Cuban’s ‘Screw You’ to Elizabeth Warren is a Communication Failure
Mark Cuban
Judgment and anger can lead to people lashing out at other people in ways that might express dissatisfaction in ways that reflect poorly on us. We don’t like to be judged so we judge as defense mechanism.
And that’s what entrepreneur Mark Cuban did recently in communicating about Senator Elizabeth Warren.
One media report described how it happened.
“During a chat with Kara Swisher at Vox Media’s Code Conference in Los Angeles, Cuban discussed taxes and calls for higher taxes on billionaires and higher earners from Democrats,” reporter Zachary Leeman wrote at Mediaite. “While Cuban described paying taxes as a patriotic act, he dismissed Warren and others are simply trying to ‘soak the rich’ with their tax proposals.”
Cuban has not liked being attacked for his success and wealth. And Warren has certainly been perceived by him as doing it. In October 2021, she stated, as Leeman reports, “We need to change the laws so they’re not written for Mark Cuban and his buddies.”
Cuban views that analysis and commentary as unjust and ugly. In fact, he says, he agrees, up to a point with greater taxation.
“I don’t mind being taxed more. I wrote a blog 20 years ago saying it’s the most patriotic thing you can do after military service, is pay your taxes because that’s what allows everybody to live and to prosper,” Cuban said. “But the idea of just ‘Soak the rich, billionaire tears, billionaire tears fill that cup’ — screw you, Elizabeth Warren, you’re everything wrong with politics.”
Of course, that earned Cuban this headline, and it’s just one of many:
Elizabeth Warren
As to whether Cuban regrets using that language is unknown yet clearly he was fed up, emotionally triggered and let his true feelings known.
Cuban has to know however, regardless of his emotions, his comment is in poor form.
His anger could be as a result of being criticized and inferred, by Warren, as being greedy, selfish and a poor citizen. Cuban likely doesn’t see himself that way at all so his identity was attacked.
His impulse to communicate as he did presents risk to Cuban: some people could and will believe his thinking and actions show him to be sexist or misogynistic. While I don’t perceive that’s what is being translated here, and not everyone will see it this way, some people will.
Another risk Cuban assumed: critics remember unsavory behavior and will use it against you in the future if you communicate or otherwise act in ways that are deemed to be of low character.
In other words, critics compile evidence of wrongdoing and use it prove points against your trustworthiness.
It was unwise pf Cuban to give in to his impulse and say what he did about Warren. Yet, as humans, we’re flawed in moments of discontent and anger.
Cuban’s anger was likely simmering for a long period of time. Yet he didn’t find a way for himself to express it in civil manner.
While Cuban respectfully addressed the topic of taxation and the wealthy, the headlines, because of his poor communication choice instead became what he said about Warren, who is likely seen more by the masses as being for the collective good, than Cuban.
He could have refrained from the defensiveness and insult and still made a salient point about increased taxes and the duty to pay more by those who pay a smaller percentage. He could have won the moment and protected himself from saying something disrespectful.
Cuban could also sought out an in-person meeting, a video or phone call and previously communicated with Warren one-on-one, privately, about his feelings, and asked not to be publicly criticized and attacked.
The need, in his mind, to lash back at Warren, would have been prevented.
