High School Student who refuses to apologize to Gov. Sam Brownback is wrong

www.examiner.com...

Emma Sullivan, 18, who disrespected Gov. Sam Brownback in a Twitter message during a field trip to Kansas' state capitol refuses to apologize as her high school principal has told her to do.

Do you think Sullivan is wrong for not doing so?

Details of the unusual story:
www.examiner.com...

reply to post by ChicagOpinion


Personally I commend Ms. Sullivan for her intelligent perspective on Gov. Brownback. I also believe she has every right to her opinion and voice. To me the story itself fairly well proves the point of Ms. Sullivan and Gov. Brownback probably should just let it go.

I read this story last night.

So she made a joking comment about the Governor.. The Governor's office scans social media for mention of his name. They saw her comment and made a HUGE deal out of it. If they had ignored it, it would have gone away with zero problems. The girls had 65 followers before the Governor's Office blew this out of proportion, now she has over 3000. She has mentioned interest in a formal conversation with the governor, but the Governor's Office has declined and even made some pretty childish statements about the girl.

If you ask me the Governor's Office is at fault here. This girl is 18, is a legal adult, has a right to her free speech and shouldn't be forced to make any statement whatsoever that she does not want to. Her school has no right to force her to apologize. The state has no right to force her to apologize. Reading her comments to the media last night, it seems she has some legitimate gripes about her local government, and being an American living in the USA, she has a right to say whatever she wants about whoever she wants - whether it hurts their feelgoods or not.

So yeah, it's like when you were 7 and getting in scuffles with the bullies at school. Your mom would tell you to ignore and avoid it rather than confronting it, and that advise works 9 out of 10 times. If the Governor's Office hadn't made such a huge deal out of this none of us would know it ever took place. Who's at fault? The 18 year old highschool student or the seasoned politicians?

No.. Sounds like a smart girl who see's politicians for the bottomfeeder's they are and she told the truth..

She should be commended for being honest..

But apologise ? Hell no..

Good for her!!!
I find it disturbing that in that source they say her future could be affected if she ever wants a government job??
Isn't that like being blacklisted??

I also find it disturbing that one individual act represents the whole school and not the individual.
So any opinion that the school doesn't like is not ok for an individual to have??
What are they teaching these days??

I think the girl is right though in telling the governor to find something better to do with his time.
A highschool student insults him and he makes it a big deal??
That governor should quit acting like he is in highschool himself,I'd like to think he has bigger fish to fry but who knows these days?

As i am not involved in this particular incident, (eg--not a participant, neither directly, or by proxy) It is none of my business. People really need to get over themselves and their blown out of proportion sense of self-importance. So what if the girl said the governor is a blow-hard and that he sucks. BFD!!!! Show me 1 politician that hasn't said this same about another of his/her ilk!! Sheesh!!!

Sensitivity to the extreme, imo.

I find it amazing that they waste resources by scanning social networking sites for perceived slights.

reply to post by jtap66


agree with that
Part of me thinks she could apologize for hurting the Gov's feelings. Just to show she is the bigger adult and to seal a total win on her part.

She has the right to say anything she wants and not be semi-forced by a school to apologize


glad she had the balls to say get lost

A Brownback staffer saw the tweet on Twitter and contacted the school about the disrespectful and untrue message, as the governor and Sullivan never spoke one-on-one. In response to the contact, Sullivan was called into the principal’s office and told that she had embarrassed the school. The principal was allegedly upset and told her that he had some damage control to do. Part of the damage control was apparently demanding that the student write an apology to Gov. Sam Brownback and his staff by Monday. Continue reading on Examiner.com High school student who refuses to apologize to Gov. Brownback is wrong - National Conservative | Examiner.com www.examiner.com...

The Aristocrats don't want us pond scum to UTTER THEIR PRECIOUS NAMES

reply to post by iforget


I think that's a great idea. She should issue a public apology, but state clearly - "I'm not apologizing for exercising my right to free speech - but I am sorry that I hurt the Governor's feelings. I hope he'll accept my apology and this box of tissues."

Also, respect to the girl's mother. In the article I read last night the girl's mom made a statement about how she raised her children to think for themselves, and while she thinks her daughter's choice of words were perhaps not in the best taste, she fully supports her daughter's right to free speech, free thought, and doesn't think she should be made to apologize either.

That examiner article was extremely biased. It would seem that the writer took the sides of the Gov. and the school dist. All the while underhandedly chastising the student

I say good for her and she should never apologize for her opinion. The only damage THEY controlled was the damage THEY made.

Brownback has no problem disrespecting gays or women - respect is earned not demanded.

Good for here she recognized that an apology would not be heartfelt and she refused to be railroaded into one. How much more integrity could one expect?

I'm a little surprised that opinion isn't more divided. Ok, sure, she's an adult and can say what she wants, and on and on and on. Fine, I accept all that. And that the Governor's staff makes him look petty etc.

But we have a woman lying about her relationship to a leading politician. (I've talked to him face to face.) I've heard of this happening in this country, I thought we'd be trying to discourage such behavior.

Besides, if she ever gets on a witness stand she'll be cross-examined on her ability to lie without expressing remorse. Nor would I want her in a government job requiring someone to be trustworthy.

Offering her opinion? Rude, but you can argue either side. Lying? There should be only one response.

The gal is 100% right in saying "no apology". Unlike politicians, regular people hold themselves to a higher standard (hopefully) and only say things they mean, rather than writing false apologies to stroke someone's ego.

Say what you mean or at least mean what you say. I applaude the gal.

Originally posted by charles1952
But we have a woman lying about her relationship to a leading politician. (I've talked to him face to face.)

It's arguable and silly but face to face is different than "in person" Could she have been in the crowd and uttered or yelled "mean comments" and have meant just that by "in person" yes possibly Could she have used "in person" to exaggerate the importance of her comments to her friends, probably.

I think opinions are one thing and lies are another. She should aologize to her followers for lying to them.

She is free to do whatever she wants...but she shouldn't cry if this comes back to bite her in the arse.

Employers often scan the internet now during the hiring process...seeing something like this would raise red flags for a lot of companies and could be a reason to pass over her application.

Even colleges might look at this as a reason to not admit her...because if she is bringing this amount of negative press to her high school...she could do the same at college.

No one wants a troublemaker...but yes she is free to do what she wants...as long as she is prepared to face the potential consequences.

reply to post by DrumsRfun

I find it disturbing that in that source they say her future could be affected if she ever wants a government job??
Isn't that like being blacklisted??

No, it's part of a background check.

And it's not only a government job...but any job...I wouldn't hire her if I saw this article about her. Why would I want that kind of person who is willing to cause drama like this working for me and representing me???

Originally posted by ChicagOpinion
www.examiner.com...

Emma Sullivan, 18, who disrespected Gov. Sam Brownback in a Twitter message during a field trip to Kansas' state capitol refuses to apologize as her high school principal has told her to do.

Do you think Sullivan is wrong for not doing so?

Details of the unusual story:
www.examiner.com...

How does such a whiner get elected into office, anyway? If somebody tweeted that about you, do you think you could get the school to force that person to apologize? No. Having the school come down on an adult for voicing (er, uh... Tweeting, rather) her opinion is just embarrassing to both the school and the governor.

Personally, I hope he doesn't let it drop and he makes an even bigger deal out of it. It will destroy his little fake career and make some lucky student a fleeting celebrity in the process.

Originally posted by OutKast Searcher
reply to post by DrumsRfun

 

I find it disturbing that in that source they say her future could be affected if she ever wants a government job??
Isn't that like being blacklisted??

No, it's part of a background check.

And it's not only a government job...but any job...I wouldn't hire her if I saw this article about her. Why would I want that kind of person who is willing to cause drama like this working for me and representing me???

But... the governor works for her, not the other way around. If an employer can't respect that then they are probably not worth working for. So you have it backwards. We have governors represent us and she was displeased with him. She was not representing anybody but herself.