Republican governor snitches on 18 year old girl

Discussion in 'Politics' started by AK Forty Seven, Nov 26, 2011.

  1. http://news.yahoo.com/kansas-governor-tattles-teens-rude-tweet-232036307.html


    Kansas governor tattles on teen's rude tweet

    The governor of Kansas faced an online trashing Friday for tattling on a teenaged girl who sent out a critical tweet during a visit to the state capitol.

    Emma Sullivan, 18, was hauled into her principal's office and ordered to write letters of apology after one of Governor Sam Brownback's office contacted the tour organizer to complain about the offending note on the social networking site Twitter.

    "Just made mean comments at gov brownback and told him he sucked, in person #heblowsalot," Sullivan wrote, despite not saying anything to Brownback during the visit -- she said she wrote it to get a laugh out of her friends.

    The principal "laid into me about how this was unacceptable and an embarrassment," Sullivan later told the Wichita Eagle.

    "He said I had created this huge controversy and everyone was up in arms about it... and now he had to do damage control."

    Sullivan had just 60 followers on Twitter when she wrote the offending note Monday. Two days later her story hit the local news ahead of the generally slow Thanksgiving holiday weekend.

    By Friday morning, she was on CNN discussing the issue of censorship and free speech.

    A lively discussion filled a dedicated Facebook page. Nearly 1,300 new people signed up to follow her Twitter feed, which until that point had been primarily devoted to her thoughts on the Twilight series and other typical teen musings.

    "I'm mainly shocked that they would even see that tweet and be concerned about me," Sullivan -- who did not immediately return a request for comment -- told the paper Wednesday.

    "I just honestly feel they're making a lot bigger deal out of it than it actually was."

    Brownback's office regularly monitors social media for references to the Republican governor to see what his constituents are saying about him, spokeswoman Sherriene Jones-Sontag told the Eagle.

    His secretary forwarded a copy of the tweet to organizers of the school-sponsored event "so that they were aware what their students were saying in regards to the governor's appearance," she said.

    "We just felt it was appropriate for the organizers to be aware... because of what was said in the tweet."

    Brownback's office did not immediately return a request for comment Friday.

    Sullivan's school was closed for the holiday, but a spokeswoman for the Shawnee Mission school district told the Eagle that officials would look into the incident on Monday.

    While it became an embarrassment for her school, the heavy-handed reaction was garnering most of the criticism online.

    "Good for you! How a 'small government' governor can use state resources to harass you is beyond me," one commentator wrote on Sullivan's Facebook page.

    "In general," spokeswoman Leigh Anne Neal said in an e-mail "students on school-sponsored field trips, in which they are representing the school, would be expected to conduct themselves in accordance with school district policies, including use of electronic devices.

    "Students may express their personal beliefs, views, and opinions, as long as they do so appropriately and in accordance with school policies."
     
  2. It takes a real man to tattle on a teenage girl :mad:
     
  3. maxpi

    maxpi

    How would he know it was a girl that tweeted? I don't use twitter so I don't know, maybe he only knew she was with a tour and not who was on the tour.. he might have not known her name or age, 'sides it was not the Gov himself that complained, it was some staffer...
     
  4. That's why we call him IQ47.
     
  5. yeh maxpi but this girl is 18, the rules are you can NOT embarrass your school. Why should our educators have to worry about what your children or young adults are posting on facebook, they need some protections. Who has more authority, you the parent or our educators, when the kids are not at school. The person in question did not post to social media anything derogatory about school personel. Kids today are disciplined for what they post on facebook, pics of themselves partying, etc. Principal Krawitz harangued this girl for an hour until she agreed to apoligize to all concerned, she was upset about any problems with her permanent record. Students are disciplined everyday for what they post to social media, they dont post about the educators but yet they when at home are still somehow under the authority of the school, its quite outrageous and needs to be stopped.
     
  6. Staffers act on behalf of the governor .Staffers who act without permission from their boss are usually fired very quickly
     
  7. Lucrum

    Lucrum


    [​IMG]
     
  8. Mercor

    Mercor

    I like it when adults act like adults. School children need to be taught how to socialize.

    You are a snitch. Snitching on a Governor.
    There is no story here
     
  9. sorry but the story is one about authority. Who has and who deserves it. Why should what your children do when there NOT at school have a say on what YOUR children post on social media. Yes the rules are defined as your not allowed to embarrass your school but doesnt the parent have more authority than the school. This was not at school, this tweet did NOT mention any school authority, so the kid wasnt blasting tweets about school employees. What YOUR child does if NOT on campus is of no concern to our educators. They are not financially compensated for surfing facebook and twitter and there isnt a reason for the kids to be punished for what they post. Guess I am way to libertarian.
     
  10. 1st amendment anyone :cool:
     
    #10     Nov 26, 2011