Nude Photos Make McDonald’s The Victim
Karen Bune
Victimology Contributor
Officer.com
Phillip Sherman of Arkansas has no one to blame but himself if nude photos of his wife turn up anywhere other than on his cell phone where he had them stored. He reportedly left his cell phone behind in a McDonalds and is now blaming the store for not maintaining the security of his phone. Consequently, he alleges the photos are supposedly floating around somewhere in the public domain on the internet. Mr. Sherman is now bemoaning his own self-induced plight and is suing McDonalds for 3 million dollars for suffering, embarrassment, and the cost of having to move to a new home.
Mr. Sherman is by no means a victim of anything other than his own stupidity and, therefore, one is hard pressed to have any sympathy for him whatsoever. He made the mistake of putting the photos on his phone in the first place, and he is the one who didn’t take the proper means to secure his own phone. If he was so worried about who could see those photos, he shouldn’t have put them there in the first place and should have been more vigilant and not so absent-minded to leave the phone behind.
Perhaps Mr. Sherman could take some lessons from married men who engage in clandestine affairs or guys who cheat on their girlfriends. They are more street smart and savvy in knowing how and where to store their information and hide their activities from their personal and, in some cases, public lives.
If Mr. Sherman is bold enough to put nude photos of his wife on the cell phone, he should realize that the potential exists for that confidentiality to get compromised by virtue of a situation occurring like the one he is experiencing. If he was so worried about these photos being “discovered,” then he should have found an alternative mode and method in which he could keep these highly prized photos of his sweetie.
Any man who will place nude photos of his wife on a cell phone can’t be that much of a prude to feel so much “embarrassment” and “suffer” to the extent that Mr. Sherman claims. It appears that he has an ulterior self-serving motive in claiming such distress and emotional impact and is utilizing it to his full advantage to try to take advantage of McDonalds. He even stoops so low as to lay blame on others that he has to relocate from his home.
Mr. Sherman doesn’t have to do anything, but he chooses to do otherwise. He could, in fact, remain living where he is and take the consequences of his own mistake like a man rather than behaving in such child-like manner and becoming an apparent poster boy for a whiner. Mr. Sherman is looking for a pot of undeserved gold from the Golden Arches of hamburger kingdom but, perhaps, instead, he should merely seek compensation for a pair of sexy stilettos that he could give his wife for Christmas and have her audition for Playboy.
First, in this age of instant technology it should be ASSUMED that any image of anyone, digital or on film, that is nude, lewd, lascivious, ridiculous, embarassing, or otherwise best regretted after the fact WILL make it onto the public domain. But if it’s on a cellphone it is probably safe, since no one ever leaves those lying about…
To be fair to Mr Sherman, though, my understanding of the story is this: He realized he had lost his phone and called the McDonald’s. The manager found the phone and assured Mr Sherman it would be safely secured until it coulded be picked it up. Instead, someone laid their hands on it and the rest is history. I think the McDonald’s does hold some culpability and should be made to pay up. But $3Mil is clearly wayyyy too steep; I’m thinking one free McRib a day for one week ought to cover McD’s responsibility. Beyond that it’s all on Phil.
And the best thing is, if he wasn’t embarassed enough before, how is he feeling now that the story has gone national and 9 million people have googled “Tina Sherman + McDonald’s + cellphone photos”? The dude is a genius….
$3 million? Makes spilling hot coffee seem cheap!
What a Whack Job
Dang Karen - You have to stop with these kinds of article titles where I expect to see some great photos, then get nothing but words!!
But isn’t it wonderful that someone can actually blame an entire corporation and get money for something that is absolutely, entirely, and without question, their own ignorant, stupid, and low-life fault?
But above all, the REAL reason he shouldn’t have a winnable suit, is because he actually got what he really wanted, his wife’s photos in a public place. If he hadn’t have wanted them in a public place, then why place them on the phone at all? It reminds me of these gang-bangers that tattoo themselves all up, then get angry when the cops stop them!! They wanna be noticed, then when the guys that carry guns DO notice them, somehow that isn’t quite the way they pictured themselves with all their cute little tattoos in public photos.
So, if he didn’t want his wife’s photos displayed, why’d he put her in such a public place as cellphone? It’s because he WANTED his wife’s photos displayed is why!!
I absolutely agree with Karen.
This is yet another example of “The Streisand Effect” in action. If you don’t know what that is…a few years ago, a company was doing a long range photo survey of the California coastline for environmental management purposes. Barbara Streisand happens to have a home located along the coast. When she became aware that her estate was included in one of the photos (although nobody else knew, her home was not identified in the photo), she sued for a violation of privacy. Immediately, the whole world knew — via the Internet — that there was a picture of her house available on-line. If she hadn’t said anything, probably no one would have noticed. Because she made a big stink about it, it had the exact opposite effect.
Once you know what the Streisand Effect is, you will see examples of it everywhere.
On a slightly different issue, I can’t help but wonder if this guy WANTED to make his wife’s pictures famous…
I would first have to see the evidence before I made up my mind.
Is she hot?????
That’s why all of my nude wifey pics are encrypted and physically secured on memory sticks!
Hey Edward Hutton?
Are you interested? I charge a finders fee!
The suit alleges that McDs emloyees ransacked his phone and published his private information. If that’s true, McDs is liable. They should have just given him back his phone.
[…] wealth. One man even tried to sue the chain when he lost his cell phone there, which contained nude pictures of his wife. He asked for $3 million, claiming that McDonald’s had failed to maintain the security of […]