Paris Brown: Kent youth PCC resigns

[317666]

How the hell she even got the job in the first place intrigues me. As a 17-year-old, I'd be embarrassed to see somebody like that in such a prominent role. Doesn't help the stereotypical view of teenagers at all.

As a 14-year-old everyone says things they regret - I did when I was that age. But it says in the article, some of the comments were made when she was 16. It also says in the article she is 17, therefore they would have been made well under a year ago. Totally the wrong person for the job.

 

[90sWereBetter]

As disgusting and bigoted her tweets were, I have to ask, what were the media doing scrolling all the way through her Twitter account? Were they deliberately trying to dig up dirt on the girl, or were they tipped off?

And the irony of a "newspaper" like the Daily Fail ripping into her for her tweets. Pot, Kettle, Black...:roll:

 

[Ferret]

I suspect somebody tipped off the Daily Mail etc. I almost feel sorry for her, but even as a teenager you're old enough to know that saying certain things is unacceptable.

Perhaps she's learned a valuable life lesson - I hope so, because then maybe some good has come out of a public humiliation at a very young age, which I'm not sure was altogether necessary. Such is the power of the press though....

 

[SS4]

I suspect somebody tipped off the Daily Mail etc. I almost feel sorry for her, but even as a teenager you're old enough to know that saying certain things is unacceptable.

Perhaps she's learned a valuable life lesson - I hope so, because then maybe some good has come out of a public humiliation at a very young age, which I'm not sure was altogether necessary. Such is the power of the press though....

I hope so too. What good does it do anyone to (probably) blacklist her name from employers for years to come?

Sadly I've lost the image but the Metro had an imagine of one of her tweets with the caption heavily implying all youngsters were doing it.

 

[Ferret]

Well quite. The papers didn't have to release her name, and she could have been told to quit without any publicity. Ok - somebody who is that immature probably can't hold such a role, but there's no need to adversely affect her future and humiliate her, perhaps causing lasting damage. Let her learn a lesson without the public kicking - or did that not occur to the protagonists here?

 

[SS4]

Doubt it Ferret, probably just saw the pound signs flashing in their eyes like in cartoons. I don't wish to absolve Miss Brown of her responsibility in the affair but it could have been sensitively handled through her employer and being invited to resign quietly. I'm sure, given enough time and resources, you could find some dirt on pretty much anyone (and failing that it's far from difficult to make something up)

 

[Ferret]

SS4, I don't think my dislike of journalists is any secret but they really have surpassed themselves here. I just hope Miss Brown is able to move on with her life in a positive manner, thus sticking two fingers up at the people who have attempted to ruin her.

 

[ralphchadkirk]

Well quite. The papers didn't have to release her name, and she could have been told to quit without any publicity. Ok - somebody who is that immature probably can't hold such a role, but there's no need to adversely affect her future and humiliate her, perhaps causing lasting damage. Let her learn a lesson without the public kicking - or did that not occur to the protagonists here?

This. The public kicking she has got was totally unacceptable.

 

[Greenback]

This. The public kicking she has got was totally unacceptable.

I agree. I am not a fan of media led witch hunts and public humiliation.

 

[michael769]

She had accepted a high profile post paid for by the general public out of taxation. A post whose role was in part one of public advocacy (with young people). Being in the public eye was IMO an integral part of the role. If she was not able to take being in the public eye then she had made a very poor decision on accepting such a post.

As for the vilification, if the nature of the postings were as reported, one must seriously consider if someone who promotes such views was a fit person to represent the police in any capacity.

 

[Greenback]

She had accepted a high profile post paid for by the general public out of taxation. A post whose role was in part one of public advocacy (with young people). Being in the public eye was IMO an integral part of the role. If she was not able to take being in the public eye then she had made a very poor decision on accepting such a post.

As for the vilification, if the nature of the postings were as reported, one must seriously consider if someone who promotes such views was a fit person to represent the police in any capacity.

I don't think was a very good choice for the role, but exactly how much of a high profile role is it? I would guess the vast majority of citizens have no idea who their local commissioner is, never mind know anything about them!

It takes the media to provoke interest, and they are very good at doing that. It could have been handled quietly, but that wouldn't have made anyone any money...

 

[Ferret]

Michael769 - I take the view that she probably wasn't suited for the role, but that she does deserve a little bit of credit for putting her head above the parapet and trying to do something positive. Perhaps as she does some necessary growing up, this bad experience will stand her in good stead and she'll achieve something worthwhile.

Time will tell.

 

[michael769]

I don't think was a very good choice for the role, but exactly how much of a high profile role is it? I would guess the vast majority of citizens have no idea who their local commissioner is, never mind know anything about them!

...

In my opinion the role was specifically created for its PR value. The ultimate profile of the PCC will be driven by their engagement with the press and a role of this type would ultimately be promoted to be promoted to the press, with no doubt the PCC basking in shared limelight.

Indeed how did the Daily Mail come to take an interest? The media generally takes an interest in things that are brought to their attention, hence why companies, politicians and celebrities pump out press releases at the rate they do. In my opinion in most cases the media an their "victims" are equally guilty of using each other for their own ends, and sometimes get their hands burned as a result.

I agree the lass has a degree of naivety here, and was perhaps used by both sides. The one good thing is that as well a learning a valuable lesson it may also make some of her peers think a little more about the image they currently project and how it might impact their future prospects.

The real villain of this is the PCC, who appears to have offered little PR management support to the lass either before of after it blew up, the overall impression is of a young lass (albeit one not entirely blameless) being used by a career politician.

 

[Ivo]

As a 14-year-old everyone says things they regret - I did when I was that age.

This isn't true and you (and everyone else) know(s) it. Not everyone comes out with unreasonable things like this controversy; I can't think of a single that I said that could reasonably be turned against me like this (compare my sister for whom it was an almost daily event). And I'm sure I'm not the only person on here who could happily say the same thing as well.

I am not a fan of media led witch hunts and public humiliation.

Who is?

Inevitable or not, this kind of behaviour still has no place among the media or its followers.

 

[Spaceflower]

I'm going to take a stab in the dark and say those who think the young lass deserved all the blame are the younger posters?

 

[SS4]

I'm going to take a stab in the dark and say those who think the young lass deserved all the blame are the younger posters?

Not me and I'm still young enough to qualify for a Y-P discount

If I were to apportion blame (a dangerous thing to do when presented with incomplete information) is would be roughly 40% Miss Brown, 10% ignorance and 50% media witch hunt. A lot of people probably did say things they regretted when they were 14/16 albeit not on the scale or subject of Miss Brown. Should the past be dragged up to make a point? Why were they brought up anyway? Who brought them up? It appears the story led to the investigation rather than the other way around.

It may go beyond the office of Kent PCC and to the wider PCC forces calling into question their competency. Am I being paranoid or is it possible that the press decided they needed someone to target to attack the reputation of the PCCs via a self-fulfilling prophecy.

I think Ms Barnes put it best: "I'm sure many people today would not have the jobs they are in if their thoughts in their teenage years were scrutinised."

 

[GatwickDepress]

I think Ms Barnes put it best: "I'm sure many people today would not have the jobs they are in if their thoughts in their teenage years were scrutinised."

In my eyes, there is a difference between thoughts and outputting those views in a potentially offensive way onto a social networking site in. Particularly on a social networking site that allows one to vet their own content; no reason why she couldn't have spent half an hour self-moderating her past tweets upon getting the job to avoid this. Surely the PCC should have offered some basic PR support in order to avoid these sorts of situations?

Any reprehensible thoughts of mine remain just that - thoughts.

This doesn't mean I agree with the atrocious way the press have treated her. Hopefully she'll persevere and perform well in future despite the media witch-hunt.

 

[cjp]

I'm going to take a stab in the dark and say those who think the young lass deserved all the blame are the younger posters?

I am not "a younger poster".

I would remind you that she, like all of us, makes choices and her choices put her in position she is now in.

She chose to make her thoughts public as she did.

She chose to accept the post she she held.

She chose to speak out rather than maintain silence.

Now her choices will have been influenced by her friends (or lack of), her peers, her parents, her environment but at the end of the day she did what she did.
If I employ a person I look at their record, their history, as it is my only real indicator to that person's future actions and effectiveness. The depth to which I look depends on the role to be undertaken.
So whilst the dear old PCC can be criticised for employing her it was she that posted what she felt (at the time).

Everyone one is where they now are as a result of choice they have made.

Sometimes the choices are easy, sometimes they are harder and sometimes it may feel as there are no choices.

To live or do die is a choice we all make every day of our life.


I am glad I do not play with Twitter or Facebook and I will continue to be circumspect as to my postings on this public forum.

 

[Spaceflower]

So when should a child start being treat as a responsible adult?

This is what you seem to be arguing.

 

[Johnuk123]

One thing is very clear if you're a person who is determined to be 'somebody'
and are a 'look at me attention seeker' Twitter and other social media is an absolute Godsend.

 

[cjp]

So when should a child start being treat as a responsible adult?

This is what you seem to be arguing.

If the question was addressed to me I would not say I am am arguing anything relating to age.
I made a statements to support the fact that we are all where we are as a result of decisions we have made even if some of those decisions seem to leave little real choice or the choices are unpalatable.

What I have written above is not something I understood early in life nor have I always taken enough time to fully weigh up alternatives and the possible consequences. If she and you gain this understanding and act on this knowledge my posting will have done some good.

Paris Brown's choices, which I think believe were freely made, made put her in her current position. She should now accept the consequences, learn and move forwards or make an alterative choice which perhaps only she can see.

 

[Oswyntail]

...
If I were to apportion blame (a dangerous thing to do when presented with incomplete information) is would be roughly 40% Miss Brown, 10% ignorance and 50% media witch hunt. A lot of people probably did say things they regretted when they were 14/16 albeit not on the scale or subject of Miss Brown. ...

Just about right, though I would probably give her less and ignorance more. How many times on boards like this do we have to remind posters (young and old) that what they put here is permanently public? When you hear kids of 12-16 chatting among themselves, their talk is much more extreme in tone and language than when chatting with you. They are trying out the boundaries of thought and expression, as I can well remember doing at that age. Their mistake is in thinking a twitter comment is just as private. I hope the lesson the young lady learns is that the internet is public, rather than that getting involved in public life only gets you stamped on.

 

[tony_mac]

As much as I think what she posted was dumb, and I think made her inappropriate for that job - do 'special branch' really have nothing better to do?
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-22231653

"We will investigate all complaints thoroughly.."

I assume that must only be in Kent - it's not my general experience of the police

 

[Mojo]

The news reports that she is to escape prosecution, but hopefully it should give her a bit of a fright and show others that hateful statements like the ones she made can really be hurtful and have a detrimental impact on the lives of others.

 

[jon0844]

While there might have been a case to answer, I think this is the best outcome given what has happened.

If she really has those views and says anything dodgy in the future, I am sure they will become known and she can be dealt with accordingly then.