As the United States heads into a new era of the pandemic with vaccinations reaching arms in unprecedented numbers, working from home still remains the norm for many, with Zoom and other virtual meeting moments continuing to prove either hilarious or disturbing.
In 2020, the country saw an ISIS sympathizer praise the Islamic state at a University of Houston virtual meeting, witnessed an intoxicated California city manager hurl his cat across his room and social media users were shocked when the New Yorker‘s Jeffrey Toobin inadvertently exposed himself on camera and began masturbating.
After months of home confinement and virtual gatherings, U.S. workers should be seasoned pros with video-chat meetings, though as 2021 has already demonstrated, this may not be the case.
CAUGHT ON ZOOM: EIGHT WILD MOMENTS FROM THE PANDEMIC CAPTURED THROUGH A CAMERA LENS
“I’m not a cat”
In one of the most well-known recent mishaps, Rod Ponton, a county attorney in Presidio County, Texas, appeared in a virtual court hearing in February, but could not figure out how to remove a filter that made him look like a cat.
“Mr. Ponton, I believe you have a filter turned on in the video settings, you might want to uh—,” the judge remarked when Ponton entered the meeting.
“Uh, we’re trying to — can you hear me judge?,” Ponton said. “It is a [filter] and I don’t know how to remove it. I’ve got my assistant here, she’s trying to, but I’m prepared to go forward with it.”
“I’m here live. I’m not a cat,” the attorney clarified.
“I can see that,” the judge said.
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Minnesota representative’s inverted floating head
Also in February, Minnesota Rep. Tom Emmer appeared at a virtual meeting of the congressional financial services committee, but his monologue was forced to come to a halt after the Republican’s head floated upside down.
“Gentleman suspend,” California Rep. Maxine Waters said after she noticed the predicament. “I’m sorry, Mr. Emmer.”
“Yes,” he responded.
“Are you okay?,” Waters asked.
“I am,” he said, before someone is heard saying, “You’re upside down, Tom.”
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“At least you’re not a cat,” a Congresswoman remarked before the issue was remedied.
Lawyer caught having sex during hearing
Peruvian lawyer Hector Robles, who likely forgot to turn off his camera, was caught having sex during a court hearing as the judge and other participants looked on, according to the Daily Mail. The January incident prompted Judge John Chahua Torres to a send a police officer to intervene as a female aide attempted to alert the attorney that his lovemaking session was being broadcast.
“We are witnessing obscene acts which represent a violation of public decency and are aggravated by the fact they are being recorded nationally,” the judge said.
Robles, who was representing a client arrested during an organized crime sting, has been barred from involvement in the case. He faces a pair of investigations, one from state prosecutors and another from his local bar organization.
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Ohio Republican state Sen. Andrew Brenner appeared in a government meeting in early May behind the wheel of a car, though the legislator quickly changed his Zoom background to a living room to conceal the car. Brenner’s seat belt, however, was visible.
The display didn’t prompt any comments from the members present, and he did appear to be involved in the elements of the meeting.
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The Republican later said he “wasn’t distracted” and was “paying attention to the driving and listening to” the remarks from his colleagues.
“I had two meetings that were back-to-back that were in separate locations,” Brenner told The Columbus Dispatch. “And I’ve actually been on other calls, numerous calls, while driving. Phone calls for the most part, but on video calls, I’m not paying attention to the video. To me, it’s like a phone call.”
Ironically, the meeting happened around the same time the state was looking to introduce a distracted driving bill that would make using an electronic device behind the wheel an offense.
Entire school board resigns over comments disparaging parents
All members of the Oakley Union Elementary School District board of trustees in California abdicated their posts after video circulated of their comments bashing parents, which they thought were said in private, during a virtual February meeting.
“They want to pick on us because they want their babysitters back,” School Board President Lisa Brizendine said of parents in the area.
Another member, Superintendent Greg Hetrick, advocated for technology that cuts irate parents “off mid sentence.”
“It just cuts them off mid-sentence and it’s done,” he said.
School Board Trustee Richie Masadas suggested some of the parents were smoking marijuana.
“My brother had a delivery service for medical marijuana and his clientele were parents of kids at school,” he said.
A slew of apologies followed the conduct.
“We were having a private conversation because we were really struggling at that moment with all the Board comments coming in because we want what’s best for the kids so badly,” Brizendine said.
Hetrick also issued a note to the public.
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“Last night at the Oakley Union Elementary School District Regular Board Meeting there were unfortunate and truly inappropriate comments made that were heard by many,” he said in a statement. “These comments are not typical and more importantly they are not what the community should expect from our school district.”
