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We all love our finstas. If you don’t know what it is, it’s a fake Instagram account. You know, the one you limit only to your close friends’ eyes so you can post memes and other non-edited or unfiltered content you wouldn’t let your other followers see. But by unfiltered content, we mean lighthearted videos of you dancing in sweats, boomerangs of you embarrassing yourself in public, and NOT racist rants.
What Happened?
For University of Alabama student Harley Barber, she caused the internet to rightfully have a conniption when she posted a video to her finsta using derogatory language about African-Americans. The videos are despicable and proof that anything you post online can be screenshotted or saved by a third party. Obviously, the videos went viral and Barber was expelled from her university and kicked out of the Alpha Phi sorority.
In one video taken in a bathroom, Barber applauds herself for turning off the faucet and says, “I love how I act like I love black people because I f****** hate n******.” WARNING, these videos contain offensive language so watch at your own discretion.
https://twitter.com/TabisBack/status/953335592871452673
In another video, which already has a million views, Barber attempts to justify her being able to say the N word because she is “in the South now.”
https://twitter.com/TabisBack/status/953336153343655937
This week, students held a protest and UA president Stuart R. Bell made a statement, according to WIAT. Bell declared, “Like many of you, I find the videos highly offensive and deeply hurtful, not only to our students and our entire University community but to everyone who viewed them. The actions of this student do not represent the larger student body or the values of our University, and she is no longer enrolled here.”
What’s not just vile is that someone would have these views but that they would make and post this kind of content with no hesitation.
Who is Harley Barber?
19-year-old Barber hails from Marlton, New Jersey and until this week, was a student at UA and a member of the Alpha chi sorority. Barber told the New York Post, “I don’t know what to do and I feel horrible. I’m wrong and there’s just no excuse for what I did.” While she may have apologized for posting the videos, she’s not necessarily remorseful for having the views that she does. According to The Post, Barber is preparing to return to New Jersey.
Twitter Reactions
The Alpha Chi sorority didn’t want the whole debacle to taint them as a group.
rip the best of her life & also rip alpha phi pic.twitter.com/2ksyoEMixQ
— lindsey black (@lindseyblack__) January 16, 2018
https://twitter.com/pottsmike/status/953466894748659718
The takeaway is that racism is not dead, and despite any privacy settings, your online content could always be leaked.
