TJ WALKER - THE HABIT INFLUENCER - Personal Development | LIVE STREAM

24 Mar 2015 · 3 min

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2:42

TJ Walker breaks down a PR disaster: UK parliamentary candidate Greg Piers posted a Facebook photo dressed as Oscar Pistorius, reenacting a killing. The post sparked outrage and party condemnation. Walker explains why politicians face harsher judgment than private citizens and why provocative costumes can tank a campaign.

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The PR blunder of the day goes to Greg Piers, a candidate for Parliament in Great Britain. Talking about self inflicted wounds. This is classic. Greg Pears is a Conservative. He's a member of the Conservative Party in Great Britain. He's running for Parliament, same party as David Cameron, the current Prime Minister. And he saw fit to post on his Facebook page a costume where he is dressed up as Oscar Pistorius, holding a gun, essentially reenacting a murderer's murderer's activities. And now he's, I guess, confused as to why people are upset. His own party spokesperson essentially denounced him as being inappropriate. Here's the thing, folks, life isn't always fair. If he were just a junior accountant in some small firm and he did this, went to a Halloween party dressed up as Oscar Pistorius, he's the Blade Runner from the Olympics, if you don't remember who shot and killed his girlfriend in South Africa. If Mr. Piers were just an average, unknown accountant and he did this, it might get a couple chuckles, maybe a raised eyebrow, and then all of his friends and family would instantly forget it. But he's not an anonymous face anymore. He's putting himself out as a candidate for public office of not the most powerful nation in the world anymore, but still a pretty powerful, influential nation. He wants to be a leader in the ruling party of a government that has life and death control over people. And that's why people get a little touchy if they see someone who potentially could wield that much power, treat death and murder so flippantly. And the odd thing isn't just that he dressed this way and someone secretly took a picture and then posted it and sent it to the news media. He put it on his own Facebook page. PR blunder of the day, folks. Here's something politicians and public figures need to ask themselves when they're dressing up wearing some provocative shirt, clothes, costume, you need to ask yourself what percentage of the public who saw this or didn't know me would think I'm a jackass. And if it's more than 1 or 2%, don't wear the costume.