Why The Aussie Djs Should Or Should Not Be Punished

[cabernet]

So be it, we are being monitored so I shall keep my mouth shut or else no doubt I shall eventually be sued.

[dotty.]

punished? they should be deported and sent to a god forsaken outpost of the empire

[DTCwordfan]

aren't they already there, dotty?

[NOX]

with the best will in the world, you cannot legislate against practical jokes. I don't think it's reasonable to assume under the circumstances that this joke would have had such tragic consquences. I feel dreadfully sorry for the woman involved, but I also feel terribly sorry for the DJ's who will have to live with this on their conscience- the person I don't feel sorry for is whoever it was that had such a go at her about the call that she felt so awful that she took her own life. I think the culprit if there is one for this lies in whoever dealt with her situation at work most likely. I would imagine it was blown out of all proportion and thus had the effect it did. I might well be wrong about that but it seems the most likely scenario to me.

[douglas9401]

Plenty of people, including Prince Charles thought it was a laugh.
Now, of course, there's been a tragic outcome but up until then it was just a joke.
I suspect that every joke upsets someone somewhere at some time, this though was extreme.

[jackthehat]

http://www.theanswerbank.co.uk/News/Question1195256.html

[naomi24]

Would you be asking the question if the result had not been so desperately tragic? I've never seen anything funny in practical jokes.

[dotty.]

from what I've just heard on the news, she simply passed the call on to another nurse, and it was the second nurse that gave out the information

[DTCwordfan]

true - that has come to light, dotty - and it goes back to why didn't her fellow colleagues pick up any message that she was distressed - or did they know?

[ummmm]

In the circumstances it would be only natural to be concerned/stressed about the situation. It was only a couple of days ago. Had she even been in work since then?

[ChillDoubt]

All tragedy aside, what about the unborn child? One that will become one of the most photographed in history, a curiosity (certainly in early years) for the masses and a honeypot for the media will also have this unfortunate stigma attached to it to contend with as he/she grows up, on top of everything else.

[ummmm]

I doubt that very much.

[andy-hughes]

I don't think you can reasonably lay the blame for this tragedy at the door of the DJ's involved.

As desperately sad as this poor woman's death is for everyone involved, there has to be more to it than this. I doubt very very much that she was quite happy and sunny, and then suicidal over a stupid prank in which she was involved.

I am sure that other circumstances will be revealed in due course that may go some way to explaining the outcome here.

I would suggest that the embarassment of this incident did nothing to help her state of mind, but i would not suggest that this alone was the cause of her action.

I think sympathy is the correct response here - moral finger-wagging is unhelpful and shows a lack of compassion. I am sure these two DJ's already feel responsible, even if it turns out that they are by no means the sole cause of this tragedy. They do not need the disgust of total strangers heaped on them for actions that were done with no malice or harm intended.

[ummmm]

Well said, Andy.

[ludwig]

I don't like what they did. Even before this tragedy I thought it was a really stupid, unfunny and annoying prank. She's in hosptial for christ's sake, f*ck off and leave her alone.

This just makes it far worse, but I'd basically concur with what andy-hughes says. It's just incredibly sad.

[naomi24]

andy-hughes, //I doubt very very much that she was quite happy and sunny, and then suicidal over a stupid prank in which she was involved.//

We can’t assume anything – we have no idea of her mental condition. The stupid pranksters, of course, had no idea where their joke would lead, but personally I wouldn't want to be in their shoes tonight. I wouldn’t mind betting this is the last practical joke they play. Shades of the usual cry - "Lessons have been learned".

[ummmm]

I would like to ad that I didn't find it in the slightest bit funny.

[naomi24]

Ludwig, //She's in hosptial for christ's sake, f*ck off and leave her alone. //

Well said!

[Ann]

// The person I don't feel sorry for is whoever it was that had such a go at her about the call that she felt so awful that she took her own life. I think the culprit if there is one for this lies in whoever dealt with her situation at work //

I agree with you NOX it makes you wonder what the other nurse is thinking right now, she was the one who actually gave away (innocently) confidential information, I think the nurse who died was only on the switchboard and told the DJs she would put them through. At the time half the country smiled and thought it was a joke, albeit a bad taste one, as they didn't even sound like the Queen, even Prince Charles was amused enough to make a jokey comment about it. Hard to foresee it would turn out the dreadful way it did, I do feel slightly sorry for the DJs, but also enormous sympathy for the nurse's family and colleagues.

[ELVIS68]

I'm surprised she fell for it in the first place, the person doing the queens voice sounded more like the "laydee" from Little Britain.

I suspect the b0llocking she got from her bosses did more harm to her than the prank itself

[ronnietoon]

There was a joke about diana and beckham in 1997 cant recall it for legal reasons