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Monday, November 28, 2011

Kansastan, Kansastan, You Very Nice Place!

No one pulled back from the forward trenches in the Great Kansas Tweet Incident for the longest time:
Last week, during a Kansas Youth in Government field trip, Sullivan watched Gov. Sam Brownback speak. Unmoved, she cavalierly tweeted to her roughly 65 followers, “Just made mean comments at gov. brownback and told him he sucked, in person #heblowsalot.”

...Sure enough, Brownback’s office – the Thin Skin Division — noted Sullivan’s tweet, and contacted Youth in Government. As Sherriene Jones-Sontag, Brownback’s communications director, explained to the Kansas City Star, “That wasn’t respectful. In order to really have a constructive dialogue, there has to be mutual respect.” She added, “It was important for the organization to be aware of the comments their students were making.”

Sullivan was soon called into the principal’s office, where she says she received a one-hour scolding on her “not so nice” behavior and told she needed to do “damage control” in the form of a letter of apology. Oh, but the damage was just beginning.

You see, the girl, who didn’t even meet Brownback — let alone tell him to his face that he sucks — isn’t sorry. Nor does she feel the need to offer a hollow apology. Instead, she tweeted Sunday, “I’ve decided not to write the letter but I hope this opens the door for average citizens to voice their opinion & to be heard!” Suddenly, #heblowsalot is the hashtag to beat.

It’s quite likely that Jones-Sontag read the original tweet, jumped to the hasty conclusion that a confrontation had occurred, and decided to take swift action. And had Sullivan been truly disruptive and abusive during a school event, organizers would be entitled to know. But she wasn’t, and that makes Jones-Sontag and principal Karl R. Krawitz look increasingly absurd for getting whipped up over the blithe tweets of a teenager. Jones-Sontag could have backed up and said, “We misread the events. We never demanded an apology. And differences of opinion are what makes this country great.” But she didn’t. So now it’s a big deal, one that pits a mouthy adolescent’s right to say her governor sucks against a bunch of adults who’d prefer she didn’t.
All of this reminds me of other places on the globe where national leaders insist on respect from their citizens.

Please stand, for Borat's rendition of the Kazakhstan National Anthem:



But finally, today, Great Leader Of Kansastan declared mercy on sniveling, coddled Ute In Government:
“My staff over-reacted to this tweet, and for that I apologize. Freedom of speech is among our most treasured freedoms. I enjoyed speaking to the more than 100 students who participated in the Youth in Government Program at the Kansas Capitol. They are our future. I also want to thank the thousands of Kansas educators who remind us daily of our liberties, as well as the values of civility and decorum. Again, I apologize for our over-reaction”


Over-reacting staff will volunteer to be strapped to fence posts and function instead as tornado early-warning system.

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