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* Remember this?…
Gov. Bruce Rauner’s “body man” — a hand-picked assistant chosen to travel with the governor on a daily basis — was fired Monday on his first day of the job after a series of homophobic and racially insensitive comments were found on his Twitter page.
The exit is one of at least 20 since last week — when Rauner began a rash of firings, with others resigning in protest.
Ben Tracy was chosen by the administration to replace Kyle Haevers as the governor’s “body man.” Haevers on Sunday was told his services were no longer needed but that he could choose to work for another state department.
* He’s back…
Ben Tracy learned the hard way the price one can pay for inappropriate posts on social media.
Tweets he wrote as a high school student came back to cost him a high-profile job in Gov. Bruce Rauner’s office, Tracy told St. Joseph-Ogden students during a presentation this week at the high school.
The event started with Tracy warning SJ-O students that he was about to share some regrettable tweets — authored by some of them — that he had tracked down using a simple search.
“It took me 10 minutes to find these,” Tracy said as tweets from SJ-O students filled the screen behind him.
Tracy then went on to tell students what happened to him a year earlier, after he had graduated from college and started working for political campaigns. Among the positions he held — for less than 24 hours, anyway: a job as Rauner’s “body man,” the governor’s own traveling personal assistant.
* Radical Candor lets loose…
Tip #1: Avoid posting racist comments on social media. Or saying racist stuff. Actually, just don’t be racist. Tip #2: If @BruceRauner calls you a “superstar” or part of the “Best Team in America ™,” run. #twill https://t.co/vVzrWQrm2H
— Radical Candor (@RadicalCandorIL) October 18, 2018
One day @BruceRauner body man Ben Tracy’s new speaking career giving blindingly obvious social media tips gives me a great idea: the Best Team in America ™ Speakers Bureau. #BTIASpeakers #twill
— Radical Candor (@RadicalCandorIL) October 18, 2018
I wish RC would learn how to thread tweets, but click here to read the rest anyway.
*** UPDATE *** From Ben Tracy himself…
My goal in speaking to young people is to help them use social media responsibly. The things I tweeted when I was a high school and college student were hurtful and hateful. I am deeply sorry for the things I said, and I faced serious repercussions. There is no place in our society for derogatory thoughts, words, or actions, even if they’re not maliciously intended. I make that crystal clear in my presentations.
The truth is that young people don’t understand the lasting impact of the things they post online. Seventy percent of employers and 35% of college admissions counselors look at social media profiles of applicants. I learned this lesson the hard way, and I want to make sure others don’t make the same mistakes.
There have been examples of other people who have made similar mistakes in the news recently including Chicago White Sox pitcher Michael Kopech, Milwaukee Brewers pitcher Josh Hader, and Sarah Jeong who now sits on the New York Times Editorial Board. Instead of celebrating getting a great job or making it to the big leagues, these individuals had to answer for old social media posts – and rightfully so. This is a reality of the world in which we live, and I intend to help others understand the impact of things they say online both to themselves and the people around them.
We are inundated by the presence of social media on a daily basis and our online lives aren’t going away anytime soon. Because of this, I want to help young people learn from the mistakes I made and better understand how to use social media in a positive way.
posted by Rich Miller
Thursday, Oct 18, 18 @ 10:51 am
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Going to miss RC when this all comes to a screeching end. It was a wild 88 days that should never be forgotten and probably studied by political science majors for years to come. Maybe in the chapter called, “How to Screw Everything Up and Fail in Just 88 Short Days, As a White Male.”
Comment by Not Again Thursday, Oct 18, 18 @ 11:08 am
Love me some “Radical Candor” twitter. Always choice cuts.
I’m still wondering what has happened with Diana Rickert.
Diana Rickert’s last tweet was 10/27… of 2017.
That Tribune op-ed… if you read it as a sketch comedic writing of an oblivious person working in the wrong place, I mean, the one liners in there, would be a perfect comedic read.
Wonder when she’ll resurface?
Comment by Oswego Willy Thursday, Oct 18, 18 @ 11:22 am
They may be ‘blindingly obvious’, but if you’ve ever looked at a high school or college kid’s social media account, many of them don’t know it. Some read like a race to see how offensive they can be just to get a reaction.
Comment by CookR Thursday, Oct 18, 18 @ 11:42 am
Here we are in 2018, telling a young man that what he said in high school will forever brand him as sub-human.
It’s wrong. It’s sad. It’s more immoral than whatever he said back then. Politics is ruining everything.
Comment by VanillaMan Thursday, Oct 18, 18 @ 11:54 am
My take on Radical Candor is that he is probably a former politico-Raunerite who was raised conservative, but always has had a secret affinity towards left wing politics. Probably listens to C-Town and Chapo Trap House.
Comment by Name/Nickname/Anon Thursday, Oct 18, 18 @ 11:55 am
Kinda sad how we’re mocking a guy who’s willing to stand up and tell his story and show remorse in front of a crowd of people. God forbid he try and have some good come of this. As if he should just disappear. Would you rather he just be a bitter coward like Radical Candor and hide behind the comfort of a keyboard?
TL;DR: The guy is trying to do some good and Radical Candor is a coward.
Comment by JBHatesPuppies Thursday, Oct 18, 18 @ 12:19 pm
You know what’s the worst? When someone learns a lesson, and tries to share that lesson with young people who are making the same mistake.
Comment by Liandro Thursday, Oct 18, 18 @ 12:20 pm
==Here we are in 2018, telling a young man that what he said in high school will forever brand him as sub-human.==
From the article: “Among Tracy’s tweets is one from May 2017 in which he commented on Montana Congressman Greg Gianforte, who was elected a day after body slamming a reporter: “Maybe body slamming reporters is the winning formula for republicans in IL?” Tracy wrote.”
So yea, telling a job candidate what they say, in this case about treating the press which would literally be his job, could cost them their job is correct, not sad and frankly pretty moral.
Comment by njt16 Thursday, Oct 18, 18 @ 12:22 pm
-Politics is ruining everything.-
If politics can help prevent such speech as that shouted by the youth following Elizabeth Eckford, than good for politics.
Comment by Bigtwich Thursday, Oct 18, 18 @ 12:37 pm
– prevent such speech as that shouted by the youth following Elizabeth Eckford –
It has, and that’s good. It might be a stretch to compare Ben Tracy calling his buddy a homophobic slur on social media to that, but if it is similar, this guy is right now working to prevent that behavior, by telling highschoolers it is wrong and not to do it.
I realize that it was fun, especially for those who got booted, to watch Rauner’s new staff implode. And it was an indictment of Rauner’s management the way the whole thing went down those weeks. But Tracy ended up on the front page of the paper, mostly for old bad tweets. Now he’s trying to tell others not to do what he did. Time to leave the guy alone.
Comment by CookR Thursday, Oct 18, 18 @ 12:56 pm
-Now he’s trying to tell others not to do what he did._
Good for Tracy.The youth behind Ms Eckford did call in later years and apologize. Good for her too.
Comment by Bigtwich Thursday, Oct 18, 18 @ 1:12 pm
Whatever his motives, I am glad to see someone trying to educate young people on the immortal perils of social media, and using their own story as a ‘real life’ example surely helps in getting the message across rather than listening to someone who can’t give a personal example of thier own mistakes and repercussions.
Comment by Anonymous Thursday, Oct 18, 18 @ 1:13 pm
“Here we are in 2018, telling a young man that what he said in high school will forever brand him as sub-human.”
Same as it’s always been.
Comment by 17% Solution Thursday, Oct 18, 18 @ 3:10 pm
Ok, Tracy did some bad things in high school, but on the bright side, he’ll be easily confirmed as the next justice on SCOTUS.
Comment by Steve Rogers Thursday, Oct 18, 18 @ 3:44 pm
Good for this young man. He clearly made a mistake and faced action. He moved on and is making sure others don’t repeat his mistakes. Radical Candor however…these goons act as if their caca doesn’t stink. When in fact it was those folks that stunk the joint up long before the IPI folks ever got into control. Just sayin’.
Comment by Ruth Thursday, Oct 18, 18 @ 3:48 pm