The Mayor's Wife: Censored! (Kind Of)

I started this column with some musings on my life as the wife of a mayor of a small town. My husband has now been mayor about 9 months now.  There have been highs and lows, as I am sure is the case with most political endeavors.  My husband is confident in his decisions, has no regrets to this point.  

And then there is the media.  In our small town of 16,000 people, the "media" is a small local paper, Facebook, and word of mouth.  I kid you not that news in a small town travels lightning fast, especially if you are a prominent member of the community.  

A recent status update on my personal Facebook page was intended as a joke (although based on truth), but turned into much more. When you are in a small town and you are the mayor, you run into friends and constituents everywhere you go.  You get into conversations.  You are apprised of issues.  Absolute requirement of the job, in my opinion.  But I've gotten used to the fact that grocery store runs can take a lot longer than average.  I've grown accustomed to local date nights involving "city conversation".  Given, this does not happen every time my husband or we both are out and about.  But it does happen frequently.

Fast forward to my Facebook post; it was prompted when a trip to pick-up take 'n bake pizza took a lot longer than expected.  My status update poked fun at the town, stating "C'mon Canby, help a girl out?" Again, while this is based on truth, it was meant as a joke.  Think boxers vs. briefs.  It's not like I am tapping my watch at home, waiting for the mayor to arrive back home, as I stand in my flour-dusted apron with a baby on my hip. Besides, I don't even wear a watch.  I will admit that these interruptions are more an inconvenience than bothersome.  It wasn't taken this way.

Calls came into the city and other local offices, expressing concern.  To this I replied, "Really? Can't anyone take a joke anymore?"   It was only meant to make you chuckle. I ultimately felt compelled to remove the post.  The mouthy mayor's wife had to remove her status update.  Dang.

But I think this points to a larger issue with Facebook and other social media.  In my opinion, users are more forthcoming, honest, and open to confrontation & arguments.  It's easy to sound off on a topic from your laptop.  I'm sure you've seen it many times in your Facebook news feed; all those stories that have gone viral and suddenly everyone is an expert on the topic.  I am not saying a lot of those opinions are not founded and valid.  But you also can't tell me that all those users haven't posted a comment simply based on a headline, a photo, or only reading the first few sentences of an article.  

I took a leave of absence from Facebook about a year ago.  And I will be honest, when my post was taken the wrong way, I honestly thought of stepping out of the Facebook ring again.  Truth be told, I felt censored. It's my personal page and I can say whatever I want, right?  I guess you won't be seeing me in the White House anytime soon.

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Have you had an experience with a Facebook or other social media post that you had to remove? Did you have unforeseen consequences from a social media post?  Do you think what happened to me was justified?

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