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

[CarolinaMoon]

Having spent 30+ years in a high school, I can assure everyone that many teens have two languages. One is for parents and teachers as well as others in authority, another for when they communicate among friends. The differences between the two languages can be amazing.

I just woke up a little bit ago and heard on HLN that the governor backed down and apologized. I'm looking for printed verification and a link.

Ah, it finally came up at 7:17 AM EST!

"Instead, it was the Republican governor offering a mea culpa Monday, forced to admit to a self-described overreaction by his staff that subjected him to ridicule for efforts to police a teenager's Internet musings."

http://www2.tbo.com/news/scitech/20...says-staff-overreacted-to-teens-tw-ar-328137/

 

[Kimberlyd125]

No one here has ever said she didn't have a right to her opinion.

What people are upset about is her nasty, foul mouth.

Unfortunately, we've learned from this thread, and some of the views expressed, that some find absolutely nothing wrong with the language.

You have a teen daughter, correct, Kimberly? If your daughter chose to speak to (or about) an adult that way, you really wouldn't have an issue with it? Really?

I'm not talking about kids kidding each other and calling each other names.

So, I gather her parents have taught her, "Yeah, if someone is an idiot, regardless of whether they are an adult or not, you can unload on them....call them every name in the book!" vs. "You may not agree with him/her; you may think they are an idiot, and maybe they are, but they are an adult, and you are a child, and for that reason alone, they deserve a modicum of respect in how you address them."

I'm glad, no, overjoyed, that her parents support this young lady having a mind of her own, and thnking with it. Likewise, I am saddened that they see absolutely nothing wrong with the words their daughter chose to use to express herself to an adult, albeit, through a tweet.

She's so painfully young. Painfully, as in, one day, she'll probably look back on this and cringe, and wish she's handled with a bit more grace and decorum. Of course, that'll probably be 30 years from now.

I think we've all done things at 18 that we cringe about 30 years later.

She is young.

The gov, on the other hand, is not. I'm sure he cringed as soon as the story hit the media. Because he looks like an arse. No matter how much he apologizes.

 

[oh_gal]

I think we've all done things at 18 that we cringe about 30 years later.

She is young.

The gov, on the other hand, is not. I'm sure he cringed as soon as the story hit the media. Because he looks like an arse. No matter how much he apologizes.

(bbm)
I believe I said that as well, did I not?
As for the governor....is HE the one who demanded the apology? Is HE the one who blew up over it, or rather, some minion from his office? Why are we blaming HIM for what someone in his office did? (The guy could be a total jerk, I have absolutely no idea -- never even heard of him before. To me, it's not about whether he is a jerk or not, but rather, how one young woman chose to express herself.)

From the article in the OP:
Kansas Gov. Sam Brownback apologized Monday for what he called his staff's "overreaction" to a disparaging tweet directed at him by a high school senior during a state Capitol visit.

So, this guy apologizes for the actions of his staffer(s), yet we're going to continue to bash him? What more do you want him to do? He's not the one who started it.

By the way, you never did address the question I posed to you.

 

[Kimberlyd125]

He is responsible for his staff.

I'm going back to read the question I did not answer. Sorry I missed it.

 

[Kimberlyd125]

You have a teen daughter, correct, Kimberly? If your daughter chose to speak to (or about) an adult that way, you really wouldn't have an issue with it? Really?

Snipped to include the question I failed to answer.

Yes I do have a daughter. She's 14.

If she spoke TO someone in a disrespectful manner I would not be happy. As a matter of fact, I would be livid.
But the teen never spoke TO the governor. She spoke ABOUT the governor.

If my child said our gov sucks, I would not be upset with her. It would be her opinion.

But, as I said, my child is 14, an eighth grader. I'm not sure she really cares about the governor at this point. I'm sure as a senior in high school, she will have more opinions about politicians.

Right now she thinks Justin Bieber is wonderful and Yeater (the woman who says he fathered her child) sucks.
Perfectly normal IMO.

 

[oh_gal]

Snipped to include the question I failed to answer.

Yes I do have a daughter. She's 14.

If she spoke TO someone in a disrespectful manner I would not be happy. As a matter of fact, I would be livid.
But the teen never spoke TO the governor. She spoke ABOUT the governor.

If my child said our gov sucks, I would not be upset with her. It would be her opinion.

But, as I said, my child is 14, an eighth grader. I'm not sure she really cares about the governor at this point. I'm sure as a senior in high school, she will have more opinions about politicians.

Right now she thinks Justin Bieber is wonderful and Yeater (the woman who says he fathered her child) sucks.
Perfectly normal IMO.

I would argue that it's a very, very, very small step between tweeting someone sucks and saying it directly to them, especially if at home, the parents see nothing wrong with it (the emphasis is important here).

The young lady in question didn't just "say" the governor sucked. She tweeted it, for all to see (and, as we've seen, many more saw it than her original 65-friend intended audience). And, again, I don't have a problem with her saying she doesn't like the guy, or that she thinks he's doing a horrible job. It's the words she chose to express herself with. I just happen to think it shows a lack of respect. You know, you can show someone respect, or treat them respectfully, even if you don't agree with them/like them/think they're a jerk.

 

[oh_gal]

He is responsible for his staff.

I'm going back to read the question I did not answer. Sorry I missed it.

He's responsible for his staff? What should he do? Infringe on their right to free speech?

 

[Kimberlyd125]

He's responsible for his staff? What should he do? Infringe on their right to free speech?

They took action. They hunted down a high school student and reported her tweets to the school.

That has nothing to do with free speech.

 

[Kimberlyd125]

I would argue that it's a very, very, very small step between tweeting someone sucks and saying it directly to them, especially if at home, the parents see nothing wrong with it (the emphasis is important here).

The young lady in question didn't just "say" the governor sucked. She tweeted it, for all to see (and, as we've seen, many more saw it than her original 65-friend intended audience). And, again, I don't have a problem with her saying she doesn't like the guy, or that she thinks he's doing a horrible job. It's the words she chose to express herself with. I just happen to think it shows a lack of respect. You know, you can show someone respect, or treat them respectfully, even if you don't agree with them/like them/think they're a jerk.

Perhaps she doesn't respect him. She obviously thinks he sucks.

I don't respect a lot of people for many reasons.

 

[oh_gal]

They took action. They hunted down a high school student and reported her tweets to the school.

That has nothing to do with free speech.

They hunted her down? With flaming torches and pitchforks? And then (gasp!) they reported her public tweet to the school? Off with their heads!

Is she now in shackles and solitary confinement? Or has she been executed already? Seems to me her right to free speech remains intact. Heck, she even got an apology from the guy she initially bashed.

 

[angelmom]

No one here has ever said she didn't have a right to her opinion.

What people are upset about is her nasty, foul mouth.

Unfortunately, we've learned from this thread, and some of the views expressed, that some find absolutely nothing wrong with the language.

You have a teen daughter, correct, Kimberly? If your daughter chose to speak to (or about) an adult that way, you really wouldn't have an issue with it? Really?

I'm not talking about kids kidding each other and calling each other names.

So, I gather her parents have taught her, "Yeah, if someone is an idiot, regardless of whether they are an adult or not, you can unload on them....call them every name in the book!" vs. "You may not agree with him/her; you may think they are an idiot, and maybe they are, but they are an adult, and you are a child, and for that reason alone, they deserve a modicum of respect in how you address them." Is that what those who see no problem with the context of her tweet see it, too? Is that how you're raising your kids up? "Go ahead, say what you want!! You have a right to free speech!!" Really? You can still exercise your right to free speech without sounding like ________________ (fill in the blank yourselves, lest I offend someone with whatever adjectives I would use).

I don't know about everyone else, but when someone starts spouting off with with I would consider base language, I immediately stop listening. The fact that so many see absolutely nothing wrong with her choice of words is really so sad. Is this what we've become as a society?

I'm glad, no, overjoyed, that her parents support this young lady having a mind of her own, and thnking with it. Likewise, I am saddened that they see absolutely nothing wrong with the words their daughter chose to use to express herself to an adult, albeit, through a tweet. Yes, I know, early on her mom said she'd wished her daughter had used a different choice of words, but that little tidbit seems to have gotten swept under the rug as this has mushroomed.

She's so painfully young. Painfully, as in, one day, she'll probably look back on this and cringe, and wish she's handled with a bit more grace and decorum. Of course, that'll probably be 30 years from now.

I know this wasn't addressed to me, but I'm going to jump in as a mom of a teen who has embraced twitter. Lots of kids are ditching facebook b/c there are WAY too many moms on there. And grandmas.

Some of the stuff on there is really off color. Many, many people, including celebrities, politicians, and business leaders have tweeted things they later regret. (Ashton Kucher on Penn State, state reps and ethnic slurs, and Kenneth Cole.

We have had many discussions with my son about what is appropriate and the possibility that he will regret putting some of his instant thoughts out into the universe to be searched later. To assume that this girl's parents haven't taught her any of that just because she doesn't listen (at 18! Imagine that! I know I did exactly as my parents taught me at 18! /sarcasm) is really ridiculous.

I also know that with teenagers I have to pick my battles. I don't allow him to use more explicit language, but I don't really consider "sucks" or "blows" to be all that explicit. In my mind, it falls into the same category as "crap" - not exactly the language I want to hear out of their mouths, but not the f bomb either. In order to NOT be chastising him 24/7/365, I let some things go. I know what it means...but lots of things no longer mean what they originally meant.

Also, twitter is not the same as publishing something in a newspaper. It is meant for your followers and friends. Just like saying something out loud in public, there is a chance a stranger will see/hear it, but that is not the intent. Nor is it likely. In fact, most of your followers miss at least half of what you tweet.

I don't think anyone here was suggesting that this young woman expressed herself in the best way. I don't think anyone here was suggesting that it wasn't rude. And no one was suggesting that the staffers be restrained from exercising their own freedom of speech; however, should they choose to do so, one of the consequences might be the loss of their job (or at least twitter access) since they do speak for their boss and he is a political animal.

I'm not surprised, nor do I object, to the governor having someone monitor his reputation on social media channels. I expect it, frankly. But being an adult and managing your reputation means that sometimes you ignore something because giving it any measure of attention means giving it more power than it ever had or should have.

 

[Kimberlyd125]

They hunted her down? With flaming torches and pitchforks? And then (gasp!) they reported her public tweet to the school? Off with their heads!

Is she now in shackles and solitary confinement? Or has she been executed already? Seems to me her right to free speech remains in tact. Heck, she even got an apology from the guy she initially bashed.

Oh my.

Exaggeration??? A little bit huh?

 

[oh_gal]

Oh my.

Exaggeration??? A little bit huh?

You mean, "they hunted her down?" Yeah. Just a little.

 

[oh_gal]

I know this wasn't addressed to me, but I'm going to jump in as a mom of a teen who has embraced twitter. Lots of kids are ditching facebook b/c there are WAY too many moms on there. And grandmas.

Some of the stuff on there is really off color. Many, many people, including celebrities, politicians, and business leaders have tweeted things they later regret. (Ashton Kucher on Penn State, state reps and ethnic slurs, and Kenneth Cole.

We have had many discussions with my son about what is appropriate and the possibility that he will regret putting some of his instant thoughts out into the universe to be searched later. To assume that this girl's parents haven't taught her any of that just because she doesn't listen (at 18! Imagine that! I know I did exactly as my parents taught me at 18! /sarcasm) is really ridiculous.

I also know that with teenagers I have to pick my battles. I don't allow him to use more explicit language, but I don't really consider "sucks" or "blows" to be all that explicit. In my mind, it falls into the same category as "crap" - not exactly the language I want to hear out of their mouths, but not the f bomb either. In order to NOT be chastising him 24/7/365, I let some things go. I know what it means...but lots of things no longer mean what they originally meant.

Also, twitter is not the same as publishing something in a newspaper. It is meant for your followers and friends. Just like saying something out loud in public, there is a chance a stranger will see/hear it, but that is not the intent. Nor is it likely. In fact, most of your followers miss at least half of what you tweet.

I don't think anyone here was suggesting that this young woman expressed herself in the best way. I don't think anyone here was suggesting that it wasn't rude. And no one was suggesting that the staffers be restrained from exercising their own freedom of speech; however, should they choose to do so, one of the consequences might be the loss of their job (or at least twitter access) since they do speak for their boss and he is a political animal.

I'm not surprised, nor do I object, to the governor having someone monitor his reputation on social media channels. I expect it, frankly. But being an adult and managing your reputation means that sometimes you ignore something because giving it any measure of attention means giving it more power than it ever had or should have.

(above bbm)
Your post was very well written and thought out. I agree with a lot of it, but with regard to the bolded part up there, there ARE people who either think her speech was perfectly fine, no big deal, not rude at all. That's one of the points of debate here.

 

[Quiche]

Oh come on! People say things suck all the time. It does not refer to a sexual act in the context it's being used.

One of my favorite sayings...
"CANCER SUX!!!!"

As far as I'm aware cancer can not perform sexual acts.

Same as kids saying homework sucks, school sucks, softball practice sucks, this show sucks, that movie sucked...
None of those things can actually "suck" (verb).

Saying a political figure sucks is in no way saying what he or she does sexually.

The use of the word has moved way past that literal meaning.

JMO

Tee Hee! I have to quote this because I finally agree with you!! :floorlaugh:

When I was younger the off the cuff term was "cool"-- we were not referencing the temperature, fhs. These are such common colloquialisms I find it astonishing this Governor's office took any umbrage at all.

At any given moment, I know there's a thing called a twitter "cloud" that will reveal how many tweeters used the terms suck, sucks, and sucked. I'd like to know just how "personal" this humiliating "insult" was. (my estimation in the hundreds of thousands, if not millions-- because commutes suck too)

Also, if your staff is only looking for favorable responses to you, then they must learn to dismiss the negative. :crazy:

And really, the audacity of him! This really reminds me of a control freak who, instead of going home and kicking the dog for spilling some food on his expensive floor, decided Miss Emma the high school tweeter was "it" for the day, and to get to her, he got to rile up an entire school administration-- shoot, it was as good as a tirade can get!

Except now the world is talking about him and he might be politically ruined. Ah well, at least he wasn't caught in an airport bathroom stall. moo

 

[Quiche]

So.....if I say, "WS'er so-and-so sucks," I won't get a time out? Because...hey, from your own words, "People say stuff suck(s) all the time."

So...that makes it ok, and not at all insulting. Gotcha.

She did not tweet to the Gov she was talking to her friends. His office was eavesdropping on their conversation.

If I were in a diner with paper place mats and a teenager had doodled "our governor sucks" and one of his staffers was there to "put her ear to the ground" and see which way constituents were leaning. If said staffer stopped and asked her name and high school, and why she though the Gov sucked and the teen answered typically. Huh? Why are you asking me this stuff?

It's the same thing to me-- Emma did not state this to anyone to be rude, insolent, or disruptive. It has all the power of scuffing a rock while walking home with your friends.

This Governor, and his office, were waaaaaay out of line, and I don't think it's Emma that's going to live to regret it.

 

[oh_gal]

She did not tweet to the Gov she was talking to her friends. His office was eavesdropping on their conversation.

If I were in a diner with paper place mats and a teenager had doodled "our governor sucks" and one of his staffers was there to "put her ear to the ground" and see which way constituents were leaning. If said staffer stopped and asked her name and high school, and why she though the Gov sucked and the teen answered typically. Huh? Why are you asking me this stuff?

It's the same thing to me-- Emma did not state this to anyone to be rude, insolent, or disruptive. It has all the power of scuffing a rock while walking home with your friends.

This Governor, and his office, were waaaaaay out of line, and I don't think it's Emma that's going to live to regret it.

I don't know anything about Twitter, I don't tweet. What is the difference between seeing a tweet someone has posted, and looking at someone's Facebook page, because, say, you followed the links of other posts there?

You really don't think she was trying to be rude, insolent or disruptive? I must admit, that that particular thought never even crossed my mind.

 

[truecrimejunkie]

I'm more interested in finding out how many people are on the govt payroll trolling the interenet for disparaging words about the governor. Is this standard operating procedure? Are all politicians doing this and to this extreme? And what are they doing with the information being gathered? I understand if you're up for reelection and you are gathering opposition research, but this seems a bit too "big brother" to me.

 

[Quiche]

I don't know anything about Twitter, I don't tweet. What is the difference between seeing a tweet someone has posted, and looking at someone's Facebook page, because, say, you followed the links of other posts there?

You really don't think she was trying to be rude, insolent or disruptive? I must admit, that that particular thought never even crossed my mind.

No, I really don't! I think she was de-stressing with her personal friends on Twitter (she had 65). I think her statement is akin to saying shopping with her mom sucks, or the traffic on the way home from grandma's sucked, or the person in front of me at the store sucked (because she had a coupon for everything) Also, maybe one store sucks because she prefers another. It is a VERY impersonal, uncrafted, statement that can be said in exasperation, exhaustion, relief, people who KNOW her would understand where she was coming from.

As far as comparing with facebook, I believe facebook is much more personal and has way more information on it. Tweets are brief (140 character limit) banter and updates. hth

 

[angelmom]

I don't know anything about Twitter, I don't tweet. What is the difference between seeing a tweet someone has posted, and looking at someone's Facebook page, because, say, you followed the links of other posts there?

You really don't think she was trying to be rude, insolent or disruptive? I must admit, that that particular thought never even crossed my mind.

Here's the rub: I don't think most of the people who jumped on this do know anything about twitter (including some of the governor's staffers and a lot of the MSM). It is kind of like a facebook post, which someone who is not her friend would have to search out. So, very much like a public (depending on your settings) conversation that someone else might or might not overhear.

A teen posting on facebook or twitter that the governor sucks is completely different than printing it in a newspaper (even a digital version), saying it on the radio (or a podcast), or yelling it from the rooftops (or on WS). She was talking to these 65 people. Yes, it is possible for someone to go looking for it just like it's possible for someone to overhear your conversation at the diner. But she didn't send it to him or say it to him.

The governor's staff went looking (yes, hunting) for comments about the gov, both good and bad, and poorly chose to make a huge big deal out of nothing. To see how NOT a big deal it is, go to twitter and search for sucks or sux. There are thousands of hits, although you might not want to look at a lot of them. Everything on twitter "sucks", from grades to traffic to politics of every shade to the old fashioned meaning. :blushing: Most of this just passes by, like flotsam and jetsam on a river (hence the term "stream") without anyone noticing.

Unless, of course, the governor's office points it out. Now she has 4600% more followers than she had last week. Seriously? Charlie Sheen would kill for that kind of growth!