As of lately, digging up old tweets and comments from a prominent person has been a trend. These comments are then used as a club against them. The most recent victim of this trend is Tucker Carlson, for his comments he made on the radio show "Bubba the Love Sponge." Carlson, working for MSNBC at the time, appeared on the radio show and between 2006 and 2011. On there, he defended child rapist Warren Jeffs and used homophobic slurs.
While these comments are wrong and in bad taste, we have to consider the context, how long ago it was said, and whether he actually believes what he has said.
"Bubba the Love Sponge" is a shock jock radio show, with the sole purpose of saying crazy, over the top and offensive things. While it is not a good idea to go on a shock jock show while working for MSNBC, Carlson was more than likely saying those things to get a reaction, especially from the host. Given this scenario, it is hard to believe he actually holds these views.
These comments were around 12 years ago. We are constantly changing our world-view and opinions, especially in the span of that timeframe. It's not practical to be mad over something that was said 12 years ago. If Carlson said them now, then there would be a better cause to call him out. Using these 12-year-old comments as a way to attack him now just demonstrates that you are politically motivated.
None of this is to justify what he said publicly. His words were garbage. It's just to show that he does not need to be fired from Fox News and that context matters in these situations. He does not need to apologize to the twitter mobs that went after him. However, a case can be made that he should apologize to the victims of Warren Jeffs.
This trend doesn't just happen to conservative talk show hosts. Last year, Kevin Hart lost his Oscar host role over 10-year-old tweets. In these tweets, he made multiple jokes making fun of homosexuality. One tweet read, "Yo if my son comes home & tries 2 play with my daughter's dollhouse I'm going 2 break it over his head & say n my voice 'stop that's gay.'"
We all know who Kevin Hart is. He's a comedian, and a very beloved one too. He was a comedian hopping on Twitter to make some quick jokes, just like every other comedian does. His goal wasn't to throw hatred at the LGBT community. No one batted an eye when these were first tweeted, so why should we bat an eye now? The only people who were offended by these tweets were Twitter mobs who make a career of throwing people on the curb.
Even the president of Media Matters, the organization that unearthed Tucker Carlson's old comments, has some bad comments from the past. Angelo Carusone went after transgenders, Jewish people, and Japanese people on his blog from 12 years ago. He used a derogatory term for Japanese people and transgender people. He also said that about his boyfriend that, "despite his jewelry, you KNOW he's adorable."
Should Angelo Carusone be fired from his position at Media Matters for the same reason he wants Tucker Carlson to be fired from his position at Fox News? No, he should keep his job. Again, the context of these comments matter. Is he really anti-Semitic? Probably not, given that he was dating a Jewish person. All these comments were meant to get a reaction at the time. As in the case of Carlson and Hart, we shouldn't hold years old comment to Carusone, and act like they said it five minutes ago.
It is best to watch what we say publicly. We should always consider whether something is worth saying. But the right we hold to free speech allows us to say whatever crazy and outlandish words we want unless it is a call for violence. The fact that these people are allowed to say these things brings to light how privileged we are as a nation—a nation that protects, not punishes, free speech.
