A local bakery owner in my town got canceled last month over a five-year-old tweet

It was a bad joke about a reality show that got dug up. The online pile-on was huge, with people calling for a boycott. By Friday, the bakery had to close for a week because of the threats. Has anyone seen a small business recover from something like this?

4 comments

4 Comments

faith_shah881mo ago

A friend of mine owns a small bookstore and had a similar thing happen, though not as bad. She said the only way they got through it was by the neighbors and regulars banding together, making it known they still supported her. @ivan774 might be right that some words have lasting damage, but in her case, it was a dumb comment that got blown way out of proportion, and the kindness of people she saw every day meant more than any online noise.

smith.parker3mo ago

Man, that is just awful to hear. I mean, a five year old tweet? It feels so unfair to dig up old stuff like that and wreck someone's actual life over it. I really hope they can bounce back, but closing for threats is a huge deal. Maybe if the regulars show up and support them when they reopen, it could help. It just makes me so mad for them.

bennett.harper3mo ago

Yeah, I used to be all for holding people's old stuff against them, like they should know better. But seeing a place actually shut down over a tweet from half a decade ago? That's real damage. It made me realize digging for receipts can just ruin a person's livelihood without giving any room for change. Now it just feels like a punishment that doesn't fit the crime.

ivan7743mo ago

Unfair to dig up old stuff" is exactly the point though. If it was just a bad joke, fine. But what if that five year old tweet was racist or threatened someone? The damage from those words didn't just disappear for the people they hurt. A business closing is bad, but letting harmful ideas sit out there like they're no big deal is worse. Sometimes the consequence has to be big for people to actually get it.