When Carson King held up his sign asking for money to buy Busch Light, little did he realize that he would raise more than $2.95 million for the University of Iowa medical facility.
University officials said this will help the university provide the “best care possible” for its patients.
“We are grateful to be part of such a spontaneous, remarkable occurrence that brought together so many people,” University of Iowa Hospitals & Clinics CEO Suresh Gunasekaran said. “One simple act of kindness sparked a nationwide cause behind which we could all unite – helping children heal.”
Venmo and Busch Beer matched $924,000 that was donated to King’s Venmo to bring the total to more than $2.95 million.
The fundraising was tainted somewhat when a reporter for the Des Moines Register, Iowa’s largest newspaper, unearthed some tweets from years ago that were inappropriate. At that point, Busch Beer said it would make a donation to the hospital it had earlier promised, but would not give King the year’s supply of Busch it had originally offered.
Then it was learned that the reporter, himself, had a series of very inappropriate social media postings. He was fired.
The Daily Iowan, the school’s newspaper, ran two columns on the question of the tweets. One noted that “while the tweets were indeed offensive, digging through social media to find dirt on others is destructive. It also poses an indirect threat to free speech.
“Journalists,” he added, “have an occupational duty to minimize harm and focus their spotlights on that which is newsworthy. The Register failed to meet both of these standards.”
King, the columnist wrote, “has proven through his actions to be a kind and selfless man with nothing but kind words for Anheuser-Busch and the Register.”
The other columnist opined that “King did everything right and came out for the better unilaterally.
King still has money flowing into the Venmo campaign for the donation. He participated in the wave at the most recent Hawkeye game. Iowa even has Carson King Day now. The fact that he made these tweets hasn’t changed public perception of him at all.
“If anything, King is more of a hero now. He’s the archetypal redemption story of “did dumb stuff as a teenager and corrected his bad ways,” in the smallest of ways. The publication of his tweets has only humanized him. If the social-media reaction is any indication, most Iowans are solidly on King’s side.
“In a day and age where everything online is being recorded and noted by the government and corporations, every mistake we make is forever. For better or for worse, your job, your family, your friends, can see everything. And the worst part of it is, most of it will be seen out of context.
“It’s the old rule of, “If you wouldn’t say it in front of your grandmother, don’t say it at all.” Because unlike your grandmother, the internet is not going to forgive you as quickly or as easily,” he wrote.