“A high-profile Australian lawyer working in London’s business district could be sacked over an e-mail that went global. Patrick Smith faces dismissal from international firm Clifford Chance after a message which referred to a Japanese lawyer, dubbed Carol. It said: ‘Dude, Carol wants some of that double penetration action, so let me know when you and the old horse fat (code for penis) are around.’ Smith thought he was replying to an e-mail from a friend. But, instead of hitting the reply button to his friend he struck the ‘reply to all‘ function and haplessly sent the message to 30 others. They then forwarded it all over the world.” — News.com.au (Australia)

When you first read this story, you can’t help but laugh at this guy. He’s an idiot, you think, for being so careless with something that should be so discreet. What’s more, since he’s rounding up more horse fat for what’s known as a Queen Triad, a threesome consisting of two men and one woman (the Queen, duh), he raises some questions about his machismo. It’s as though he’s telling the world he’s not man enough to satisfy a woman alone, or perhaps he’s bisexual. After all, he seems intimate enough with his friend’s anatomy to call it by a nickname, old horse fat.

But then when you think about it, you realize that the guy made an honest mistake. It was an accident. Should he really lose his job just for hitting the wrong button on his email program? After all, consider what his correspondents did. They deliberately forwarded the message all over the world. Whereas the guy just screwed up, his “friends” and associates knowingly embarrassed him, jeopardized his livelihood, and humiliated the lady in the story. Which is the more shameful act? To humiliate a person inadvertently, accidentally hitting the wrong button, or intentionally, for the sake of a laugh?

VideoBox

It's like the iTunes Music Store for Porn. Download unlimited high-quality video for only $9.95/month.