Topic: Suicide of Princess Kate's nurse following prank call

[Mooning Freddy]

http://www.theweek.co.uk/uk-news/50504/australian-djs-heartbroken-over-kate-nurse-suicide#

What are your thoughts of the story? Do you think the Australian radio hosts, who just wanted to pull an innocent prank, are responsible for the nurse's suicide?
Do you think they went too far with that prank?
And do you think that is where pranks, which appear to be innocent, cross the line?

[X]

Do you think the Australian radio hosts, who just wanted to pull an innocent prank, are responsible for the nurse's suicide?

I feel they are responsible and from the article I just read it seems they are already paying for it and will for some time to come.

Do you think they went too far with that prank?

from the sounds of things this was a disaster waiting to happen. All the little things that went wrong from the get-go added up into one big catastrophe.

And do you think that is where pranks, which appear to be innocent, cross the line?

I've come to think that the "fine line" has been erased some time ago. We live in an age where even the most harmless prank call can add up to the most severest of consequences. Anyone who wants to do a prank on someone else out of fun must be very, VERY careful and take the necessary measures, or else the potential for disaster can easily spring up and then it's too late.

[shelverton.]

I read the article but I can't seem to find exactly what was said in the prank, besides the DJs pretending to be the Queen and Prince Charles, asking about Kate MIddleton. It's difficult to comment on it. But if the woman felt so humiliated/embaressed/something that she choose to end her own life, it must've been a pretty disgusting prank. Dunno.

[TheCruelAngel]

I feel the prankers were responsible for what happened. While there was really no way they could have guessed this would be the end result of their actions, they should of at least realized there would be some negative consequences to it (like the nurse getting fired for instance).

The fact they impersonated the Queen and Prince Charles to get around proper protocol and receive intimate information regarding the pregnancy is dubious on it's own ground, even without the suicide. I may be overreacting but it seems equivalent to espionage and stealing government secrets for a quick buck.

Have the DJs learned their lesson? Maybe. But I have a hard time sympathizing with someone when the only way they could figure out something probably wasn't up to code is when someone dies.

[JR]

I read the article but I can't seem to find exactly what was said in the prank, besides the DJs pretending to be the Queen and Prince Charles, asking about Kate MIddleton. It's difficult to comment on it. But if the woman felt so humiliated/embaressed/something that she choose to end her own life, it must've been a pretty disgusting prank. Dunno.

They didn't say anything terrible, just asked about Kate's condition, good time to visit, etc.

I just read this article about it, and I agree with it:

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/michael-russnow/jacintha-saldanha-dead-royal-family_b_2269546.html

I think it's always tragic when someone decides that they don't want to live anymore, but I think the media backlash on the DJs has been a little heavy-handed.

[shelverton.]

"Even though the woman merely acted as the receptionist, answering the call in the following manner:
"Hello, good morning, King Edward VII hospital" to which Mel Greig, imitating the Queen asked, "Oh, hello there. Can I please speak to Kate, please -- my granddaughter?" Ms. Saldanha's response was simply "Oh, yes, just hold on, ma'am." That was the extent of her involvement with the ruse."

That's it? It's safe to say that this woman had other issues, and I find it pretty disturbing that these two DJs are held responsible for her death, regardless if the prank was of good taste or not.

So, after reading that; No. I don't think they're responsible. Noone could've predicted such a tragic and (in fact) random outcome.

[Lashen]

With the advent of the internet a lot of common decency/foresight has been lost. People have become much more abrasive/extreme concerning their actions/opinions due to its anonymity, which has progressively leaked its way into our real world social structure over the past couple of generations. Television and media in general has done everything to feed this monster, make it seem like an undeniable facet of life that we're either supposed to embrace or learn to tolerate. Most comedy shows resemble backlit ADHD to me, bearing little substance past "crossing the line" for the sake of it. The Simpsons would often deliver a distasteful joke verbally, allowing you to process it mentally, where Family Guy has no quarrel with illustrating Peter being molested by a barn animal. They're both very similar and distant, but the point I'm making is that the latter is much, much more likely to be vulgar because that's what appeals to the current generation. Just because some of us can separate fiction from reality doesn't mean all of us will (especially those still in the stages of mental development). Almost overnight (in history terms), things became more crude, violent and sexualized than ever. It isn't that the world was perfect beforehand (wasn't by far), but for better or worse, if you classified as average the number of extreme people and exposure to them was significantly less when our worlds were smaller.

It's not a black and white issue, the internet's done its fair share of good for society, given people the chance to speak out when they couldn't, but man does it nurture madness on levels we hardly recognize and I wish the cries for sanity or regulation (on some level) were less faint. If a child gets bullied at school, it's likely they won't escape their peers on the internet when they get home and it creates a feeling of complete helplessness. Suicide is much more common today and no one takes their life simply to prove a point or rebel (you can only shut people out for so long). I'm driving away from the subject here, but I wanted to shed some light on the recent abundance of this borderline-retarded focal point of entertainment and what I felt was a major contributor to the mindset that it takes to enjoy it so much without boundaries, conscience, or "What the hell am I enjoying and why?" It all kind of bleeds together and creates this "don't care about anything" theme surrounding society, and most people can't be expected to do the right thing under those circumstances.

People feel that they are not responsible for the repercussions of their actions outside the range of intent and it creates disorder. It's this "Everyone is responsible for themselves! It's their fault if they're bothered by anything!" excuse/mentality that ironically places no accountability on anyone in the long run, often used to justify whatever crude behavior one chooses to indulge in. It's safe to say that if you're going to play a prank, you should at least take into consideration the pros and cons concerning the people involved—not just what you'll take accountability for if it hits the fan.

You know, it's ironic because I heard news of the prank call just days before this woman decided to take her life and questioned how she must feel now, how people were treating her, etc. Do you think a 46-year-old woman (mother of two), formerly of India, not having lived in the UK for more than a decade is on board with the mindset of a couple of Aussie hooligans aiming for a cheap thrill? Yeah, someone's going to call in, claiming to be the Queen and she's going to reject them? I'm certain the amount of shame that she placed on herself for dishonoring the royal family was immeasurable, and losing her job was probably the least of her fears—this is excluding anything other people happened to say to or about her during the few days preceding her death. Was it worth it?

Just because something is humorous in theory doesn't exactly mean the potential backlash is worth it, but it's like trying to warn a kid imitating a Jackass stunt that they'll end up breaking their friend's neck—there's a larger possibility they won't and no one cares unless it happens.

[shelverton.]

With the advent of the internet a lot of common decency/foresight has been lost. People have become much more abrasive/extreme concerning their actions/opinions due to its anonymity, which has progressively leaked its way into our real world social structure over the past couple of generations. Television and media in general has done everything to feed this monster, make it seem like an undeniable facet of life that we're either supposed to embrace or learn to tolerate. Most comedy shows resemble backlit ADHD to me, bearing little substance past "crossing the line" for the sake of it. The Simpsons would often deliver a distasteful joke verbally, allowing you to process it mentally, where Family Guy has no quarrel with illustrating Peter being molested by a barn animal. They're both very similar and distant, but the point I'm making is that the latter is much, much more likely to be vulgar because that's what appeals to the current generation. Just because some of us can separate fiction from reality doesn't mean all of us will (especially those still in the stages of mental development). Almost overnight (in history terms), things became more crude, violent and sexualized than ever. It isn't that the world was perfect beforehand (wasn't by far), but for better or worse, if you classified as average the number of extreme people and exposure to them was significantly less when our worlds were smaller.

It's not a black and white issue, the internet's done its fair share of good for society, given people the chance to speak out when they couldn't, but man does it nurture madness on levels we hardly recognize and I wish the cries for sanity or regulation (on some level) were less faint. If a child gets bullied at school, it's likely they won't escape their peers on the internet when they get home and it creates a feeling of complete helplessness. Suicide is much more common today and no one takes their life simply to prove a point or rebel (you can only shut people out for so long). I'm driving away from the subject here, but I wanted to shed some light on the recent abundance of this borderline-retarded focal point of entertainment and what I felt was a major contributor to the mindset that it takes to enjoy it so much without boundaries, conscience, or "What the hell am I enjoying and why?" It all kind of bleeds together and creates this "don't care about anything" theme surrounding society, and most people can't be expected to do the right thing under those circumstances.

People feel that they are not responsible for the repercussions of their actions outside the range of intent and it creates disorder. It's this "Everyone is responsible for themselves! It's their fault if they're bothered by anything!" excuse/mentality that ironically places no accountability on anyone in the long run, often used to justify whatever crude behavior one chooses to indulge in. It's safe to say that if you're going to play a prank, you should at least take into consideration the pros and cons concerning the people involved—not just what you'll take accountability for if it hits the fan.

You know, it's ironic because I heard news of the prank call just days before this woman decided to take her life and questioned how she must feel now, how people were treating her, etc. Do you think a 46-year-old woman (mother of two), formerly of India, not having lived in the UK for more than a decade is on board with the mindset of a couple of Aussie hooligans aiming for a cheap thrill? Yeah, someone's going to call in, claiming to be the Queen and she's going to reject them? I'm certain the amount of shame that she placed on herself for dishonoring the royal family was immeasurable, and losing her job was probably the least of her fears—this is excluding anything other people happened to say to or about her during the few days preceding her death. Was it worth it?

Just because something is humorous in theory doesn't exactly mean the potential backlash is worth it, but it's like trying to warn a kid imitating a Jackass stunt that they'll end up breaking their friend's neck—there's a larger possibility they won't and no one cares unless it happens.

First of all: Really, really great post. I agree with just about everything you just said.

I just feel that this prank was not that shocking. The outcome, however, was. I obviously know nothing about this woman or her life, but most people would probably just laugh about a prank like this. Or maybe I'm being super naive. Still, very tragic story. And I don't think "everyone is responsible for themselves", but it's difficult to see where to draw the line, especially when the prank wasn't that mean to begin with (IMO), just stupid and not especially funny. Or maybe I'm just so used to these kind of pranks on the radio/tv that I hardly react anymore. Which is probably sad in itself.

[uzo]

They didn't hold the gun to her head. They are not responsible for anything but pulling a cool prank that made the news.

The fact that someone would commit suicide based on something so trivial like this is just mind boggling. I would call the nurse's sanity into some serious question.

Trying to blame the show hosts for this is just straight up BULLSHIT.

[Gunlord]

Funny prank or not, judging by the article the DJs violated Australian law, at least according to this quote:

"He did not explain why the station went ahead and broadcast the prank call given that Australian guidelines state clearly that "a station must not broadcast the words of an identifiable person unless they have been informed in advance that the recording may go to air." As The Guardian explains: "If someone is unaware they are being recorded, the interviewee must grant consent for it to be played, prior to anything being broadcast."

It's hard to have too much sympathy for the DJs, though I agree that the prank itself must have seemed pretty harmless at first--it's not the sort of thing I would see anyone killing themselves over at first glance. There are far nastier pranks out there...but still, this wouldn't have happened if the DJs had followed the guidelines.

[Abnormal Freak]

They didn't hold the gun to her head. They are not responsible for anything but pulling a cool prank that made the news.

The fact that someone would commit suicide based on something so trivial like this is just mind boggling. I would call the nurse's sanity into some serious question.

Trying to blame the show hosts for this is just straight up BULLSHIT.

This.

That first article was really bewildering. I read it a couple times wondering what it was the DJs did that would cause such embarrassment to the woman for her to commit suicide.

Reading further articles, I see there WAS nothing done to drive her to doing that, so this whole thing is ridiculous; I can't believe anyone would try to hold these people responsible. It makes as much sense as killing yourself because two people pretending to be royalty called a hospital.

[TheouAegis]

It doesn't come down to the DJ's breaking Aussie law (which seems oxymoronic since Australia was a penal colony). The nurse dishonored the royal family or something. She got suckered in way too easily by the DJs (because they have an accent like British people too!). Had the DJs not released the audio or even said anything about it, maybe there wouldn't have been any backlash and maybe the nurse would have never realized she'd been duped. Or then again, maybe it would have gotten out anyway in no part of the DJs if someone mentions the queen called the hospital and Queen Mum was like, "I never did any such thing!" Then shit would hit the fan and there really might be an espionage inquiry. As it is, the DJs came out with it and the nurse found out she made a big boo-boo. Why the hell anyone would let an Aussie get to her head is beyond me, but the nurse had issues. Period.<---see the period there? and before it too!

If the nurse was harassed after word spread about the prank, that's not the DJs' fault -- that's the fault of the people that harassed the nurse after the fact. Broken rules or not, the DJs aren't the ones at fault for the suicide.

Happy 1000th post to me!