Monday, November 28, 2011

High School Student’s Tweet About Kansas Governor Triggers Big Time Tempest

We read:
"An 18-year-old high school senior has been made to apologize to Kansas Gov. Sam Brownback for writing a snarky tweet about him during a field trip.

“Just made mean comments at gov brownback and told him he sucked, in person #heblowsalot,” Emma Sullivan wrote Monday while the Republican governor was addressing her school group.

Even though Sullivan didn’t actually approach the Brownback to make any such comments to him, the tweet caught the eye of his communications director, and it was passed back to the school.

From there, things happened fast: Sullivan was sent to the principal’s office, she told the Kansas City Star, and reprimanded for nearly an hour for the “not so nice” comments. She said she was told she had embarrassed her school and the district, and needed to do “damage control” with the governor’s office.

That‘s how she ended up writing an apology to Brownback’s office, with her principal even giving her talking points.

Despite the dust-up, Sullivan — who describes herself as a liberal — maintains she didn’t do anything wrong. “I don’t regret sending the tweet,” she said. “It was harmless. It’s not like I was really fired up about anything he said.”

Her account had about 60 followers before the tweet, but now has more than 1,000. There’s also a Facebook page with the tagline, “Support the first amendment” that has garnered more than 50 “likes.” “I knew this day would come, but I didnt know itd be today #makingheadlines,” she tweeted Wednesday.

Source

A smallminded school has made a heroine out of a nobody. Well done!

11 comments:

Anonymous said...

"A smallminded school has made a heroine out of a nobody. Well done"

That's what conservatives do best!

Dean said...

Conservatives? Running a school? I laugh at the thought.

No matter what their political alinement, though, the school is out of line. As is the governor's staff in reporting the student to school officials.

If the governor and his staff are unable to withstand negative comments they need to exit the political arena.

Anonymous said...

Isn't it odd how those on the left enjoy free speech, while having zero tolerance for the opinions of others?

Bird of Paradise said...

Just wait for them to use this as a excuse to monitor the internet that AL GORE seposibly invented

Youssarian said...

Anon 2:38 AM, agreed! I don't care if she's a liberal, she had the right to say those things. There's no reason for a student to be reprimanded for speaking against the governor.

Anonymous said...

I don't find much to like anywhere in the story from the lying tweet that started it to the thin skinned reaction by the governors staff or the mealy mouthed response by the school. The only thing I see is that the kid has figured out that she doesn't need to apologize and will be refusing to do so. Still the best I can hope for is that the rest of the participants will be embarrassed enough to leave it alone.

Anonymous said...

The internet was invented for military and university use when Al was 9 years old . Must have been a smart little boy .

Anonymous said...

Nobody seems to have noticed the things she claimed she said was all a LIE. It seems telling the truth is no longer an issue. Everyone is getting hot and bothered by Freedom of Speech issues but no one is bothered that she lied.

Anonymous said...

That's because liberals always lie.

BTW Bird, you're too late. They're already monitoring the internet. And by "they", i mean everybody, not just the govt.

Anonymous said...

There were at least two people who should have known better...
What was the comms director thinking? The Gov was not entitled to an apology and the student was entirely free to make whatever comment she wished.
What was the principal thinking? Surely he/she knew the above?
The thing about kids (ok, she was 18 but still basically a kid) is that they say and do stupid things sometimes. The grown-ups need to just move on.

Anonymous said...

You can bet your life she would "be made" to apologize if she were a conservative.