Should I hire this carpenter when I don't like his FB feed?

[TheOrigRightsofwomen]

Guy I sort of know from my running club was recommended to me by a friend to do some fencing and decking work in my garden.

I 'friended' him on FB and see that he's a bit of a twat - posting 'cheeky' pics of women having their bums groped, or pulling a moony etc.
Daft memes about sex and stuff.

I don't feel like he would be some sort of threatening predator or anything, but he just seems like a slime.

AIBU? Obv I can hire who I like, but am wondering if I'm being a bit up myself!

YANBU
I cancelled a job halfway through due to racism on the tradesperson’s Facebook page (I paid for all work completed of course)
Don’t want to invite those views into my house

Nope.

Please, people who are going on about wrong think, if he is using his Facebook as a platform to contact potential customers, his Facebook becomes a platform used for professional purposes, if he doesn’t want people to not use his services because of his views, he shouldn’t damn well share them then should he!

Honestly, you read some daft shit on here at times, and just when you think you've seen it all, someone comes on to plummet to even more inane depths.

Guilty of 'wrong think' is right down there.

Good on you OP, especially for telling why you won't be using him.

Wont it be a little awkward at running club?

My house is a project and needs a lot of work doing inside and out, I always look at FB profiles before hiring anyone. Anyone who is racist, sexist, skeezy in any way doesn't get the job. I don't want people like that in my house.

You are most definitely not BU.

What if your next carpenter doesn't have a social media profile? You wouldn't know anything about him at all!

The point is he’s free to post what he wants on FB (within reason) and the OP is free to not hire him if she doesn’t like the posts. Thought police doesn’t enter into it. Well done OP.

Thought police implies he would get in some sort of trouble legally for his thoughts. Which obviously isn't the case, but I wouldn't give him work.

I'd just reply saying "well maybe you should think harder about what you post on FB because it's put me right off hiring you". You won't change this prat's opinion so don't bother trying. He's probably moaning about "political correctness gorn mad" right now.

Wont it be a little awkward at running club?

Certainly hope so.

His personality might be shit but how does this impact on his work?

Your not going to see his FB wall plastered on your house walls.

Sorry didn't see the racist post.. I take my first comment back

I'm amazed by how many (presumably) women on here are perfectly happy to let this perfidious casual misogyny go by without a problem.

@smithsally884 Wont it be a little awkward at running club?

I don't run in the same group as him as I am a much better runner. I may see him at races, but I'm not at all concerned.

@rupertina What if your next carpenter doesn't have a social media profile? You wouldn't know anything about him at all!
That's true. I actually wasn't actively checking out his personal views before making a decision, more just scrolling through out of curiosity.
I don't really get your point. I was able to make an informed decision.

@Unicornandbows His personality might be shit but how does this impact on his work? It probably doesn't, but so what. I don't want to hand over my money to someone I have learnt things about that I don't like.

I find all this FB stalking when hiring people weird. How did people manage to employ anyone before FB?
What if he didn't have a FB account? What if he didn't accept your friend request?
It's crap like this that reinforces why I keep my profile on lockdown and use an alias.

I don't run in the same group as him as I am a much better runner

This has pleased me almost more than anything on this thread

@theworldistoosmall
As I've said, I wasn't stalking him, just scrolling. As I've said already, I know him loosely from my running club.

You did the right thing. I think it’s important to be careful when hiring people to work in your homes or gardens. When I was young and staying with my parents, they hired a plumber for while. He was really creepy with me at home, always trying to get in my bedroom, asking me on dates. Now, I wouldn’t hire anybody where I wasn’t completely comfortable (or at least hadn’t seen anything untoward).

I'd give him a miss if it makes you uncomfortable. My joiner's Facebook is bloody adorable - all posts about lost dogs and not polluting the ocean, I'm a little bit in love with his compassionate nature and practical hands....

If you hadn't scrolled you wouldn't have known.
My half-sibling is a vile, racist, sexist arse. You check his FB and you wouldn't know the organisations he is actively involved in. He's not stupid. Neither are some of the people he knows who also don't post stuff on FB.

Not everyone who is on FB posts their views. They don't post that they regularly see hookers. They don't post that at night they smoke a joint or two. They don't post that they often snort coke.

theworldistoosmall
What's the point your trying to make? My AIBU was whether I should hire him or not.
I'm not on some sort of crusade to have all tradespeople disclose their opinions or what they do in their private lives.

Are you saying that IABU not to have hired him because I don't know the backgrounds of everyone I come across with, and that makes me a hypocrite?

It’s one thing to use the services of someone you don’t agree with outside the home and another if they are in your house
DH is non British (EU) and he visits a masseuse who is very pro Brexit and anti European while he is very pro remain. He largely ignores her as he thinks “ you can’t argue with stupid” and enjoys the excellent but reasonably priced massage she gives him.
However, as a woman myself with a teenage daughter I would not have a man I felt uncomfortable with in my house . Chances are I wouid be perfectly safe but if I could find an alternative I would.

Its not just about disagreeing with someone's politics.

I would not want someone in my home who advocates sexual assault.

Tell him that's why you're not hiring him.

If someone advocates sexual assault or if there is the slightest chance of danger I don’t think you should be telling him the reason.