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It would appear The Kansas Twitter Story had just about run its course, at least as a national issue, though Ruth Marcus’ Washington Post column apparently intends to add a civility-based coda to the issue.
To briefly recap, a high-school student mocked Kansas Gov. Sam Brownback (R) on Twitter last week; the governor’s office got bent out of shape; the student was pressured to write several letters of apology; and Brownback expressed his regret for the overreaction.
Marcus, meanwhile, isn’t satisfied. The teenager, Emma Sullivan, wrote a rude 15-word tweet for her high school friends, and that’s apparently worthy of 749 words of criticism in a Washington Post op-ed piece.
As the columnist sees it, Sullivan wrote a “smartalecky, potty-mouthed tweet.”
Sullivan did not actually give Brownback a piece of her mind, as she claimed, but she let her feelings be known via Twitter: “Just made mean comments at gov brownback and told him he sucked, in person. #heblowsalot.” Sullivan had previously opined on such weighty subjects as the “Twilight” series (“Dear edward and jacob, this is the best night of my life. I want u. Love, ur future wife”) and Justin Bieber.
Let’s pause right there. Ruth Marcus is using her platform in one of the nation’s most important media outlets to complain about a teenager writing tweets about Twilight and Justin Bieber? Seriously? In a column ostensibly focused on the importance of civility in the public discourse, a Washington Post columnist is mocking a random high school student in Kansas?*
This is very odd.
Marcus’ larger point is that teenagers shouldn’t use words like “sucked” and “blows,” even if they’re just joking around online with a small group of friends.
I’ll be sure to look forward to next week’s column, when Marcus will consider questions such as, “What’s with kids’ haircuts these days?” “Why isn’t popular music as good as when I was younger?” and “Why won’t those darn kids stay off my lawn?”
* Update: It looks like Jamison Foser was thinking very much along the same lines, and he beat me to it by a couple of hours.
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arkie on November 30, 2011 4:38 PM:
Maybe this column is an enclosure to her job application to CBS to replace Andy Rooney?
Danp on November 30, 2011 4:40 PM:
Did Ruth Marcus insist that Cheney apologize for flipping off Leahy? Or Bush calling a NTY reporter a world class asshole on a live mike. If not, they I say Ruth Marcus sucks, and she can eat soap if she doesn't like it.
berttheclock on November 30, 2011 4:42 PM:
Marcus craves to be known as "fair and balanced".
berttheclock on November 30, 2011 4:48 PM:
Walter Lippmann
ruth marcus
Ah, Progress.
kevo on November 30, 2011 4:51 PM:
How would you know an insecure, incompetent and mal-adjusted adult when you see one?
When you see an adult who is damaged by whatever a teenager may utter, or put on a Twitter account!
Of all the offended adult parties, Brownback gets my vote of confidence as he seems to be the only adult who can still remember his unbriddled youth when utterances of inappropriateness were revealed as they happened, and then if recognized, politness could be more easily attained as the teen grows into adulthood.
Ruth Marcus: what an intellectual embarrassment, to waste column space to take an 18 yr. old to task regarding her youthful colloquialism she chose to share with her 60+ twitter followers (a majority of which I would proffer are at the 18 year mark or younger)!
Hey Ruth - get a better hobby or life for that matter! -Kevo
Ian A on November 30, 2011 4:53 PM:
"Why can't teenagers get quiet, back-alley abortions, the way we used to?"
Michael W on November 30, 2011 5:00 PM:
Cue the music from "Bye Bye Birdie", What's The Matter With Kids Today?
slappy magoo on November 30, 2011 5:01 PM:
If Marcus really wanted to "slam" this girl, wouldn't "would you trust the political views of a girl so naive she'd publicly announce her fondness for the Twilight Saga" suffice?
john sherman on November 30, 2011 5:02 PM:
Maybe she and Richard Cohen can take turns screaming, "Hey you kids, get off of my lawn," out the WaPo windows.
C.S. on November 30, 2011 5:06 PM:
Isn't it about time for young Ms. Sullivan to tweet again about who sucks? Like, ferinstance, Ruth Marcus?
zeitgeist on November 30, 2011 5:06 PM:
because nothing says "civility" quite like a rich adult columnist with a national platform picking on a teenage girl.
Gummo on November 30, 2011 5:07 PM:
zeitgeist on November 30, 2011 5:06 PM:
because nothing says "civility" quite like a rich adult columnist with a national platform picking on a teenage girl.
zeitgeist for the win.
Dervin on November 30, 2011 5:08 PM:
Brownback and his office overreacted and they come off as thin skinned but can we please admit that what the teenager did was inappropriate and rude? While she may disagree with him politically, that's really no excuse to be tweeting during his talk, especially a negative tweet.
Remember when what's his name shouted "You Lie," or Scalia mouthed those words during the State of the Union? We called them out on it we said they were rude, disrespectful of the President and the Office of the President.
We are giving up the moral high ground, to quote the old joke "we know what kind of lady you are, now we are haggling over price."
exlibra on November 30, 2011 5:10 PM:
Ruth Marcus sucks. She's, probably, sucking as I write. She sucked last week. She has always sucked. She will suck next week. Next year, she will have sucked for a far too long time. Oh, and she blows a lot too (and not always just hot air, either), bless her heart.
I just hope she has no children, to dirty her pristine (but blood-thirsty) little mind. Also (too) hope she never sees some of the Craptcha challenges. "Fiorinal ntrchid"? A urinal in a shape of a flower (specifically orchid)?
JoyousMN on November 30, 2011 5:10 PM:
Pass the smelling salts! Someone just said something mean on the inter-tubes #RuthMarcusBlows
James at home on November 30, 2011 5:13 PM:
Dervin,
You answered your own question. As you pointed out, what's his name shouted out "You Lie." The student privately and silently typed her message into her twitter account. She didn't shout it out at the person speaking.
kevo on November 30, 2011 5:19 PM:
Yo, Dervin - it was Alito who did the silent muttering during the SOTU address, and your observation is a bit imbalanced according to the scale you yourself threw down:
To yell "you lie" in the midst of the Congressional decorum during a national joint-session tradition is a bit different in its rudeness than an 18 year old on a school field trip fiddling with a limited audience (60+ twitter followers) while sitting, no doubt, bored in the audience.
Why, if Brownback's staff wasn't so paranoid, the original tweet may never have been in the news as a 60+ twitter-follower account is not the same platform as the well of the House of Representatives on a internationally broadcast speech from our duly elected Commander-in-Chief!
What moral high ground are we giving away when we excuse our youth from their youthful indiscretions, and forgive them, for they know not what they do? -Kevo
hells littlest angel on November 30, 2011 5:20 PM:
Marcus is the Post's Stealth Stupid Ass. More personable than Krauthammer, a little smarter than Gerson, less of an insufferable jerk than Will, not as strident as Rubin, but still a member in good standing of their stable of self-righteous ignoramuses. And the Post touts her as a left-winger.
KidAgain on November 30, 2011 5:21 PM:
I suspect Ms Marcus was slighted by the popular girls back in the 1-room schoolhouse and this was her "neener neener neeeeenerrrrrr" moment. Many people never get past 18, really.
j_h_r on November 30, 2011 5:23 PM:
@Dervin:
please google the definition of "public figure" and then write a five paragraph essay describing the differences, reputationally speaking, between an elected Senator, a Supreme Court Justice, and an 18-year-old girl.
exlibra on November 30, 2011 5:24 PM:
Remember when what's his name shouted "You Lie," or Scalia mouthed those words during the State of the Union? -- derwin, @5:08
And you see no difference?
First, those two were prominent people -- an elected official and a Supreme Court - the highest in the land -- justice. Both are adults, supposedly. School children are supposed to look up to such august personages. That compares to an 18yr old schoolgirl? How?
Second, Joe Wilson actually yelled "You lie!" out loud, interrupting the President's speech. Not so Emma. Scalia was caught on camera, also in full glare of the public view. Emma, OTOH... If Brownback's office hadn't gone round the bend on it, only 60 people -- her followers -- would have ever known about that Tweet (I understand that now she has more followers than Brownback. Wish them fun reading about Twilight Zone).
But, hey. No difference. You and Ruth Marcus should get together for a good suction... er... a good session of bitchin' an' blowin'.
j_h_r on November 30, 2011 5:26 PM:
Dervin,
Please google "public figure", and then please explain how you think there is no difference, reputationally speaking, between an elected Senator, a Supreme Court Justice, and an 18-year-old girl. And no, it's NOT that the 18-year-old-girl his perky boobs.
zeitgeist on November 30, 2011 5:27 PM:
Dervin, I agree with you that what she did was wrong and this should be a teaching moment. I worked with troubled teens who started a literary magazine -- a great idea for them to express themselves -- and a big part of the challenge was teaching them to consider how the form of expression impacts the receptiveness of the audience, that screaming obscenities (figuratively) may feel good, but if they wanted oter to hear and understand, they may need to be more clever in their use of language. This was a great opportunity to teach her that same lesson.
But this articule was about Ruth Marcus, and Marcus taught either no lessons or all the wrong ones. Marcus was no better, mocking a high school girl in a national newspaper. That mocking also teaches not appropriate expression, but that expression will be penalized by the establishment; the same censorial lesson Brownback's staff and the school principal taught. And most of all, Marcus provides an object lesson in the hypocrisy that accompanies politics -- you note the outrage on the left about Rep. Wilson's "You lie!" but where was Ruth Marcus on that issue? Or a sitting Vice President telling a Senator "go fuck yourself" on the floor of the U.S. Senate? For someone who likes access to the powerful, it is much easier to scold a midwestern teenager stretching her free-expression wings than to scold someone who really should know much better.
So yes, I'll agree with the off-topic issue that the young woman could have been more appropriate. I'd hope that you and everyone else agrees that what Ruth Marcus did was much worse.
j_h_r on November 30, 2011 5:28 PM:
fscking double post :(
berttheclock on November 30, 2011 5:34 PM:
How much lower can the Washington Post fall? From the giant Walter Lippman to the swill of Ruth Marcus. Her column before this one was about the hair of Mitt Romney and Perry. She brings WHAT to the Post? Sadly, the Oregonian picks up her column as well as the so-called economist Robert Samuelson who rants and raves about Social Security recipients being on Welfare. But, those columns do go well with our new curbside food recycling requirement.
Dervin on November 30, 2011 5:38 PM:
kevo & James at home,
You both are correct that what Alito & Wilson did were by far greater violations than what the teenager did. But the girl was still rude and disrespectful. And they were adults, she's a teenager. I'm willing to give her some slack, but at the same time we should hold our students to some standards of decorum.
I believe the difference between her and the "adults" is one of quantity, not of quality. All three violated basic civil behaviors.
When I was in High School, our World Affairs Club took a trip to the UN. Our teacher got us an meeting with the Iranians. The year was 1985. The discussion was "intense" (WASP and Suburbanites would call it a hostile argument). The Iranians kept their cool, I'm guessing they knew what to expect from a bunch of working class Catholic teenagers. We then wrote the Iranians a thank you note for taking time out of their schedule to meet with us. Because that's the way you behave, even if you somebody's your enemy.
The basic rules of civilization is if you are in the presence of an elected official, who's taking the time out of his schedule to meet with you. Regardless of your opinions, you should at least pay attention and not send out rude tweets.
Red Mountain on November 30, 2011 5:44 PM:
She's 18. She can vote. Can we refer to her as a voter rather than a teenager?
As in....Brownback office demands apology from voter?
hells littlest angel on November 30, 2011 5:49 PM:
Dervin seems to think "tweets" are some sort of audible sound, maybe a ladylike, Victorian passing of wind.
Velocity on November 30, 2011 5:50 PM:
Everyone knows that Twitter is for college Republicans to joke about assassinating Obama.
kevo on November 30, 2011 6:00 PM:
Dervin - you're sailing a sinking ship!
It is most difficult to hold teenagers to the same standards as adults, as one of the laws of unexpected consequences when dealing with teens and appropriating expectations, ultimatums and consequences is that teens are not wholy rational and reasonable humans and as such, the expected result of admonition is not the correcting of the off-behavior, but a magnification of it into a morphed disdain toward any and all authority.
The cliche for all parents comes to the fore: Pick your battles and make them worthy of your attention. Everything else that can be ignored and worked into a self-reflection moment for the child is an effective way of guiding the youth into becoming a respectful adult.
Brownback's staff picked the wrong fight, let it get a life of its own, and now we're spending far too much time and effort on a national distraction instead of any number of national concerns.
Did I hold my children (who are adults now) to a higher standard than what Ms. Sullivan has become infamous for - you betcha! But did my children always heed my expectations - on some occasions, not a chance!
When you are upset enough with teens texting while driving, as you seem to be with Ms. Sullivan's indiscretion, then we can talk! -Kevo
Texas Aggie on November 30, 2011 6:16 PM:
It's Ruth Marcus. What do you expect?
Anonymous on November 30, 2011 6:26 PM:
Dervin: "we should hold our students to some standards of decorum."
And saying "Brownback sucks" in a tweet to her friends most definitely does not rise to the occasion that we should call for the smelling salts. Posting frontal nude photos of herself with Brownback on her Facebook would call for a lecture on standards of decorum. Telling him that he sucks does not.
Gregory on November 30, 2011 6:34 PM:
Republicans -- inspired in part by Gingrich's infamous GOPAC memo -- are routinely uncivil to Democrats and liberals. Routinely? As a matter of official policy they're uncivil. Does Marcus whine about Republican rudeness toward Democrats and liberals? Of course not.
Moreover, Republicans, likely out of the necessity of their actual agenda and failed policies being extremely unpopular, lie all the damn time. In my book, that's even more uncivil. Yet Marcus enables them again by pretending they act in good faith.
And she probably considers herself a member of the "liberal media" -- though she cravenly seeks to establish evidence that she isn't.
What's she is establishing is that she's a tool.
Texas Aggie on November 30, 2011 6:48 PM:
It's very enjoyable to go read the comments on Marcus' column in the WaPo. They are almost unanimous that Marcus is a jerk. They also brought up Brownback's monitoring of other people's messages as being a lot worse than anything that Emma did.
BetweenTheLines on November 30, 2011 7:07 PM:
It's downright creepy that Brownback's office monitors all internet traffic concerning him. Talk about big brother. How many people are employed to monitor this and how much IT equipment is devoted to it? And how much does this cost the Kansas taxpayer?
One caveat; The FBI can and should flag traffic concerning public figures and potential threats against their safety. But for Brownback's office to monitor teenage tweets is just plain bizarre.
bigtuna on November 30, 2011 7:24 PM:
Good grief. Have these people never been around real teenagers? Were they never teenagers themselves?!
Marko on November 30, 2011 7:42 PM:
Sullivan's tweet is protected by the 1st Amendment. Period.
I still want to know a) How much money does Brownback pay his staff with public funds to monitor social media; and b) How is it that Brownback can call a high school principal to single out students for apologies?
You can argue that Sullivan's tweet was rude. Who cares? It was a private message to her friends. And yes, we all understand that the Internet is monitored for terrorist threats. Presumably by the FBI, not by civil servants to tattle on rude students.
This is way creepy my fiends. And even creepier that the MSM is more focused on the rudeness of the message and not the Big Brother aspect of it all.
Calvin Ross on November 30, 2011 7:48 PM:
Ruth, you lit a fire under me:
http://www.theamericanhuman.com/2011/11/ruth-marcus-ive-got-potty-mouth.html
Tom Dibble on November 30, 2011 8:20 PM:
"Brownback and his office overreacted and they come off as thin skinned but can we please admit that what the teenager did was inappropriate and rude? While she may disagree with him politically, that's really no excuse to be tweeting during his talk, especially a negative tweet."
Um, no, that is not worthy of me (a complete stranger) calling rude.
Do kids do rude things? Certainly. I don't know how old you are, but when I grew up teenagers said and did rude things as well. Having the whole world jump down a teenager's throat when they do something "rude" (and, again, I know my personal tally of rude-things-I-did contains quite a few doozies more serious than telling my friends the Governor's a blowhard) is not going to help that teenager be less rude nor stop other teenagers from being rude.
Being a teenager is a precarious developmental step in one's life. Guidance throughout that step needs to come from those the teenager knows and respects. Public scorn and ridicule has a horrible effect on a teenager, and does not help at all.
So, give this kid a break. I don't care if she tweeted that his breath smelled like athlete's foot and he sprouted a raging hardon every time he mentioned gutting the unions. She's a teenager; she is allowed to make stupid, rude, nonsensical statements to her friends.
"I still want to know a) How much money does Brownback pay his staff with public funds to monitor social media;"
I imagine they know to monitor the hashtag "#heblowsalot". Don't ask why :)
thebewilderness on November 30, 2011 8:34 PM:
Besides giving a private citizen a public drubbing in the WaPo, the thing most revealing and repulsive to me was her position that the parental role is to inculcate values of respect for authority. Aside from the clearly demonstrable do as I say not as I do attitude, I am entirely creeped out by a person who adds no qualifiers to that rather authoritarian attitude regarding authority.
hawiken on November 30, 2011 8:57 PM:
And in all of the brouhaha over rudeness, decorum, teenagers, false equivalency, etc., everyone seems to be ignoring the fact that she's right- Brownback DOES suck.
arkie on December 01, 2011 12:19 AM:
"her position that the parental role is to inculcate values of respect for authority"
thebewilderness: A great comment. I'm glad that both of my children had the opportunity to spend their last two years of high school at the Arkansas School for Math and Science. It's unofficial motto is "Just don't answer the question. Question the answer."