Merged Brownback cries about teen tweet

[rwguinn]

According to the article, "the post referenced a joke she had with a student on the trip."

Not "friends" but a single student. According to others here she had 60 followers, so arguably she lied to only 59 of them.

I wouldn't see anything wrong with it if she had said mean comments "at" the governor. That's free speech and she's apparently 18 so there's no issue of embarrassing adults responsible for her behavior. But lying is lying, whether it's on a tweet or an email or a blog post.


LOL! So now she's the "victim"? Victim of what?

What is that loud "whoosh'ing sound?
What you totally miss, in your self-righteous opinion, is that somebody in the Governor's office thought it appropriate and acceptable to use intimidation and threats to suppress speech.

There's "Leaving no stone unturned" in the search for the truth, and then there's upending every mouse turd, visible or not, to make sure nothing is hiding...

 

[MattusMaximus]

http://www.cnn.com/2011/11/28/us/kansas-high-schooler-tweet/index.html?npt=NP1

Bizarre. I laughed out loud. Toto, I've a feeling we're not in Kansas 1956 anymore

Both Brownback and that principal are major-league tools. In fact, they are wedges... the simplest of the tools.

I can only hope this heaps even more scorn, derision, and Internet lulz on the heads of these morons

 

[MattusMaximus]

I still think that disciplinary action needs to be taken against the principle. At the very minimum, the drooling moron needs a remedial course in civil rights and the constitution.

I think the most appropriate action is to simply make fun of the idiot, and to do so publicly and loudly for an extended period of time.

 

[MattusMaximus]

The bigger story here is that this has brought out in the open that we actually have a governor named Brownback. Which, to me, sounds like some sort of kinky sex act you'd look up at the urban dictionary.

In fact if you do a search there for the term you get these three gems:

Brownback

A governor of a state who soils himself like a baby pandering to teabaggers.

When a person smears fecal matter all over another person's back for sexual enjoyment. Named for Kansas Governor Sam Brownback who cut all funding for the arts in his state

A teabagging legislator who is covered in santorum
​

Oh dear, oh dear... teh Internets have gotten hold of poor Gov. Brownback...

 

[fuelair]

The bigger story here is that this has brought out in the open that we actually have a governor named Brownback. Which, to me, sounds like some sort of kinky sex act you'd look up at the urban dictionary.

In fact if you do a search there for the term you get these three gems:

Brownback

A governor of a state who soils himself like a baby pandering to teabaggers.

When a person smears fecal matter all over another person's back for sexual enjoyment. Named for Kansas Governor Sam Brownback who cut all funding for the arts in his state

A teabagging legislator who is covered in santorum
​

Coool!!

 

[Checkmite]

How does a principal hearing about a tweet one of his students made and telling the student to apologize become the governor trying to suppress freedom of speech? The articles say the governor's staff member complained to the event organizer, and that was the end of that person's involvement. The event organizer took it upon him/herself to contact the principal of the school, who took it upon himself to ask the student to write an apology.

Yeah, I suppose the principal was out of line asking her to apologize for a tweet, but this certainly doesn't constitute "threats", "intimidation", or thuggery on the part of the governor or his staff. I mean, what's the danger here - people unable to express themselves because....they're afraid they might be asked to apologize...?

 

[Travis]

If a Principal says, "apologize for this political opinion or you don't graduate." I think that would be something along the lines of interfering with free speech.

 

[Checkmite]

If a Principal says, "apologize for this political opinion or you don't graduate." I think that would be something along the lines of interfering with free speech.

I would agree.

Not quite what happened in this case, unless I read the wrong article. And that's still the principal doing the interfering, not the governor or his staff.

Calling the tweet a "political expression" is being exceedingly generous besides; there is nothing of politics in it to lend context, aside from perhaps the fact that the subject of it is a political figure. Is "Obama is a poopyhead" a political statement just because Obama is named in it?

 

[leftysergeant]

I would agree.

Not quite what happened in this case, unless I read the wrong article. And that's still the principal doing the interfering, not the governor or his staff.

Why did the schmuck from the goobernor's office even bother with reporting the incident to someone who holds a position of authority over the victim?

Brownback and his scurvy crew don't get a free pass.

Calling the tweet a "political expression" is being exceedingly generous...

Not a bit of it. She was sharing a joke with a friend who probably also thought that the Dominionist putz sucks. Holding a schmendrick like Brownback in contemot is political speech.

 

[Upchurch]

According to the article, "the post referenced a joke she had with a student on the trip."

Not "friends" but a single student. According to others here she had 60 followers, so arguably she lied to only 59 of them.

How is that remotely relevant to anything?

Overreacting a tad, perhaps, and covering with pedantry?

But lying is lying, whether it's on a tweet or an email or a blog post.

Joking is also lying. A honest lawyer, a crooked lawyer, and the Easter Bunny never walked into a bar and saw a $100 bill lying on the floor. (Who picks up the $100 bill?)

LOL! So now she's the "victim"? Victim of what?

Already discussed.

 

[Checkmite]

Why did the schmuck from the goobernor's office even bother with reporting the incident to someone who holds a position of authority over the victim?

She did no such thing; she complained about the tweet to the event organizer, who took it upon themselves to "report it" to the principal.

The tweet was a vulgar reference to oral sex; I can't insist that the person it's directed at be prohibited from expressing offense.

 

[DavidJames]

The tweet was a vulgar reference to oral sex;

This is a joke right? Telling someone they "sucked" is a reference to oral sex?

Please tell me you're joking.

 

[TjW]

It's perfectly acceptable that Brownback and/or his flunky were offended.
What is NOT acceptable is the attempt to have someone disciplined for political speech. There would be no point in reporting the incident to the principal if that were not the reporter's desired outcome.

The event organizer would be reasonable for reporting a behavior problem at the event. "Your student broke the rules by being disruptive", for example. But for being disrespectful to a politician on the internet? That's stupid. As they're discovering.

 

[BenBurch]

This is a joke right? Telling someone they "sucked" is a reference to oral sex?

Please tell me you're joking.

If they words can be twisted to make the victim into the aggressor, of course that will be done.

 

[TragicMonkey]

She did no such thing; she complained about the tweet to the event organizer, who took it upon themselves to "report it" to the principal.

The tweet was a vulgar reference to oral sex; I can't insist that the person it's directed at be prohibited from expressing offense.

There's a difference between expressing offense and tattling. If someone insults me I either insult them back or rise above it, I don't go running to their mommy to complain.

 

[Gord_in_Toronto]

When calling someone a drooling moron, it is best not to misspell words.

[ Mnemonic: The prinicpal is your pal. ]

The exception, of course, is deliberately misspelled words.

Disclaimer: I am merely pointing out the irony. I am not trying to be the spelling Gazpacho. <--thusly. <--and that too

or better yet cold.

 

[cwalner]

This is a joke right? Telling someone they "sucked" is a reference to oral sex?

Technically, yes, since the origin of the insult is more specific about what is being sucked. Which of course means, that technically the student was also claiming that Brownback is homosexual.

However, you are correct to point that current usage has lost both of those connotations and it is clearly not what was intended by the student.

 

[Upchurch]

The tweet was a vulgar reference to oral sex;

How very Freudian!

Actually, the origin of this form of "sucks" derives from the insult "Go suck an egg!", not oral sex. Whose mind is in the gutter, Checkmite?

eta: cwalner, too.

 

[BenBurch]

Technically, yes, since the origin of the insult is more specific about what is being sucked. Which of course means, that technically the student was also claiming that Brownback is homosexual.

However, you are correct to point that current usage has lost both of those connotations and it is clearly not what was intended by the student.

You've never heard the "sucks eggs" version? The implication is of a geek not a perv.

 

[BenBurch]

How very Freudian!

Actually, the origin of this form of "sucks" derives from the insult "Go suck an egg!", not oral sex. Whose mind is in the gutter, Checkmite?

eta: cwalner, too.

Ooops. should have kept reading...