Kansas teen won’t apologize to Gov. Brownback over ‘you suck’ tweet

Sullivan (via Twitter)

Shawnee Mission East teen Emma Sullivan insulted Kansas Gov. Sam Brownback over Twitter while on a school field trip to the state capitol last week.

"Just made mean comments at gov. brownback and told him he sucked, in person #heblowsalot," she wrote to her 60 followers who tuned in to her sporadic updates about the Twilight films and Justin Bieber. In fact, Sullivan hadn't said a word to the governor during his brief speech, and she now says the Twitter comment was just an "inside joke" among her high schol friends who were also on the Youth in Government field trip and disagreed with Brownback's politics.

But the humor was lost on members of Brownback's staff, who found the tweet while scouring social media sites for his name and alerted Sullivan's high school principal. The principal reprimanded Sullivan and demanded she write an apology to the governor.

Sullivan says he better not hold his breath. After originally acquiescing to her principal's request, the 18-year-old took her story to Kansas papers and news stations--and now to national outlets--and has changed her mind.

"He was very angry, right off the bat," Sullivan said of her principal, Karl Krawitz. "He was extremely scared about it. He made it very clear that he wasn't happy."

Sullivan agreed to write the apology letter "to get it out of the way," she says. "I didn't want to deal with it because I'm in the process of applying to school and am trying to keep my reputation good."

But she soon thought the better of it, after calling her older sister, Olivia, who is a political science major at Wichita State University and is now managing her flood of interview requests. "I wasn't sorry for what I said because I meant it," Sullivan says. She disagrees with Brownback, a Republican, on rights for gay couples and abortion rights, among other things.

And while Sullivan's tweet is still rude, Brownback's staff response makes him look thin-skinned and unable to take a joke. "I can't believe they would prioritize that over other issues they have going on now," Sullivan says. "I can't believe they take time out of their day to look at social media and Twitter for his name."

Hundreds of people have left negative comments on Brownback's Facebook Thanksgiving message. "The imperial Gov needs to go to the school, apologize to the assembled students and then apologize in person to the young lady," one person wrote.

In a comment to the Kansas City Star last week, Brownback's communications director stood behind the decision to notify Sullivan's principal. "That wasn't respectful," Sherriene Jones-Sontag told the paper. "In order to really have a constructive dialogue, there has to be mutual respect."

But Brownback submitted a statement Monday afternoon to Yahoo! News apologizing to the teen. "My staff over-reacted to this tweet, and for that I apologize.  Freedom of speech is among our most treasured freedoms," he said. Jones-Sontag told Yahoo! that the governor has no plans to personally reach out to Sullivan.

Sullivan, who now has more than 9,000 Twitter followers and has begun quoting Gandhi, says she hopes the principal will accept her decision not write an apology letter. She says the incident has been a "reality check" to her and her friends that their comments on social media sites are not anonymous nor consequence-free.

"It would be nice to kind of talk to the governor and let him know where I'm at and say things, let my opinion be heard and tell him that he needs to listen to more people in Kansas," Sullivan says. "There needs to be an open door for more people to speak their opinion and be heard by him."

Update: Gov. Brownback's statement apologizing to Sullivan has been added to this story. His full statement is below:

"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"

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Man Makes Homemade iPad to Surprise his Girlfriend, and a Teen in Trouble over Negative Tweet about Kansas Governor

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What would inspire you to make a computer from scratch? When Wei Jin-Long wanted to get an iPad for his girlfriend, but couldn't afford it, he decided to build one himself.  Jin-Long, who is a student at the Art & Design Department at Northeast Normal University in Changchun, China, said he studied Internet video programs on how to make tablet PCs and then bought a refurbished laptop computer to start with.  The old laptop came with a main board, video card, CPU and screen.  Jin-Long bought the touch screen and the battery online to complete his masterpiece for a grand total of about $125. He even hand-carved and polished all the holes to give it a more professional look.  Completing the custom tablet took him ten days to finish, but he told The China Daily News that it allows its user to "read, download, watch movies, [and] play games by just touching the screen."  After receiving her gift, Jin-Long's girlfriend Sun Shasha said, "this is the best gift I've ever had, and I will keep it forever."  He designed the tablet to resemble an iPad, with an Apple logo and all.  Shasha added rhinestone around the edges to personalize it eve more.  So what's the biggest difference between Wei's tablet and an actual iPad?  Wei's tablet runs Window's 7, not the MAC operating system.

A Kansas City teenager is receiving backlash for a comment she made against her state's governor on Twitter.  Emma Sullivan was attending a Youth in Government event with her classmates listening as Governor Sam Brownback spoke, when she tweeted, "Just made mean comments at gov. brownback and told him he sucked, in person #heblowsalot."  The 18-year-old Shawnee Mission East senior is now declining her school principal's request for her to write a formal letter of apology to Governor Brownback saying she "isn't sorry and doesn't think such a letter would be sincere."  In reality, Sullivan did not actually make the comment she tweeted, and said she was "just joking with friends."  However Governor Brownback's office, which monitors social media for any posting with the governor's name, saw Sullivan's tweet and contacted the Youth in Government program.  What followed was a verbal scolding from Sullivan's principal, Karl R. Krawitz, who instructed Sullivan to write a letter of apology and also offered talking points for how the letter should be written.  Sullivan has refused, and people on Twitter are responding.  Before the incident, Sullivan had 65 followers, currently her following has increased to more than 6,500. She said that she feels her tweet has helped to "open up dialogue" about free speech in social media. Sullivan has not heard from Governor Brownback or his staff, but says she is not opposed to conversing with the governor directly.   Sullivan has also said, "it would be interesting to have a dialogue with him. 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."  Sullivan also admits that she disagrees with Brownback politically, partly because he vetoed the Kansas Arts Commission's entire budget--making Kansas the only state to eliminate its art funding.  So what does Emma's mother have to say about this Twitter controversy?  Julie Sullivan said she is not angry with her daughter, but she could have, "chosen different words."  She also notes that "[Emma] was talking to 65 friends. And also it's the speech they use today. It's more attention grabbing. I raised my kids to be independent, to be strong, to be free thinkers. If she wants to tweet her opinion about Gov. Brownback, I say for her to go for it and I stand totally behind her."  As for Emma, she's still waiting to see if there will be further action against her since she has refused to apologize.

On the other side of the world, Ampon Tangnoppakul, a 61-year-old truck driver from Thailand, was sentenced to 20 years in prison for sending cell phone text messages that were deemed insulting to the country's monarchy.  The law imposes seemingly severe penalties for publicly or privately making insults or threats directed at King Bhumibol Adulyadej, 83, and his family.

UPDATE: On Monday afternoon, Governor Brownback submitted a statement to Yahoo! News apologizing to Emma Sullivan, saying, "My staff over-reacted to this tweet, and for that I apologize.  Freedom of speech is among our most treasured freedoms," he said.

Continue Reading... Labels: about, Girlfriend, Governor, Homemade, Kansas, Makes, Negative, Surprise, Trouble, Tweet