The world is filled with diverse characters, from those who do random acts of kindness, to others who perform random acts of malice. One street performer in Athens was the victim of a random act of malice from a woman, Shauntee Heard of the Instagram handle @Atl.minit.
The Incident
A street performer in Athens, Georgia was busy entertaining passerby as was his routine, while recording when a random woman, now identified as Shauntee Heard knocked over his piano. Speaking later in a voice over video addressing the incident, the performer termed it as one of the worst things somebody has ever done to him while he was performing on the street.
Although he still continued playing even after the attack on his piano, Shauntee didn’t seem to have completed her onslaught. The first time she knocks the piano, the audience encourages him to continue playing which must have agitated Shauntee.
She walks away for a while, before returning and aggressively knocking the piano to the ground. This time, the passersby are not impressed by her antics and one woman calls for others to “boo that woman”.
The same shock about her behavior by the street performer’s audience also happens when he shares the incident on social media, expressing his hurt at the woman’s actions.
In the same incident, the woman also appears to take the sup holding the money the street performer has made from his performance.
While Shauntee was meeting out her aggression, some of the audience came over to help the street performer, including some who gave him tips to compensate for what he had lost.
Viral Incident and Apology
The street performer posts this incident on social media, sharing that it is common for them to be heckled. However, he also shares that this incident was aggravated and he would have to stop.
After posting his encounter with Shauntee on the internet, the incident goes viral. Most people on the internet called her out on her behavior with others going ahead to reveal who she actually was and her family.
Following the online backlash she received, Shauntee came out to apologize with her now deleted account @Atl.minit. in her apology, she acknowledges that her actions were uncalled for and apologizes for her behavior.
She also pleaded with people to stop harassing her family for the incident. She also asserted that the musician whose piano she damaged accepted her apology after she reached out to him and they had a phone conversation.
The street musician in later posts acknowledged that he accepted her apology. He also stated that he was not angry the first time she hit her piano. However, he did insist that the second time she knocked it to the ground was “pretty messed up.”
He also called for people not to harass Shauntee for her behavior. Although he did emphasize that her behavior did have consequences, some of which were not very favorable for her.
Social Media and Cancel Culture
Social media users remain vocal about the behavior people are displaying in real life, going as far publicly shaming people who engage in behavior that is considered wrong. While this might reflect on the positive voice of people ibn calling out bad behavior, it has also devolved into cyberbullying.
In many incidents, social media users have been known to engage in outrageous behavior themselves in calling out ideas or behaviors that they do not agree with. What once started as calling out bad behavior has sometimes turned into bullying, with recipients sometimes receiving death threats.
For instance, in Shauntee’s case, despite her objectively bad behavior in ruining another person’s property, social media users going as far as harassing her family seems to be crossing a line.
The bullying, which resulted in her issuing an apology, also resulted in her leaving social media.
