Arkansas Judge Under Investigation for Comments Made on an LSU Message Board
By Mike Cardillo
The Associated Press dug up some of the details.
Here’s a smattering of the sexists posts allegedly made by Maggio :
"In a June 2011 posting, “geauxjudge” suggested that women who seek divorces after their husbands cheat may be better off financially by staying married. In Arkansas, circuit judges like Maggio handle divorce cases, among other civil and criminal casework. “I see it everyday. A woman makes (an) emotional decision to divorce because the husband stepped out. When otherwise he was a good provider, father, and husband,” the posting says. “Then a year or two later realizes uh oh I am worse off financially, emotionally and relationship wise but hey they showed that SOB. Too many times the women get their advice from other divorced women.”"
And here’s a dose of the racist-tinged material:
"In a posting from last December about baby names, “geauxjudge” wrote about the effect a name can have on an individual’s success, the website reported. “How many Doctors do you hear named Dr. Taneesha or HaHa?” he wrote, apparently referring to Ha’Sean “Ha Ha” Clinton-Dix, a black University of Alabama football player. “How many bankers do (you) hear named Brylee? So stick with something close to normal. Or come sit in criminal court any day and see the ‘common names.'”"
As of now Maggio is only under investigation for what he allegedly posted under the veil of anonymity online.
My guess going forward: the blurring lines between your real-life persona and online persona are going to cross more-and-more, at least if you’re in the public arena. If you’re someone that wants to hold a public office — a judge in this case — chances are if you post something vile, horrible or offensive under a screen name, somebody can eventually figure out who you are and potentially use it against you.
It doesn’t even have to be that extreme. Imagine if you’re running for office or applying for a job and that 2 Live Crew video you posted as a goof to your Facebook wall six years ago without even thinking twice. It could come back to haunt you.
Rule of thumb: if you wouldn’t say something in public or to somebody’s face, it’s probably not a good idea to post it on a forum unless you want that side of your personality exposed for everybody to see.