Joe Henderson
The tale of Scott Orsini and his wayward Twitter finger is the latest chapter in that long-running saga “The Internet Lives Forever.”
He is the St. Petersburg attorney who seemed to be cruising toward a certain seat on the City Council. He had money, endorsements, and two opponents who didn’t appear to be competitive.
This was a done deal, but then it wasn’t.
You probably know the story by now of how crass, vulgar, and even racially insensitive tweets from Orsini dating to 2013 emerged from the Twitter goo into the harsh light of public condemnation. The candidate has some explaining to do, and lordy, he is trying to do that.
But a few words in Janelle Irwin Taylor account for Florida Politics of this tawdry tweetfest stood out to me.
“My tweets used insensitive language, is sexually explicit in nature, is generally immature, and does not represent who I am,” Orsini wrote in an apology letter to supporters.
Um, yeah, it kind of does represent who he is.
Orsini is not up to his neck in boiling water today because of a momentary lapse in judgment. It’s one thing to have an unguarded moment and send an email or tweet that you instantly regret.
It happens.
But Orsini was a serial tweeter with an attitude straight out of Animal House, and that is what makes no sense. He is an educated man, so how could he not know this was unacceptable?
Well, apparently he knows it now. Or at least he knows people react harshly to these things.
“In the course of reviewing the past 10 years of my digital life — approximately 29,000 tweets, retweets, and replies to tweets — I found that in an effort to be humorous I tweeted a small number of tweets to and about women and the LGTBQ community,” Orsini wrote.
“Though my tweets were insensitive, they did not bully, they did not incite violence, and they did not discriminate. They were childish tweets that were made in an attempt to be clever or humorous. They were not. This is a humiliating and humbling experience and one that I will not repeat.”
Stop right there, Scott Orsini, because some of those tweets were bullying attempts, and they did discriminate.
Is he saying his tweet last December that no one would want to be intimate with a “preachy vegan” isn’t bullying? Or tweeting disparaging remarks about the LGBTQ community isn’t bullying?
That’s why his apology letter rings hollow. If he doesn’t understand that by now, when will it happen?
Something like this is supposed to sink political campaigns, but he says he will stay in the race. He might win the District 1 race next month, too, because his opponents, lawyer John Hornbeck, and real estate investor Robert Blackmon, seem to be far behind.
Orsini told the Tampa Bay Times he learned June 22 that someone “associated with Blackmon” had the tweets and suggested, “that I should consider dropping out.”
The Times said it had printouts of 18 tweets and asked Orsini to verify if they were his. According to the newspaper, “Orsini on Saturday authenticated the tweets, one by one.”
Imagine that scene.
Yep. Yeah. Yes. Oh sure, that’s mine. Uh huh, that one too.
This issue isn’t about politics anymore. Scott Orsini, a well-regarded person, endangered everything because he couldn’t stop tweeting.
Was it worth it? Is it ever?
2 comments
C. Stroup
July 2, 2019 at 3:07 pm
I grew up in a time where “Bullying” was an act of physical/face to face confrontation. I agree, cyber bulling happens, but I don’t believe Mr. Orsini has engaged in any act of “Bullying” as your article tends to suggest.
As we the people have evolved, the internet and social media has replaced true “one on one” conversation. Notes being passed around have been replaced by text’s, tweets & posts, getting to know someone face to face has been replaced by online chats. The golden age of conversation has moved onward and upward thanks to the digital age.
I agree with Mr. Orsini’s statement:
“Though my tweets were insensitive, they did not bully, they did not incite violence, and they did not discriminate. They were childish tweets that were made in an attempt to be clever or humorous. They were not. This is a humiliating and humbling experience and one that I will not repeat.”
I will close with one final thought, something that parents (I know mine did) use to tell their children when made to feel uncomfortable by the playground bully, or the heckler in class……
“Stick and stones may break our bones but names will never hurt me”
A. Sproul
July 2, 2019 at 3:41 pm
I am part of the LGBTQ community, and I didn’t read anything offensive, maybe it is because I have thicker skin then most, maybe it is because I spent over 26 years in the Army. I found most of the tweets funny, they show that he is a human being. Hearing and reading some of the things that our elected President has tweeted and said, Mr Orsini should not be in hot water.
People make mistakes, say the wrong thing, lets not condemn Mr Orsini for the few tweets he tweeted in the past. Mr Blackmon or his associate are acting like children going, he isn’t fit to be a City Councilman in District 1, he wants it for power and popularity, not for passion for the city. Mr Orsini has the love and the passion for St Petersburg and I believe he will do a great job.
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