Kansas teen won't apologize to governor's office for Twitter post

[Kimberlyd125]

The bullying, much of which is taking place on Twitter, is part of the reason that Sullivan was staying home from school on Tuesday.




In fact, students have organized a rally Tuesday afternoon in support of her principal, Karl Krawitz, and in opposition to her, said Sullivan.





http://www.politico.com/news/stories/1111/69340.html

 

[Kimberlyd125]

A rally by the students in opposition of another student seems like bullying to me.

This school needs to get the situation under control. The rally should be stopped.

 

[Chewy]

Here is her "cyberbullying" hashtag. It has ONE comment by the same guy.

Is it really cyber bullying if he doesn't know her and posts his very vulgar opinion?
http://twitter.com/#!/search?q=#Team****Emma

Why do I have a funny feeling that a lawyer is going to suddenly show up. LOL

I refined the search on the #teamKravits and these are the tweets that show up

http://twitter.com/#!/search/realtime/emma #TeamKrawitz


Seems like she's lying and exaggerating again. The few that have been mean have been pretty mild with two exceptions. Hardly the entire school.

The rally in support of the principal is supposedly in response to the large number of death threats he's received that made him consider resigning.

 

[angelmom]

Here is her "cyberbullying" hashtag. It has ONE comment by the same guy.

Is it really cyber bullying if he doesn't know her and posts his very vulgar opinion?
http://twitter.com/#!/search?q=#Team****Emma

Why do I have a funny feeling that a lawyer is going to suddenly show up. LOL

That link is taking me to something completely unrelated.

The twitter user whose name was used in the article (@PoundShop_Zoe) is now completely locked down. You can't even see who follows him/her or who s/he follows. You can't see any of the tweets from that user.

This tells me two things:

1) We have no idea what this person has said in the past or is saying now. It could be nothing or it could be horrible. Who knows?

2) It is not just a made up user name for this purpose, or else the user would have left it open or deleted it. IMHO, this means it is someone's actual account and they didn't anticipate the tremendous backlash that is now going on against them. My guess is that the kids in the school know who it is because they were following this person before.

I feel really badly for everyone involved, especially the school officials who now have to deal with this chaos.

 

[raeann]

Well, once again the accusation of bullying is NOT true. The rally was to support the principal, it had nothing to do with attacking her. The school is an EXCELLENT school and district. They would never SUPPORT any kind of attack on a student. She is manipulating the truth AGAIN to continue to get media attention which she has made it clear that she craves and sought out. She thought at the outset of this that she was being "cool" and entertaining her friends with her rude behavior. She is now finding out that rudeness, vulgar language, and attention seeking did not get her what she wanted. She is finding out that other students have more respect for authority and proper behavior than she does. Of course she feels left out and doesn't like not being the center of their concern and attention. The fact that the other students do not approve of her behavior and lies does NOT make them bullies.

I do NOT agree with the language or tone of the twitter posts, but once again, they could be coming from anywhere in the world.....because of her own actions in bringing the media into this incident.


BTW

I live three hours away from this school district....but it is known throughout this state and those surrounding it for its excellent reputation and education. They are not supporting nor ALLOWING her to be bullied.

 

[Chewy]

I think you are right angelmom. the ***** in that twitter link needs to be replaced with the four letter F word.

Also his post was retweeted. It was one post or I'm sure the person RTing it would have copied all of them. He said it was "cyberbullying."


So this shows this guy and then maybe the other page, which is about 5 kids. Not the entire school.

The school is mad at her because of the chaos and so she goes back to the press and says that the entire school is bullying her. So now, not only has she drawn fire based on a lie to her principal, she's drawn fire to all her peers based on yet another lie.

This girl is a piece of work.

 

[Kimberlyd125]

This hashtag is also being used
#teamkrawitz

 

[Kimberlyd125]

Well, once again the accusation of bullying is NOT true. The rally was to support the principal, it had nothing to do with attacking her. The school is an EXCELLENT school and district. They would never SUPPORT any kind of attack on a student. She is manipulating the truth AGAIN to continue to get media attention which she has made it clear that she craves and sought out. She thought at the outset of this that she was being "cool" and entertaining her friends with her rude behavior. She is now finding out that rudeness, vulgar language, and attention seeking did not get her what she wanted. She is finding out that other students have more respect for authority and proper behavior than she does. Of course she feels left out and doesn't like not being the center of their concern and attention. The fact that the other students do not approve of her behavior and lies does NOT make them bullies.

I do NOT agree with the language or tone of the twitter posts, but once again, they could be coming from anywhere in the world.....because of her own actions in bringing the media into this incident.


BTW

I live three hours away from this school district....but it is known throughout this state and those surrounding it for its excellent reputation and education. They are not supporting nor ALLOWING her to be bullied.

How do you know there is no evidence of bullying?

Do we really know what's out there?

 

[Chewy]

This is the hashtag she said is being used to cyber bully her.


I refined the search to find posts that mention her name. These are all the ones that mention her name.

Results for emma #TeamKrawitz
Tweets ·
All
Refine results »

DavidGrim David Grim
Still no apology from Karl Krawitz to Emma Sullivan. Probably never going to happen. What a small man. #heblowsalot #teamkrawitz #teameast
1 Dec

Feeeyonaah Fiona Larkin
@
@MjKaskie Yes,you can display your first amendment rights in support of Krawitz who sought to deny Emma of first amend. rights #teamkrawitz
30 Nov

DavidGrim David Grim
RT @KatieAnnieOakly Will Krawitz make #teamkrawitz apologize 2 Emma 4 #BULLY TWEETS 2 HER? NOPE Won't call THEM 2 office either #heblowsalot
30 Nov

DavidGrim David Grim
Still looking for the Karl Krawitz apology to Emma Sullivan. I never called for his firing. Just an apology. How hard is that? #teamkrawitz
30 Nov

JRBrett67 Jackson Brett
#cyberbullying “@DavidGrim: #cyberbullying RT @Kelseyscott104 #teamkrawitz!! screw emma and that petition!! #leaveeasthoe”
29 Nov

jimrjames James Mccoy
#teamkrawitz #heblowsalot Threats to Emma or Dr Krawitz are just wrong, they both need to sit down together and work it out. Mutual support
29 Nov

ChrisPhelan Chris Phelan
Ok. Emma has the right to free speech. Death threats to Krawitz are asinine. Team Brownback made a dumb move. #teamkrawitz #HeBlowsALot
29 Nov

Lydiandude Brent Bednorz
Why #teamkrawitz is wrong (their Twitter posts) bit.ly/tBhfCE #heblowsalot
29 Nov

robert_madison Robert Madison
WTF! The Brownback vs Sullivan thing is just nuts! Read this emfl.us/uzc and this emfl.us/vzc #EveryoneChill #TeamKrawitz
29 Nov

Lydiandude Brent Bednorz
Why #teamkrawitz is wrong bit.ly/tBhfCE #heblowsalot
29 Nov

Gtrace Greg tracy
Emma Sullivan never actually told Brownback he sucked. Even though he does. This is ridiculous. #teamkrawitz
29 Nov

GretchenKoch Gretchen Koch
Right on all counts. TY. RT @Lydiandude: Emma & Krawitz. Where did we go wrong? New blog post bit.ly/tBhfCE #heblowsalot #teamkrawitz
29 Nov

Lydiandude Brent Bednorz
Emma & Krawitz. Where did we go wrong? New blog post bit.ly/tBhfCE #heblowsalot #teamkrawitz
29 Nov

elizabethmergen Elizabeth Mergen
Sorry Emma, but just b/c I support my principal doesn't mean I'm against u. Seems Dr. K's getting bullied now too #notthatucare #teamkrawitz
29 Nov

DavidGrim David Grim
#cyberbullying RT @Kelseyscott104 #teamkrawitz!! screw emma and that petition!! #leaveeasthoe
29 Nov

DavidGrim David Grim
#cyberbullying RT @PoundShop_Zoe Emma Sullivan is an ignorant . just sayin #Team****Emma #TeamKrawitz
29 Nov

DavidGrim David Grim
#cyberbullying RT @Gellis1992 #TeamKrawitz expell Emma Sullivan! Immediately
29 Nov

DavidGrim David Grim
#cyberbullying RT @JRBrett67 Emma just wants attention by all of this ****. Don't give her the pleasure of it. #TeamKrawitz
29 Nov

DavidGrim David Grim
#cyberbullying RT @JRBrett67 Please tell me there will be an estonian about all this Emma Sullivan **** #TeamKrawitz #expellemmasullivian
29 Nov

DavidGrim David Grim
#cyberbullying RT @megmms Get Emma Sullivan out of East please #TEAMKRAWITZ
29 Nov

DavidGrim David Grim
@
@JonnyLefko No, Einstein. Go look at the tweets with #teamkrawitz. A bunch of them are hateful tweets directed at Emma. #cyberbullying
29 Nov

megmms Megan
Get Emma Sullivan out of East please #TEAMKRAWITZ
29 Nov

JRBrett67 Jackson Brett
Please tell me there will be an estonian about all this Emma Sullivan **** #TeamKrawitz #expellemmasullivian
29 Nov

Gellis1992 Grant Ellis
#TeamKrawitz expell Emma Sullivan! Immediately
29 Nov
»

Kelseyscott104 Kelsey Scott
#teamkrawitz!! screw emma and that petition!! #leaveeasthoe
29 Nov

 

[Kimberlyd125]

Well, once again the accusation of bullying is NOT true. The rally was to support the principal, it had nothing to do with attacking her. The school is an EXCELLENT school and district. They would never SUPPORT any kind of attack on a student. She is manipulating the truth AGAIN to continue to get media attention which she has made it clear that she craves and sought out. She thought at the outset of this that she was being "cool" and entertaining her friends with her rude behavior. She is now finding out that rudeness, vulgar language, and attention seeking did not get her what she wanted. She is finding out that other students have more respect for authority and proper behavior than she does. Of course she feels left out and doesn't like not being the center of their concern and attention. The fact that the other students do not approve of her behavior and lies does NOT make them bullies.

I do NOT agree with the language or tone of the twitter posts, but once again, they could be coming from anywhere in the world.....because of her own actions in bringing the media into this incident.


BTW

I live three hours away from this school district....but it is known throughout this state and those surrounding it for its excellent reputation and education. They are not supporting nor ALLOWING her to be bullied.

This link describes the school a lot differently.
It speaks of gangs, problems with fights on twitter and facebook, and a murder.

http://smeharbinger.net/news/east-students-arrested-in-murder-case

According to Dr. Krawitz, he has received minimal concern over the shooting from parents. Dr. Krawitz said the administration

 

[raeann]

How do you know there is no evidence of bullying?

Do we really know what's out there?

Having just read ALL the tweets on ALL the tags that were accused by her, none of them would be considered bullying. They use some crass language, but no more crass that what she herself used. There were no threats of harm in any form. Outside of the ONE that has been mentioned several times, none of them are really objectionable at all. They are all FREE SPEECH and most are not even directed TO her, but just mention her. She is proud to talk endlessly about all of her supporters......why is no one allowed to disagree with her or disapprove of what she did? Why do those people not have every right to state their opinion, as long as they make no threats toward her or anyone else? She apparently could care less that she has caused school officials to receive death threats.....that seems to be fine with her.....but she doesn't want people saying she should transfer to another school?

 

[MarthaM]

I think it's an insult to all of the kids out there who are really and truly bullied, 'cyber' and otherwise. This is a controversy that this girl is at the center of (by her own choice and instigation) and the reactions to it and discussion about it bear no resemblance to true bullying.

I heard her say the other day that her parents were proud of her. If I were them, I'd be embarrassed.

 

[Kimberlyd125]

Having just read ALL the tweets on ALL the tags that were accused by her, none of them would be considered bullying. They use some crass language, but no more crass that what she herself used. There were no threats of harm in any form. Outside of the ONE that has been mentioned several times, none of them are really objectionable at all. They are all FREE SPEECH and most are not even directed TO her, but just mention her. She is proud to talk endlessly about all of her supporters......why is no one allowed to disagree with her or disapprove of what she did? Why do those people not have every right to state their opinion, as long as they make no threats toward her or anyone else? She apparently could care less that she has caused school officials to receive death threats.....that seems to be fine with her.....but she doesn't want people saying she should transfer to another school?

Ok. But what I'm asking you is how could any if us know that there is no evidence of bullying.

We only know what's reported.

Perhaps she is being bullied and it's under investigation. Perhaps there is evidence of bullying.

 

[raeann]

This link describes the school a lot differently.
It speaks of gangs, problems with fights on twitter and facebook, and a murder.

http://smeharbinger.net/news/east-students-arrested-in-murder-case

According to Dr. Krawitz, he has received minimal concern over the shooting from parents. Dr. Krawitz said the administration

I don't believe the article implies that any of those crimes were caused, supported by, or excused by the school in any form......

the quoted part explains the schools response to the students involved:

" Dr. Krawitz said East administrators had spoken to the parents of students that had been at the shooting but had been released by police without charges. Those students will not be returning to East this year"

Even the NON charged students were not allowed to return to the school according to the article.

 

[Chewy]

I agree Martha M. She basically lied to the media to cause controversy and it worked. I would mortified. I'm shocked that all her followers think this is ok.

Also she's not being "bullied" at all. People posted the comments above. Rude, mean and vicious yes. She's saying the entire school has turned on her. That's not bullying.

And I'd like to see the school sue her for slander or something.

 

[Kimberlyd125]

http://www.nbcactionnews.com/dpp/news/education/shawnee-mission-east-high-school-students-rally-in-support-of-principal-in-tweet-controversy

All three have been threatened on social media according to this article.

 

[Chewy]

I don't believe the article implies that any of those crimes were caused, supported by, or excused by the school in any form......

the quoted part explains the schools response to the students involved:

" Dr. Krawitz said East administrators had spoken to the parents of students that had been at the shooting but had been released by police without charges. Those students will not be returning to East this year"

Even the NON charged students were not allowed to return to the school according to the article.

None of this has anything to do with the topic. Even a really nice school can have bullies.

But there's simply no evidence of bullying. People disliking her is not the same thing as bullying. And as I pointed out, she goes to the media to try to fight her battles, I'd tell my kids to stay away from her because she's IMO a liar and a troublemaker.

 

[raeann]

Ok. But what I'm asking you is how could any if us know that there is no evidence of bullying.

We only know what's reported.

Perhaps she is being bullied and it's under investigation. Perhaps there is evidence of bullying.

I am sure that since she is the one making the charges, that she MUST either have evidence of such or she is LYING. Simple enough really, if it is true, she has the proof and she has complete access to make that available. She did NOT provide any EVIDENCE....just accusations.

Stating that the SCHOOL is allowing or supporting her being bullied is totally unjustifiable. If there is an investigation.....then the school is doing exactly what it should be and deserves PRAISE, not criticism!

 

[kgeaux]

(above bbm)

From personal experience:

I have apologized even when I have been an "innocent" party.
For me, it's part of being a Christian, and seeking to keep the peace. Sometimes it's just being a bigger person. Sometimes it's being "Mom" to an adult child, and knowing that some battles aren't worth it.

I'm not saying the governor or any of his staff are Christians (I don't know), just commenting that, at times, apologizing (even when you're not wrong) is the best solution.

Just a little rabbit trail:


The Sermon on the Mount states that "peaceMAKERS" are blessed, not "peaceKEEPERS.". I once heard a very interesting sermon on the difference between the two.

However, I totally agree with you that one must pick battles, and that a well placed apology has defused many situations.

Jumping off here: the fact that the school ASKED and did not DEMAND an apology completely changes my opinion about this having anything to do with first amendment rights.

I still believe the governor's staff was WAY too reactive to a teen's twitter post. However, if no attempt was made to censor the student's post, or to punish the student for her opinion, then no attempt to stifle her first amendment rights exists.

 

[Fairy1]

I knew she would be bullied by the kids at her school. That was, IMO, always going to be one of the consequences she would have to face.

Yes, we all have freedom of speech, but there are always consequences. You have to own what you say. I do hope this is one of the lessons Emma has learned from this incident.

By the same token, I hope the Governor's staffer has learned some lessons, too. Knee jerk comments and reactions are rarely worthwhile.