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The chief executive of a Michigan bank has lost her job after facing backlash for a social media photo of her family in sweatshirts that read “Lake America,” referencing Donald Trump’s relabeling of Lake Ontario.

Jane Smith from Family First Credit Union recently went viral after sharing the photo of her and three relatives wearing navy blue crewnecks with the words “Lake America” scrawled in white. The picture was snapped as her family left on September 11 for a 10-day trip to Halifax, Nova Scotia, but Smith says the sweatshirts were edited onto their bodies using AI.

"We weren't trying to make a political statement," Smith told Michigan outlet WJRT. "However, we were kind of poking fun at the fact that one of the Great Lakes' names were getting changed."

Family First Credit Union announced Wednesday that Smith was no longer with the company and that Jason Acosta, the chief operations officer, would serve as interim CEO.

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[–] givesomefucks@lemmy.world 214 points 4 days ago* (last edited 4 days ago) (4 children)

These boomer's brains have been fundamentally broken by the internet....

Smith said that her family took the photo and then put it through ChatGPT to add the “Lake America” sweatshirts. “We never had actual sweatshirts. We never wore sweatshirts,” she told WJRT.

"I understand if I was someone in Halifax and I thought a poor group of people walked in wearing those sweatshirts, it is highly offensive and I would understand why they would be so angry,” Smith reflected.

They legitimately think that the Internet isn't real.

If they understand that the actual sweatshirts would piss people off, then the only reason they think it's ok to do it with AI, is they don't want the real life consequences of everyone knowing they support trump.

Like "the picture is AI" only works as an excuse, if you're not the one who added it with AI...

The only thing this excuse proves, is they really support him and likely have even more extremists views they're hiding.

I've noticed this with other right wingers too, they see trump and his admin "trolling" in real life, and think it's acceptable for them to do it. They never understand that "just a prank bro" hasn't worked in over a decade, and that when/if they say it, no one gives a fuck.

Whether or not it's a joke, doesn't matter.

[–] JohnnyEnzyme@piefed.social 61 points 4 days ago (1 children)

“I understand if I was someone in Halifax and I thought a poor group of people walked in wearing those sweatshirts, it is highly offensive and I would understand why they would be so angry,” Smith reflected.

Very telling comment.

The reality is that the wealthier and more powerful you are, the more you can get away with, but she simply wasn't at the level to pull this off. She understands the whole principle based on her comments, but she simply miscalculated her value. Badly.

[–] atomicbocks@sh.itjust.works 41 points 4 days ago (1 children)

She is from Michigan, I read it as “unfortunate group, to be pitied” not “unwealthy group”. I think she was trying to paint herself as a form of victim of the situation. But I could be wrong.

[–] daychilde@lemmy.world 26 points 4 days ago* (last edited 4 days ago)

She definitely was:

Her family decided to return from their trip early because Smith said she was getting death threats.

Bullshit.

Or: Why were Canadians of all people threatening you? What the fuck did you do to spark that?

[–] Duamerthrax@lemmy.world 13 points 4 days ago* (last edited 4 days ago)

If edited pictures of sweatshirts posted online aren't real, then neither are death threats made online.

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[–] dhork@lemmy.world 146 points 4 days ago* (last edited 4 days ago) (2 children)

Actually, if she legitimately did think plastering Trump's made-up name for Lake Ontario all over the Internet wasn't a political statement, then she probably doesn't have the awareness to be running a lemonade stand, much less a credit union.

[–] troglodytis@lemmy.world 11 points 4 days ago

Exactly, taken at her word, and giving the most generous interpretations there of, I would not want her in charge of a anything touching my finances

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[–] NutWrench@lemmy.ml 13 points 3 days ago

"We weren't trying to make a political statement," Smith told Michigan outlet WJRT.

The fark you weren't.

[–] BarneyPiccolo@lemmy.today 84 points 4 days ago (2 children)

"We weren't trying to make a political statement," Smith told Michigan outlet. "However, we were kind of poking fun at the fact that one of the Great Lakes' names were getting changed."

Yeah, that's a political statement, you dolt. Turns out, doubling down on stupidity is bad for a CEO's career.

[–] Thebeardedsinglemalt@lemmy.world 50 points 4 days ago* (last edited 3 days ago) (1 children)

She's not sorry for what she did, she's just sorry it involved consequences.

[–] MunkyNutts@lemmy.world 9 points 4 days ago (1 children)
[–] partial_accumen@lemmy.world 8 points 4 days ago

She's also wrong that the name changed. The name of it is Lake Ontario. No trump temper tantrum changes that.

[–] cmbabul@slrpnk.net 10 points 4 days ago (1 children)

It’s been said to death but the people that call themselves big time conservatives and do this kind of shit don’t think anything they do and believe is political, even their political beliefs, it’s just “normal”. Only things that don’t fit into or jive with their worldview are political

[–] BarneyPiccolo@lemmy.today 1 points 2 days ago

They're normal, Democrats are political.

[–] DarrinBrunner@lemmy.world 105 points 4 days ago (1 children)

For those who want to see the image without allowing 20 javascripts to run:

[–] JGrffn@lemmy.world 21 points 4 days ago (4 children)

Possibly pattern-seeking behavior but if you squint, those waves look an awful lot like the nazi eagle, which just adds to this whole thing

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[–] BradleyUffner@lemmy.world 61 points 4 days ago* (last edited 4 days ago) (13 children)

I was initially kind of torn on this one, since I don't think a job should be able to fire you for something you do outside of work, no matter how idiotic, unless it breaks the law. Then I remembered that Republicans got a whole bunch of people fired for things they said about what's-his-name, with the neck fountain.

So I'm ultimately coming down on the side of "fuck 'em, payback's a bitch".

If you're rank and file, sure. If you're the CEO then posting something like this really brings your judgment into question.

[–] LazyOldPervert@lemmus.org 5 points 3 days ago

Never seen a more beautiful fountain in my life

[–] W3dd1e@lemmy.zip 7 points 4 days ago

I got the feeling that the photo was a joke made in AI. Maybe I’m giving the CEO too much credit idk. But, if the bank has any Canadian customers, I totally understand the firing.

You can’t alienate your customer base without consequences.

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[–] NatakuNox@lemmy.world 62 points 4 days ago (2 children)

She said, "It wasn't political"

It's always not political when they do anything. But you have the wrong skin color as their neighbor and suddenly it's political? You love someone they don't like? It's political! You don't want to have children? It's political.

[–] Doom@lemmy.world 13 points 4 days ago

She wasn't fired for being political. She was fired for being a fucking idiot. Hell her rich buddies probably all agree with her and created a safe space for her to act this entitledly dumb without consequence - until now.

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[–] DarrinBrunner@lemmy.world 72 points 4 days ago (1 children)

When your employees tell you who they are, listen.

Stupid enough to offend 70% of your customers.

[–] Khanzarate@lemmy.world 36 points 4 days ago (31 children)

And good for the credit union, they did.

Now she's unemployed.

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[–] myrmidex@belgae.social 52 points 4 days ago (1 children)

“We never had actual sweatshirts. We never wore sweatshirts,”

She still has no clue what she did wrong

[–] lobut@lemmy.ca 26 points 4 days ago (1 children)

No, she does. She's MAGA. It's a very poor diversion.

No, she still has no clue. In her brain she is in the realm of truth and righteousness. But if someone else had a shirt that said Gulf of Mexico, Lake Ontario, New Mexico shed lose her shit

[–] Lor@leminal.space 34 points 4 days ago (7 children)

What an idiot. Imagine wearing crap to purposefully piss people off when traveling.

[–] Raiderkev@lemmy.world 26 points 4 days ago (1 children)

Specifically traveling to a foreign country which our government has been hostile to. Just all around fucking stupid.

[–] Buddahriffic@lemmy.world 12 points 4 days ago

Specifically traveling to the county that name change was intended to antagonize.

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[–] cyberpunk007@lemmy.ca 37 points 4 days ago (2 children)

Poking fun at one of the great lakes names getting changed? It didn't change. Is lake Ontario.

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[–] BigMacHole@thelemmy.club 6 points 3 days ago

She was wearing a JACKET with a MAGA Phrase on it! It's not like she was being BLACK or GAY or something POLITICAL!

"It wasn't political" she said, politically.

I love this for her 🥰

[–] yesman@lemmy.world 20 points 4 days ago (1 children)

We should quietly celebrate when MAGA gets hung up on the symbolic. Celebrate because they're not doing any actual harm, and quietly so as not to interrupt them.

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[–] arc99@lemmy.world 13 points 4 days ago (1 children)

I've got to assume this bank had a lot of Canadian customers who would rapidly be taking their business elsewhere if they did nothing.

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[–] grrgyle@slrpnk.net 13 points 4 days ago

Just a little light annexation humour

[–] SaveTheTuaHawk@lemmy.ca 16 points 4 days ago

What assholes.

[–] EtAl@lemmy.dbzer0.com 8 points 4 days ago (1 children)

Explain to me how the humor of this joke works. Like what is the actual mechanism that makes this joke funny? Because the haha of this is right over my head.

[–] plz1@sh.itjust.works 9 points 4 days ago

It's because it's bad faith reasoning. If she knew about it being renamed, she knew why (political theater), and where she stood on that political spectrum.

[–] radiofreebc@lemmy.world 10 points 4 days ago* (last edited 4 days ago)

How can someone make a statement like that without it being political? They should also be permanently banned from Canada.

[–] Smaile@lemmy.ca 11 points 4 days ago (1 children)

Fuck yes, this shit gets me hard

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[–] Fizz@lemmy.nz 6 points 4 days ago

What a dogshit excuse.

[–] 20cello@lemmy.world 10 points 4 days ago (1 children)

So little brain cells in this picture

[–] antaymonkey@lemmy.world 15 points 4 days ago (1 children)
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