Post: #1

http://www.cnn.com/2012/12/10/world/euro...?hpt=hp_t2

This has been all over the news- Australian DJs pretended to be the Queen and Prince Charles to get information about Kate Middleton, and one of the nurses who transferred their call killed herself, leaving behind a husband and two kids. Now it's been front page news for about a week, the DJs have lost their jobs, the show has been canceled, and all sorts of news types are talking about what a travesty this is.

I can't help but think- isn't it kind of an extreme overreaction to kill yourself over forwarding a phone call? And would there be any sympathy at all if a man had killed himself over something like this?

Post: #2

I think the nurse was afraid that she may have compromised Kate Middleton's safety, and couldn't forgive herself for it. She may also have been afraid for her own safety because of what she did. To some, the Royals are that precious and important.

I remember here in NY, Opie & Anthony, two popular radio hosts are always getting themselves in hot water for stunts. They got fired for daring a couple to have sex inside St. Patrick's Cathedral. A couple got caught doing it, and said they did it on a dare from the radio hosts. On one hand, no one told that couple they HAD to do it, but the bad PR was too much of a risk in the highly competitive radio market. Sponsors start pulling ads and the revenue that comes with it, and you've got a problem.

Post: #3

It's patently ridiculous that the fellows lost their jobs over this.

You have to wonder how long the woman would have been around if this had never happened. I'm going to guess "not very long" since she killed herself (apparently) over forwarding a prank phone call to English royalty. What other simple mistake might have pushed her to the edge?

Speaking of which, why is there a royal family in the modern day and age? And why in the fuck do they receive millions or even billions in taxpayer subsidies?

Post: #4

The strangest thing about this case was that the woman who killed herself wasn't even the one who divulged information; she only patched them through and said no more than 4 words to them.

That said, I think the elephant in the room (one I've yet to see raised whatsoever) on this case is the cultural issue. The woman was immigrant Indian, unless I'm mistaken. I'm not in any way familiar with the "face" paradigms specific to Indian culture, especially regarding royalty, but could this be part of the reason she attributed such extreme meaning to the incident and went to such drastic measures to "punish herself" for it?

I personally think these DJs are being unfairly hung out to dry on this. Sure, it was kind of a dumb prank to begin with, but the woman's reaction was unwarranted; it was not their fault by any means.

Then again, public persecution seems to be pretty common in the new social media age. Can anyone say "tyranny of the majority?"

Post: #5

as an american i will NEVER understand how english people give a shit about the royal family. the fact that a nurse was driven to suicide is crazy but it highlights how obsessed and brainwashed that country is with the royals.

the australians who are descendants of english convicts have every right to prank english royality. if you ask me is a birthright for them to hate the royals since there ancestors where expelled from england to australia by the royals many generations ago.

Post: #6

Did they confirm this was an actual "suicide" to begin with? I haven't read the coverage, but it sounds suspicious.

Post: #7

(12-10-2012 09:41 PM)MSW2007 Wrote:  It's patently ridiculous that the fellows lost their jobs over this.

Wasn't two fellows - it was a fellow and a chick.

They haven't lost their jobs, they are still employed by the station


Let's face it, radio DJs in pop culture are essentially social parasites - they make money off the backs of others/at the expense of others. This pathetic, worthless, cheap stunt caused public humiliation and possibly contributed to the suicide of someone who actually does make a worthwhile contribution to society

Quote:You have to wonder how long the woman would have been around if this had never happened. I'm going to guess "not very long" since she killed herself (apparently) over forwarding a prank phone call to English royalty. What other simple mistake might have pushed her to the edge?

It's ridiculous to even speculate on this.

My understanding is that in some cases of suicide there is a culmination of a number of background stressors, along with an episode or two of added stress (whether real or perceived - such as this) which contribute.

So I don't think it's unreasonable to say that this, essentially world wide public humiliation, could have contributed and could have acted as a "tipping point". We can't really comment on it more than that.

Post: #8

(12-10-2012 10:00 PM)Tuthmosis Wrote:  Did they confirm this was an actual "suicide" to begin with? I haven't read the coverage, but it sounds suspicious.

Yeah, there's a lot of speculation on this (though of course not in mainstream media). Last I read they still hadn't released details of how she killed herself. Has that been reported yet?

Post: #9

There's no way the outcome could have been anticipated following the prank.

Regardless, the DJs have coped far too much and been fed to the wolves. Management needs to pay for this, and do so publicly, not allow these poors kids to front TV. Their careers are already destroyed. When asked what content was reasonable to air, they had no idea on the privacy laws and code of conduct. Management obviously had given the tick of approval to air the segment, the specific people further up need to be revealed. Better training and revision of privacy laws would prevent this from happening again.

Also find it rich how the UK media are taking the high ground now on this issue. By far the biggest serial offenders of privacy.

Post: #10

(12-10-2012 10:59 PM)Prophylaxis Wrote:  Also find it rich how the UK media are taking the high ground now on this issue. By far the biggest serial offenders of privacy.

For real.

Especially hilarious that this scandal revolves around the Royal Family, considering that the U.K. media loves to microanalyze every minor detail regarding Elizabeth, Harry and William, etc.

Post: #11

She was obviously close to the edge, so if she didn't kill helself over her trivial involvement in this, she would've done it soon enough anyway. Maybe next time she dropped her toast, or walked in to the toilet and found the seat was left up.

Post: #12

(12-10-2012 09:53 PM)bacon Wrote:  as an american i will NEVER understand how english people give a shit about the royal family. the fact that a nurse was driven to suicide is crazy but it highlights how obsessed and brainwashed that country is with the royals.

the australians who are descendants of english convicts have every right to prank english royality. if you ask me is a birthright for them to hate the royals since there ancestors where expelled from england to australia by the royals many generations ago.

I'm glad I'm not the only one who thinks this way. The whole notion of royalty makes me want to vomit, and the fact that the Brits as a whole place that miserable, inbred family on such a high pedestal leaves me speechless.

Like Australians, many Americans who came to the US prior to the revolution were also expelled from England. Unfortunately, unlike the US, many Australians desperately want to go back to being under the boot of the British monarchy. I think it's because we actually had a violent revolution and did our best to build a place with a specific intent to not be like the British.

Look at how uptight they got 2 months ago when some topless pics of Kate Middleton turned up in some tabloid. IIRC the family was threatening legal action against the tabloid, and people were content with this. No mention of free speech which the Brits claim to have.

I could go on all day about this.

Post: #13

(12-11-2012 12:32 AM)porscheguy Wrote:  I could go on all day about this.

Please do. It is telling that no British RVFers (of which there are many) have yet to come forward and defend the concept of a royal family.

I wouldn't consider myself very worldly, so I'm quite curious as to how the average British dude feels about there being a "royal family."

According to Wikipedia's article regarding the Finances of the British Royal Family:

Quote:... when the costs of security, lost revenue and palace grounds maintenance among others, are included, then the real cost, according to the anti-monarchy pressure group Republic, is between £134 and £184 million per year.

At an average of 159 million pounds, Google currently estimates U.S.D. $255,751,500.00

Post: #14

Just so the ignorant know, most people In England don't give a fuck about the royal family. The newspapers love them in the same way they love celebrities, topless pictures of the fat ginger one were published years ago, the only personal feelings I had related to shame that English royalty banged such ugly women.
It is good to have a dumb American tell me things about my own country though.

Post: #15

That interviewer is a Dog and she hurt my eyes. Why didn't you label it NSFP (not safe for players).

You make a big hoax, you better expect the reaction. This gives them more publicity than anything. They are laughing behind their croc tears.

Post: #16

yeah most of us don't give a fuck about them, but they've been around for over 1200 years.

The woman has commited suicide, she's an idiot let's face it, she just patched the call through.
A whole big media overreaction over nothing. The DJ's are unlucky, now knowing this woman is indian they'll probably get done for racism too.

Prince Charles is the heir to the thrown, he gets £2.2 million a year from the UK government. However he also earns £18.3m from his lands and companies, he pays £4.5 million a year in tax to the UK government. He also covers all the official work done by his 2 sons.

I have no love for the monarchy but those republican figures are hugely distorted. The Queen is the main tourist attraction in London.

Post: #17

I'm British and strongly pro-monarchy.

At some point in the legislative/executive process you need a figurehead: I think that it works better when that figurehead is both a) Interconnected with the tradition of the country, and b) Unrelated to politics. A Monarchy serves both. A Presidency, which would be the alternative, doesn't.

Also, the figurative preventative powers against a rogue government are comforting, even should they be useless in any actual event. As is the idea that the head of the military is not a politician.

I think British people in general aren't necessarily pro-monarchy, but you only need to read a couple of pages of our newspapers to realise we're overwhelmingly anti-government. If you did any sort of widespread referendum on whether politicians or the royals should be gotten rid of, I suspect that the politicians would go first by a large margin.

Post: #18

Quote:Let's face it, radio DJs in pop culture are essentially social parasites - they make money off the backs of others/at the expense of others. This pathetic, worthless, cheap stunt caused public humiliation and possibly contributed to the suicide of someone who actually does make a worthwhile contribution to society.

This. I wouldn't throw them in jail over her suicide because there is no direct link, but they do deserve all the scorn in the world. Even if she didn't kill herself, it wouldn't make their actions any more positive or less slimy than they are.

Post: #19

(12-11-2012 06:26 AM)Kitsune Wrote:  I'm British and strongly pro-monarchy.

At some point in the legislative/executive process you need a figurehead: I think that it works better when that figurehead is both a) Interconnected with the tradition of the country, and b) Unrelated to politics. A Monarchy serves both. A Presidency, which would be the alternative, doesn't.

Also, the figurative preventative powers against a rogue government are comforting, even should they be useless in any actual event. As is the idea that the head of the military is not a politician.

I think British people in general aren't necessarily pro-monarchy, but you only need to read a couple of pages of our newspapers to realise we're overwhelmingly anti-government. If you did any sort of widespread referendum on whether politicians or the royals should be gotten rid of, I suspect that the politicians would go first by a large margin.

I'm not fond of the pro-republican movement either, at least unlike a president the royals don't pretend to be the same as every other man in the country. Do I want a Sarkozy/Chirac/Merkel? fuck no

Post: #20

(12-10-2012 09:48 PM)Beyond Borders Wrote:  The strangest thing about this case was that the woman who killed herself wasn't even the one who divulged information; she only patched them through and said no more than 4 words to them.

That said, I think the elephant in the room (one I've yet to see raised whatsoever) on this case is the cultural issue. The woman was immigrant Indian, unless I'm mistaken. I'm not in any way familiar with the "face" paradigms specific to Indian culture, especially regarding royalty, but could this be part of the reason she attributed such extreme meaning to the incident and went to such drastic measures to "punish herself" for it?

I personally think these DJs are being unfairly hung out to dry on this. Sure, it was kind of a dumb prank to begin with, but the woman's reaction was unwarranted; it was not their fault by any means.

Then again, public persecution seems to be pretty common in the new social media age. Can anyone say "tyranny of the majority?"

This is it - some Indians will kill themselves for the most trivial reasons. They don't want to bring shame to the family.

here's a super beta story - I know of a guy in India who was dating a girl. His parents wanted him to marry some other girl, and he didn't want to - instead of having the balls to say this to his parents, he jumped in front of a train and killed himself!

There's no free speech in UK...this guy went to prison for comments on twitter. This would never happen in the US:

Fabrice Muamba: Racist Twitter user jailed for 56 days

I don't agree with what he said BTW...