Don't type it (unless you want EVERYONE to read it)

The world of social media (Facebook, Twitter, etc…) is now so commonplace that people are constantly connected and posting their thoughts, rants and images. However, in a world where everything is public record, why is it that people continue to post pictures and ideas that could cause backlash or even worse, get them fired? Recently two opera singers found themselves in hot water based on posts made to their Facebook pages. Below are the links to articles about their posts and the reactions they garnered.

http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/ottawa/opera-lyra-fires-singer-valerian-ruminski-over-facebook-post-1.2747562

http://www.smh.com.au/entertainment/opera/opera-australia-sacks-soprano-tamar-iveri-over-gay-slurs-20140623-zsiol.html

Both artists made the decision to express opinions; one regarding a particular gay individual and the other about the gay community as a whole. Both artists came forward and said that the things posted were stupid and not reflective of their true selves. (Soprano Iveri went as far to say that the post was put there by someone else.) As a result of their posts however, both artists were released from their operatic contracts after their comments went beyond the "privacy" of their FACEBOOK pages.

In truth, the fact that they made slurs that were seen as offensive does not disturb me. The world still has homophobia, racism and sexism. We all have different points of view and beliefs regarding religion, politics, race and equality. In the first article, the singer stated in his Facebook post that he did not want to be forced to see the expression of the other, and yet we live in a country that was founded on the ideas of “life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.” The soprano mentioned later that she had “gay friends.” We work in an industry where every type of person is represented (ranging from the conservative Mormon to those who want to make their little black book rival that of Don Giovanni and everything in between.) Sometimes people who have opposing views are in a position to hire us and we need to often keep our personal self separate from our private self, especially when hired by that company as we become the face of that company.

We opera singers are freelance artists who are self-employed, but in an entertainment field where we all agree “everyone knows everyone,” we have to rethink not only our public selves, but our public ONLINE selves. Nothing we post is truly PRIVATE, so with each post we have to assume it will be seen by everyone. Social Media is not a personal diary, but a public forum in which everything we say can, and in many cases will be seen and interpreted by many. We all know that person that posts EVERYTHING they feel and we often call them “over sharers.” Since we opera singers depend on the opera companies to hire us (where many of the decision makers have very liberal points of view) and expect the wealthiest of patrons to fund those companies (many who tend towards more conservative points of view), our performing self has to be agreeable to all.

I believe in a country in which we all have the right to speak (or type) whatever is on our mind. Will I agree with all of it? No, but I don’t want anyone to take that right away. However, when you post anything it is no longer a private thought/idea that one might share in a conversation (or with a therapist), but a platform for public debate. And that series of off-hand comments or that lengthy diatribe posted to one’s page can come with severe repercussions. Facebook is a tool and we get to decide each and every day how we will use it. My challenge to everyone who reads this is to think of Facebook the same way you would think about wall paper in your home. What would you rather have people see if they walked into your house and looked at your wall, something beautiful or something ugly?

Peace,

Eric