Does anyone else not feel particularly sorry for the Aussie DJs?
People have been defending the DJs' actions by saying "it was a harmless prank" and "they could not have forseen the consequences"...
I personally don't buy this whatsoever. I don't see how the following consequences are too unforseeable:
1) Humiliation at a global scale due to the inevitable world wide press coverage (its Wills and Kate + unborn royal foetus - of course the press would pick up on any incident).
2) Career ruining repercussions.
And idk if it's just me, but I think most people would find those consequences pretty crushing.
Any underlying issues/stress the nurse may have had were of course unforseeable. But unforseeable does not mean "impossible". If anything, it means extra caution should be taken. If you don't know how someone will react, don't prank them - especially not in such a way that will result in world wide humiliation and career ruining consequences.
Just because they did not deliberately set out with the intention "lets drive a nurse to suicide!!" does not mean they should not be held responsible for their actions. They completely disregarded the effect it would have on the nurse all for the sake of ratings chasing, and some sort of self-gratifying ego boost - as evidenced by their continual plugging of the prank on their twitter/websites etc.
Of course, the DJ's will be shaken up and emotionally shattered by the whole incident, and I hope they are able to find peace with themselves eventually. But to deny their at least partial responsibility is, frankly, ridiculous.
I personally don't buy this whatsoever. I don't see how the following consequences are too unforseeable:
1) Humiliation at a global scale due to the inevitable world wide press coverage (its Wills and Kate + unborn royal foetus - of course the press would pick up on any incident).
2) Career ruining repercussions.
And idk if it's just me, but I think most people would find those consequences pretty crushing.
Any underlying issues/stress the nurse may have had were of course unforseeable. But unforseeable does not mean "impossible". If anything, it means extra caution should be taken. If you don't know how someone will react, don't prank them - especially not in such a way that will result in world wide humiliation and career ruining consequences.
Just because they did not deliberately set out with the intention "lets drive a nurse to suicide!!" does not mean they should not be held responsible for their actions. They completely disregarded the effect it would have on the nurse all for the sake of ratings chasing, and some sort of self-gratifying ego boost - as evidenced by their continual plugging of the prank on their twitter/websites etc.
Of course, the DJ's will be shaken up and emotionally shattered by the whole incident, and I hope they are able to find peace with themselves eventually. But to deny their at least partial responsibility is, frankly, ridiculous.
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I absolutely agree- they may not have intended to drive people to such harm but seriously it's Will and Kate, they only have to walk about 5 metres outside and they have press swarming about them so it's obviously going to be a big deal.
I think they should be deemed responsible, after all if they hadn't have done it, then the whole suicide wouldn't have happened. It's defo time people took consequences for their actions rather than trying to pass the blame all the time.
I think they should be deemed responsible, after all if they hadn't have done it, then the whole suicide wouldn't have happened. It's defo time people took consequences for their actions rather than trying to pass the blame all the time.
I've posted this on another thread, but I think it's relevant for this one also.
The first time I heard the prank call, I thought it was humorous, if not a bit insensitive and ridiculous. It was obvious that it was a prank. The Queen doesn't even write her own letters to most people, so why would you expect her to make a casual phone call to a hospital?
As for the nurse's death, it's clear that something is very wrong with this situation. Jacintha Saldanha wasn't the nurse discussing Kate's condition with the DJ's - she was the one who transferred the call. That portion of the prank lasted no longer than 10 seconds, and the DJ's were not even mocking her as much (if at all), unlike the other nurse. People will say that the international humiliation drove her to suicide, but with all due respect, nobody in the public domain knew who Saldanha was until she was found dead. More attention was given to the fact that the nurse provided details about Kate's condition, and nobody knows who she is either.
The Royal Family and hospital were very quick to point out that they weren't angry, and were not planning to initiate disciplinary procedures against her. Then again, how do we know that they're telling the truth? Given the death of Saldanha, It would not reflect well on them if it transpired that they did indeed gave both nurses a severe reprimand, with threats of further action.
As for the British media who were more than happy to splash the prank over the 6 o clock news and front page newspapers, it's only convenient that they find a scapegoat for the death. It diverts attention from their pervasive reporting on the Royal Family (which they are historically notorious for), onto two naive unwitting DJ's who could never have foreseen the s**tstorm they're mired in now.
The first time I heard the prank call, I thought it was humorous, if not a bit insensitive and ridiculous. It was obvious that it was a prank. The Queen doesn't even write her own letters to most people, so why would you expect her to make a casual phone call to a hospital?
As for the nurse's death, it's clear that something is very wrong with this situation. Jacintha Saldanha wasn't the nurse discussing Kate's condition with the DJ's - she was the one who transferred the call. That portion of the prank lasted no longer than 10 seconds, and the DJ's were not even mocking her as much (if at all), unlike the other nurse. People will say that the international humiliation drove her to suicide, but with all due respect, nobody in the public domain knew who Saldanha was until she was found dead. More attention was given to the fact that the nurse provided details about Kate's condition, and nobody knows who she is either.
The Royal Family and hospital were very quick to point out that they weren't angry, and were not planning to initiate disciplinary procedures against her. Then again, how do we know that they're telling the truth? Given the death of Saldanha, It would not reflect well on them if it transpired that they did indeed gave both nurses a severe reprimand, with threats of further action.
As for the British media who were more than happy to splash the prank over the 6 o clock news and front page newspapers, it's only convenient that they find a scapegoat for the death. It diverts attention from their pervasive reporting on the Royal Family (which they are historically notorious for), onto two naive unwitting DJ's who could never have foreseen the s**tstorm they're mired in now.
Absolute rubbish.
1) "Humiliation at a global scale" - not at all. The only reason I, and most other people, could vaguely recognise her now is because it's been plastered on the news continuously due to the probable suicide. "Humiliation" would have been reserved to those who personally knew her, and I doubt many of them made that big a deal out of it (and if they did, surely they are just as much to blame as the DJs...). Particularly as 99% of the attention would be on the nurse who ACTUALLY gave out information, and not on someone who operated a switchboard and was on the line for a couple of seconds. People undergo far worse "humiliation" than that everyday and don't kill themselves over it - there is clearly something else in play here.
2) "Career ruining repercussions" - there were no career ruining repercussions. In fact, I wouldn't personally say it would have the slightest effect on her career. She did nothing wrong.
And of course there is a difference between unforeseeable and impossible - but if that's how you live your life then you must be a hermit wrapped in cotton wool. It's unforeseeable that the car I may drive tomorrow is going to hit and kill someone, but not impossible - so should I now refuse to ever drive again? In fact, I'd go as far as to say driving a car has a higher chance of killing someone than this prank would have.
There was NO malicious intent and NO feasible way ANYONE could have foreseen this - it's nothing more than a sanctimonious witch hunt - a large portion of them being hypocrites as many of them would have listened to similar pranks (maybe even this very one) and initially found it humorous.
1) "Humiliation at a global scale" - not at all. The only reason I, and most other people, could vaguely recognise her now is because it's been plastered on the news continuously due to the probable suicide. "Humiliation" would have been reserved to those who personally knew her, and I doubt many of them made that big a deal out of it (and if they did, surely they are just as much to blame as the DJs...). Particularly as 99% of the attention would be on the nurse who ACTUALLY gave out information, and not on someone who operated a switchboard and was on the line for a couple of seconds. People undergo far worse "humiliation" than that everyday and don't kill themselves over it - there is clearly something else in play here.
2) "Career ruining repercussions" - there were no career ruining repercussions. In fact, I wouldn't personally say it would have the slightest effect on her career. She did nothing wrong.
And of course there is a difference between unforeseeable and impossible - but if that's how you live your life then you must be a hermit wrapped in cotton wool. It's unforeseeable that the car I may drive tomorrow is going to hit and kill someone, but not impossible - so should I now refuse to ever drive again? In fact, I'd go as far as to say driving a car has a higher chance of killing someone than this prank would have.
There was NO malicious intent and NO feasible way ANYONE could have foreseen this - it's nothing more than a sanctimonious witch hunt - a large portion of them being hypocrites as many of them would have listened to similar pranks (maybe even this very one) and initially found it humorous.
(edited 11 years ago)
This wasn't murder. This wasn't manslaughter. This wasn't suicide by bullying torment. This wasn't their fault she chose to kill herself. The DJs had no control over this. Everyone laughed when the prank happened. Now everyone's pissed off at the DJs because someone committed suicide. This makes as much sense as North Korea.
I better not ever leave the flat again, I might scare a cat, who will in turn run across the road causing an oncoming car to swerve off the road resulting in a fatal car accident, I mean it's unforeseeable but if it happened I should take full responsibility right? There's no way we can live our lives trying to avoid every potential worst case disaster. There isn't even any evidence this prank played a part in her suicide, she may have been planning it for a while for all we know, just because the media jumps to conclusions (the same media I might add that was laughing with the rest of us before the suicide, but now act high and mighty as if they always found it despicable) doesn't mean we should.
Also let's not forget something the media are trying to sweep under the carpet by only mentioning it in passing in their articles: The nurse that committed suicide did not give any confidential information out. All she did was transfer the call to another nurse, this nurse gave the information out, not the nurse who committed suicide, who featured for about ten seconds in the prank and broke no rules, she would probably not have even been disciplined for what she did, since she didn't do anything wrong.
Also let's not forget something the media are trying to sweep under the carpet by only mentioning it in passing in their articles: The nurse that committed suicide did not give any confidential information out. All she did was transfer the call to another nurse, this nurse gave the information out, not the nurse who committed suicide, who featured for about ten seconds in the prank and broke no rules, she would probably not have even been disciplined for what she did, since she didn't do anything wrong.
Original post by DCFCfan4eva
I absolutely agree- they may not have intended to drive people to such harm but seriously it's Will and Kate, they only have to walk about 5 metres outside and they have press swarming about them so it's obviously going to be a big deal.
I think they should be deemed responsible, after all if they hadn't have done it, then the whole suicide wouldn't have happened. It's defo time people took consequences for their actions rather than trying to pass the blame all the time.
I think they should be deemed responsible, after all if they hadn't have done it, then the whole suicide wouldn't have happened. It's defo time people took consequences for their actions rather than trying to pass the blame all the time.
I also agree with this. Of course they didn't mean to kill her but they should have thought about the actions and what consequences they ensued before they even thought about carrying out the action.
BTW @DCFCfan4eva - you have some dirt in your username. NFFC! You REDS!
it's not their fault, no way, they could never have expected this might be the result and normal, happy people with no other problems in their life don't kill themselves over something like this. they might have been the straw that broke the camels back, but no more than that. the people blaming them need a slap.
(edited 11 years ago)
1 Why is it more their fault than the ****storm of media who took their story to the far greater, global level. How many people listened to their station vs the number of people who learned about this through other media channels?
2 People do stuff like this all the time. A mentally instable woman shouldn't be blamed on them.
3 If you listened to it, you would've known it was very ironic. They meant it for fun. They should've stopped a little earlier, but that's not proportional a mistake to what's happened since.
2 People do stuff like this all the time. A mentally instable woman shouldn't be blamed on them.
3 If you listened to it, you would've known it was very ironic. They meant it for fun. They should've stopped a little earlier, but that's not proportional a mistake to what's happened since.
Original post by MormonMonster
I also agree with this. Of course they didn't mean to kill her but they should have thought about the actions and what consequences they ensued before they even thought about carrying out the action.
BTW @DCFCfan4eva - you have some dirt in your username. NFFC! You REDS!
BTW @DCFCfan4eva - you have some dirt in your username. NFFC! You REDS!
ha ha, did u enjoy getting humiliated on TV earlier this season
I don't feel the slightest bit sorry for the DJs. I particularly detest the fact that their statement is less about being sorry and more about "it's not our fault, we couldn't have foreseen this".
Whilst suicide was clearly not something any of us would have predicted, I agree with OP that it was entirely predictable that there would be major humiliation plus disciplinary action could be taken against the two people who answered the phone, for breaching the hospital's patient confidentiality policies. Although the hospital says they were not suspended, and disciplinary action had not been taken, as an employment lawyer I'm very well aware that it usually takes several days of investigation before employees would be invited to a disciplinary meeting. It is very possible that the nurse was under the belief that disciplinary action could be taken - which would potentially have wrecked her career - and that might have been enough to stress her into doing something rash.
It seems to me that if any prank could cause somebody to get into such trouble with their employer that their job could be at risk (regardless of whether it happened in this case) then it isn't remotely amusing. The DJs and their management should have foreseen that possibility - even if it was not the possibility that eventually played out.
Absolutely tragic and unnecessary.
Whilst suicide was clearly not something any of us would have predicted, I agree with OP that it was entirely predictable that there would be major humiliation plus disciplinary action could be taken against the two people who answered the phone, for breaching the hospital's patient confidentiality policies. Although the hospital says they were not suspended, and disciplinary action had not been taken, as an employment lawyer I'm very well aware that it usually takes several days of investigation before employees would be invited to a disciplinary meeting. It is very possible that the nurse was under the belief that disciplinary action could be taken - which would potentially have wrecked her career - and that might have been enough to stress her into doing something rash.
It seems to me that if any prank could cause somebody to get into such trouble with their employer that their job could be at risk (regardless of whether it happened in this case) then it isn't remotely amusing. The DJs and their management should have foreseen that possibility - even if it was not the possibility that eventually played out.
Absolutely tragic and unnecessary.
(edited 11 years ago)
Original post by amon amarth
If you don't know how someone will react, don't prank them.
Using that ridiculous logic, nobody should ever prank anyone else because there is always a tiny chance that the prankee is depressed/suicidal.
Stop pretending that you could have forseen the nurse killing herself and BTW if you listen to the actuall call, she doesn't give out any information - she is just professional and transfers them to another member of staff.
I agree with you OP.
Lol@ at the posts that have not read anything you have said and are just like OMGZ THEY DIDNT KNOW IT WAS GUNA HAPEN - read what the OP is said, he/she has addressed this in her/his original post!
Pranking a hospital is not funny or clever, it should never have happened, and at the very least the DJ's should have stopped when the prank became an invasion of privacy. Funny how neither of them are unable to address the question 'why did they keep going'?.
Lol@ at the posts that have not read anything you have said and are just like OMGZ THEY DIDNT KNOW IT WAS GUNA HAPEN - read what the OP is said, he/she has addressed this in her/his original post!
Pranking a hospital is not funny or clever, it should never have happened, and at the very least the DJ's should have stopped when the prank became an invasion of privacy. Funny how neither of them are unable to address the question 'why did they keep going'?.
TBH the DJ's should have known that the British press would be like a pack of rabid dogs over this. It's Kate Middleton for christ's sakes, arguably one of the most popular people on earth.
Original post by amon amarth
People have been defending the DJs' actions by saying "it was a harmless prank" and "they could not have forseen the consequences"...
I personally don't buy this whatsoever. I don't see how the following consequences are too unforseeable:
1) Humiliation at a global scale due to the inevitable world wide press coverage (its Wills and Kate + unborn royal foetus - of course the press would pick up on any incident).
2) Career ruining repercussions.
And idk if it's just me, but I think most people would find those consequences pretty crushing.
Any underlying issues/stress the nurse may have had were of course unforseeable. But unforseeable does not mean "impossible". If anything, it means extra caution should be taken. If you don't know how someone will react, don't prank them - especially not in such a way that will result in world wide humiliation and career ruining consequences.
Just because they did not deliberately set out with the intention "lets drive a nurse to suicide!!" does not mean they should not be held responsible for their actions. They completely disregarded the effect it would have on the nurse all for the sake of ratings chasing, and some sort of self-gratifying ego boost - as evidenced by their continual plugging of the prank on their twitter/websites etc.
Of course, the DJ's will be shaken up and emotionally shattered by the whole incident, and I hope they are able to find peace with themselves eventually. But to deny their at least partial responsibility is, frankly, ridiculous.
I personally don't buy this whatsoever. I don't see how the following consequences are too unforseeable:
1) Humiliation at a global scale due to the inevitable world wide press coverage (its Wills and Kate + unborn royal foetus - of course the press would pick up on any incident).
2) Career ruining repercussions.
And idk if it's just me, but I think most people would find those consequences pretty crushing.
Any underlying issues/stress the nurse may have had were of course unforseeable. But unforseeable does not mean "impossible". If anything, it means extra caution should be taken. If you don't know how someone will react, don't prank them - especially not in such a way that will result in world wide humiliation and career ruining consequences.
Just because they did not deliberately set out with the intention "lets drive a nurse to suicide!!" does not mean they should not be held responsible for their actions. They completely disregarded the effect it would have on the nurse all for the sake of ratings chasing, and some sort of self-gratifying ego boost - as evidenced by their continual plugging of the prank on their twitter/websites etc.
Of course, the DJ's will be shaken up and emotionally shattered by the whole incident, and I hope they are able to find peace with themselves eventually. But to deny their at least partial responsibility is, frankly, ridiculous.
1) she was never named, so how was she publicly humiliated? no one had a clue who she was until she died.
2) that nurse did nothing wrong, she didn't reveal any information about kate. She simply passed the call onto the other nurse so she wouldn't have been fired.
it was a joke in poor taste, but i do feel a bit sorry for them. The people that are criticising how terrible they are were probably laughing at the phone call when they heard it
Original post by callum9999
Absolute rubbish.
1) "Humiliation at a global scale" - not at all. The only reason I, and most other people, could vaguely recognise her now is because it's been plastered on the news continuously due to the probable suicide. "Humiliation" would have been reserved to those who personally knew her, and I doubt many of them made that big a deal out of it (and if they did, surely they are just as much to blame as the DJs...). Particularly as 99% of the attention would be on the nurse who ACTUALLY gave out information, and not on someone who operated a switchboard and was on the line for a couple of seconds. People undergo far worse "humiliation" than that everyday and don't kill themselves over it - there is clearly something else in play here.
2) "Career ruining repercussions" - there were no career ruining repercussions. In fact, I wouldn't personally say it would have the slightest effect on her career. She did nothing wrong.
And of course there is a difference between unforeseeable and impossible - but if that's how you live your life then you must be a hermit wrapped in cotton wool. It's unforeseeable that the car I may drive tomorrow is going to hit and kill someone, but not impossible - so should I now refuse to ever drive again? In fact, I'd go as far as to say driving a car has a higher chance of killing someone than this prank would have.
There was NO malicious intent and NO feasible way ANYONE could have foreseen this - it's nothing more than a sanctimonious witch hunt - a large portion of them being hypocrites as many of them would have listened to similar pranks (maybe even this very one) and initially found it humorous.
1) "Humiliation at a global scale" - not at all. The only reason I, and most other people, could vaguely recognise her now is because it's been plastered on the news continuously due to the probable suicide. "Humiliation" would have been reserved to those who personally knew her, and I doubt many of them made that big a deal out of it (and if they did, surely they are just as much to blame as the DJs...). Particularly as 99% of the attention would be on the nurse who ACTUALLY gave out information, and not on someone who operated a switchboard and was on the line for a couple of seconds. People undergo far worse "humiliation" than that everyday and don't kill themselves over it - there is clearly something else in play here.
2) "Career ruining repercussions" - there were no career ruining repercussions. In fact, I wouldn't personally say it would have the slightest effect on her career. She did nothing wrong.
And of course there is a difference between unforeseeable and impossible - but if that's how you live your life then you must be a hermit wrapped in cotton wool. It's unforeseeable that the car I may drive tomorrow is going to hit and kill someone, but not impossible - so should I now refuse to ever drive again? In fact, I'd go as far as to say driving a car has a higher chance of killing someone than this prank would have.
There was NO malicious intent and NO feasible way ANYONE could have foreseen this - it's nothing more than a sanctimonious witch hunt - a large portion of them being hypocrites as many of them would have listened to similar pranks (maybe even this very one) and initially found it humorous.
I agree with all of this, couldn't have put it better myself.
I should add that I don't think making prank calls to hospitals is a good idea at all, and could have very severe repercussions in terms of patient confidentiality. But I disagree with both of the OP's points.
(edited 11 years ago)
Original post by music788
I agree with you OP.
Lol@ at the posts that have not read anything you have said and are just like OMGZ THEY DIDNT KNOW IT WAS GUNA HAPEN - read what the OP is said, he/she has addressed this in her/his original post!
Pranking a hospital is not funny or clever, it should never have happened, and at the very least the DJ's should have stopped when the prank became an invasion of privacy. Funny how neither of them are unable to address the question 'why did they keep going'?.
Lol@ at the posts that have not read anything you have said and are just like OMGZ THEY DIDNT KNOW IT WAS GUNA HAPEN - read what the OP is said, he/she has addressed this in her/his original post!
Pranking a hospital is not funny or clever, it should never have happened, and at the very least the DJ's should have stopped when the prank became an invasion of privacy. Funny how neither of them are unable to address the question 'why did they keep going'?.
Numerous people have addressed this, based on what the OP is saying we should take extra caution around things that might happen. Which is ridiculous. If we did that we'd never achieve anything in life. There is no way these DJs knew she would suffer 'worldwide humiliation' because from the sound of it they do pranks on their show a lot, and they don't usually get reported by every news network (who funnily enough found it funny at the time,) it was unforeseeable it would escalate as it did, at no point did I see anyone when the prank was originally broadcast saying 'I feel bad for the receptionist, she might be suicidal.'
To be honest I think the media had a bigger hand to play in her suicide than the DJs did
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