet will join us in our learning moment. 1/4
— Monterey Bay Aquarium (@MontereyAq) December 19, 2018
If our tweet alienated you, please know that we are deeply sorry, and that we offer our sincerest apologies. If you follow our feed, we often reference popular memes to talk about the ocean. In this case, the memes used had connotations we were unaware of until now. 2/4
— Monterey Bay Aquarium (@MontereyAq) December 19, 2018
In particular, several terms referenced originated from African American Vernacular English (AAVE) and specifically reference Black women's bodies. Using them in a sea otter meme without that background makes insinuations we never intended. We need to do better. 3/4
— Monterey Bay Aquarium (@MontereyAq) December 19, 2018
Our mission is to inspire conservation of the ocean, and we're thankful for your support as we try to advance that mission on social media. We're also thankful for those of you out there pointing out our blindspots and how we can improve. Thanks everyone. 4/4
— Monterey Bay Aquarium (@MontereyAq) December 19, 2018
Who’s pointing out the blindspots, though? Who thinks you need to do better, Monterey Bay Aquarium? Because we checked the responses to your initial tweet, and aside from a few complaints, they were overwhelmingly positive. Here’s a sample:
I like big pups and I cannot lie,
You other otters can’t deny,
When a cute chordate’s got a big ol’ waist and a round rock in your face,
I think it’s fun— Grace Raver ?? (@graver317) December 18, 2018
I came home from work to this??? Thank you so much for making me ?????????
— Rebecca Swiger (@cujokillerpug) December 19, 2018
Y'all need to give your social media manager a raise.
— FTM MCM ?️? (@effyouhaiku) December 18, 2018
Solid social game
— Actually, I sneeze very loudly (@winterdan) December 18, 2018
@abby_sherlock someone better offer this social media intern a full-time marketing job
— Christian Hill (@XianHill) December 18, 2018
I love whoever runs this account.
— Stephanie (@STEMSteph) December 18, 2018
Got my follow
— Briana Morgan and/or @brianalmorgan@jawns.club (@babefromtoyland) December 19, 2018
I literally just bought a membership because of this tweet. Just saying.
— Creidhe (@_heyalison) December 19, 2018
My family's planning a trip to Monterey after Christmas. If I wasn't going already, I'm definitely going now.
— Critikusatsu 評論家戦士クリティックサツ (@HyoronkaSenshi) December 19, 2018
This is the kind of content I’m here for.
— Stephanie Metzger (@7thInningSteph) December 18, 2018
why did I laugh so hard at this
— Caroline Holland (@choll12) December 19, 2018
Because it was funny!
But you apologized, Monterey Bay Aquarium, so … yay?
The fact that you had to apologise for this post is beyond me.
— Howard Ernesto Cabrera (@HowardECabrera) December 19, 2018
We don’t get it, either.
??????? https://t.co/cCfuQsG7yA
— David Edward ❔ (@_David_Edward) December 19, 2018
Glad y'all put that
*squints*
aquarium
in its place. https://t.co/JxuXB60NAD
— Nathan Wurtzel (slight return) (@NathanWurtzel) December 19, 2018
All of your fish should be fired. https://t.co/baTmUFwhXB
— Nice Knievel (@MetricButtload) December 19, 2018
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