The Tweet I Wish I Could Take Back with Natasha Tynes | #Perspectives with Sharon Pearson

Every week, someone on Twitter gets to be the person everyone else piles on, the person who is universally hunted by the social media warriors in the cheap seats. In May 2019, it was award-winning US author Natasha Tynes’ turn to face cancel culture.

Soon to publish her first novel, murder mystery They Called Me Wyatt, Natasha was traveling by train to her Washington communications job. When she saw a transit employee eating on the train—which is illegal in Washington—she snapped a photo and posted a tweet calling out the woman.

In the 49 minutes the tweet was up, former journalist Natasha’s life imploded. 49 minutes, for a decorated career and hopeful future to be torn down.

49 minutes.

What happened next was described to me by Natasha from the Washington DC home she shares with her husband and three children for #Perspectives podcast The Tweet I Wish I Could Take Back.

I was absolutely intrigued to talk to Natasha. These types of stories fascinate me and to be able to be speak with someone who has experienced cancel culture and to unpack it is one of the most important conversations in this day and age.

During the hour or so we spoke on Zoom, we got to unpack what happens in a world where somebody can get judged and found wanting for 20 seconds of poor judgement—the length of time Natasha estimates it took her to write and post her tweet—and pretty much lose life as they know it.

Natasha recounts what happened on that day 14 months ago. The uniformed railway employee eating on the train caught her eye because “I’ve been lambasted before by Metro employees for eating a banana on the platform," she says.

"So I was really baffled this was happening in plain sight.”

When the employee told Natasha to “worry about yourself" she decided to tweet about the incident. She admits, “to be completely honest I should not have done this. I should have used a more private way of filing my complaint. If I could take this back I would.”

She agrees with me it wasn't the smartest tweet. “I admit I made an error in judgement but I’m human," says Natasha. "We all make mistakes. I should have used a more private manner of complaining.”