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thedailywhat:
Follow Up of the Day: An outpouring of support for a Kansas teen who criticized Gov. Sam Brownback on Twitter, only to have the governor’s office call her school and get her in trouble, has led her to recant an earlier promise to send Gov. Brownback an apology letter.
18-year-old Emma Sullivan of Fairway was ordered by Shawnee Mission East High School to write the letter after the governor’s office called the principal to complain about a tweet Sullivan wrote while attending a speech by Gov. Brownback encouraging students to be active in government.
Sullivan was in Topeka as part of a Youth in Government program.
While she had initially agreed to apologize, a swell of support from strangers, particularly on Twitter, has caused Sullivan to have a change of heart. “I would do it again,” Sullivan says, adding that a “dialogue” about free speech in social media had been “opened up” thanks to her tweet.
She isn’t quite sure what will happen when she formally declines to pen the apology letter, but says she’s received several emails from attorneys.
Though she won’t apologize, Sullivan would take an opportunity to talk to the governor if presented with one. “I think it would be interesting to have a dialogue with him,” she told the Kansas City Star. “I don’t know if he would do it or not though. And I don’t know that he would listen to what I have to say.”
Whatever ends up happening, Sullivan’s mother Julie says she supports her daughter’s actions.
“I raised my kids to be independent, to be strong, to be free thinkers,” she said. “If she wants to tweet her opinion about Gov. Brownback, I say for her to go for it and I stand totally behind her.”
[kcstar.]
Good for her!
I’m all for speaking your mind to government officials. I think it’s brilliant when people do so. But what she said and how she said it just seem ridiculously disrespectful. It’s possible to tell someone that you disagree with their policies and choices without telling them that they “suck,” which is an immature, childish response to disagreeing with someone.
I’m sorry but saying someone “blows alot” is not appropriate. You cannot defend immature behavior by saying it’s free speech. I am SOOO tired of people thinking they can say whatever crosses their mind and then use free speech as an excuse. This girl she not be praised. She was immature and vulgar and disrespectful and summing it up to free speech is insulting to every single person around the world who has expressed legitimate and meaningful thoughts and have been censored, imprisoned or even killed for what they said. Free speech needs to be respectful speech. We are blessed with the ability to say whatever we want but using it to excuse stuff like “blows alot” is taking free speech for granted. Just because we CAN say something, doesn’t mean we SHOULD. Like momma always said, “if you don’t have something nice to say, don’t say anything at all.”
And I think it’s disgusting that our country has people in it who would praise a immature brat who says “blows alot” and other nonsense and say she’s using her “free speech.”
Sometimes I want free speech to just disappear for a week so everyone will stop using it to defend their nasty, mean, meaningless comments.](http://25.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_lvdpysEI8s1qzpwi0o1_500.jpg)
Follow Up of the Day: An outpouring of support for a Kansas teen who criticized Gov. Sam Brownback on Twitter, only to have the governor’s office call her school and get her in trouble, has led her to recant an earlier promise to send Gov. Brownback an apology letter.
18-year-old Emma Sullivan of Fairway was ordered by Shawnee Mission East High School to write the letter after the governor’s office called the principal to complain about a tweet Sullivan wrote while attending a speech by Gov. Brownback encouraging students to be active in government.
Sullivan was in Topeka as part of a Youth in Government program.
While she had initially agreed to apologize, a swell of support from strangers, particularly on Twitter, has caused Sullivan to have a change of heart. “I would do it again,” Sullivan says, adding that a “dialogue” about free speech in social media had been “opened up” thanks to her tweet.
She isn’t quite sure what will happen when she formally declines to pen the apology letter, but says she’s received several emails from attorneys.
Though she won’t apologize, Sullivan would take an opportunity to talk to the governor if presented with one. “I think it would be interesting to have a dialogue with him,” she told the Kansas City Star. “I don’t know if he would do it or not though. And I don’t know that he would listen to what I have to say.”
Whatever ends up happening, Sullivan’s mother Julie says she supports her daughter’s actions.
“I raised my kids to be independent, to be strong, to be free thinkers,” she said. “If she wants to tweet her opinion about Gov. Brownback, I say for her to go for it and I stand totally behind her.”
[kcstar.]
Good for her!
I’m all for speaking your mind to government officials. I think it’s brilliant when people do so. But what she said and how she said it just seem ridiculously disrespectful. It’s possible to tell someone that you disagree with their policies and choices without telling them that they “suck,” which is an immature, childish response to disagreeing with someone.
I’m sorry but saying someone “blows alot” is not appropriate. You cannot defend immature behavior by saying it’s free speech. I am SOOO tired of people thinking they can say whatever crosses their mind and then use free speech as an excuse. This girl she not be praised. She was immature and vulgar and disrespectful and summing it up to free speech is insulting to every single person around the world who has expressed legitimate and meaningful thoughts and have been censored, imprisoned or even killed for what they said. Free speech needs to be respectful speech. We are blessed with the ability to say whatever we want but using it to excuse stuff like “blows alot” is taking free speech for granted. Just because we CAN say something, doesn’t mean we SHOULD. Like momma always said, “if you don’t have something nice to say, don’t say anything at all.”
And I think it’s disgusting that our country has people in it who would praise a immature brat who says “blows alot” and other nonsense and say she’s using her “free speech.”
Sometimes I want free speech to just disappear for a week so everyone will stop using it to defend their nasty, mean, meaningless comments.
