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AIBU?

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Original poster

To feel sorry for the Australian DJs?

921 replies

andapartridgeinaRowantree · 08/12/2012 00:38

Obviously more sorry for the nurse's family. I wonder how long she was having suicidal thoughts for? I can't think this could have been the only cause,

But these pranks have been going on for such a long time and those DJs could not have predicted such a result and are going to have to live with it for the rest of their lives.

It's such a tragedy and I feel very sad for all concerned.

OP posts:
Brycie · 08/12/2012 08:21

"Brycie - that's really compassionate. Hmm"

do you think you;re being compassionate and the rest of us are really mean?

yes it's a waste of time giving sympathy for these people any time, one second more, than people worse off

they'll be fine

RubyGates · 08/12/2012 08:25

None at all.
Prank programmes make my toes curl. I hate the thought that someone else should be made the deliberate butt of a joke.
There is always the chance that it will go horribly wrong, it's only a matter of time before something like this happens.
They made their livings feeding on the lack of empathy displayed by their listeners and the vulnerability of their victims.

Levantine · 08/12/2012 08:27

No sympathy at all here. Cruel idiots.

KenLeeeeeeeInnaSantaHat · 08/12/2012 08:32

YABU

At best it was a stupid prank that I fail to find any humour in whatsoever. At worst it was a cruel hoax that for all they knew could have jeopardised the job of the person who took the call. No sympathy at all from me.

I don't think you can lay the poor lady's suicide at their feet though. If anything, we should be asking questions about the cruel jibes from the British press.

wannaBe · 08/12/2012 08:43

all this wailing and nashing of teeth is completely disproportionate.

yes the dj's were stupid to do the prank but tbh it was so blatantly a prank that no-one should have fallen for it.

Before this happened, the majority view was how could anyone have been so stupid to have fallen for that, and that view doesn't suddenly become less so iyswim.

And of course a normally stable woman wouldn't kill herself over this alone, anyone who genuinely believes that is naive. And yes, sometimes people appear to commit suicide with no previous rhyme or reason, but that's just the thing with suicide, people are so determined to succeed that often their reasons are entirely hidden from the world.

But the implication on other threads has been that anyone can just snap and commit suicide at any time, which is complete bollocks. Of course there were underlying issues. but far easier to bay for blood and whip up a frenzy over someone who none of us even knew ey. Hmm

HermioneE · 08/12/2012 08:45

It really wasn't live?!?!

I thought their 'defence' was that they didn't think they would get put through when they rang. Which tbh I had a bit of sympathy with, if all they'd planned was to get hung up on and then they got carried away live on air.

But if it wasn't live, what kind of shit excuse is that?

gazzalw · 08/12/2012 08:49

It all comes back to consequences....even the most innocent of pranks (and this wasn't) can have very negative results....

They will have to live the rest of their lives with the consequences of this foolish idiocy... I am sure they had not a clue that a woman's suicide would be the outcome (and yes she must have already been depressed to have been 'tipped over the edge' by this) but it will weigh heavily with them for life Sad.

Smellslikecatspee · 08/12/2012 08:56

Not in the least.

Any prank/ practical joke requires a butt, a victim. And unless you've been in that situation you can't realise how crap it can feel.

It's like when people talk about being bullied at work, you'll always have someone saying 'oh for Gods sake, you shouldn't be so sensitive'. This to my mind is a form of bullying.

As for those saying she shouldn't have fallen for it, it was 5;30 am, she was coming to the end of a night shift. Few of us are at our best then and as an ex- nurse who loved night shifts my brain at that time would have been full of what I needed to do before the end of shift, meds, documentation, obs etc. not thinking hmmmmm is this the Queen or is this a pair of dipshit DJs

kim147 · 08/12/2012 08:57

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

exoticfruits · 08/12/2012 08:57

Jeremy Beadle used to have to get permission from his prank victims before he showed them on TV. The radio station didn't.

This is the big difference. If someone is having a 'joke' on an innocent person and going to make it public they should explain first and ask permission.

EIizaDay · 08/12/2012 08:57

I think the hospital must take some blame for this dreadful incident in that they obviously didn't train staff enough with regards privacy issues.

We all know how difficult it is to get info from a hospital about a loved one and this particular hospital should have heightened their security and privacy issues when a VIP is a patient. The hospital management have a lot to answer for IMO.

It was a childish prank but I'm sure the DJs didn't actually think they had much chance of getting through hospital security. They shouldn't have and that is the issue.

exoticfruits · 08/12/2012 08:59

It was 5.30 in the morning! Taken by a nurse who only took it because no one was there!

exoticfruits · 08/12/2012 09:00

And a tired nurse. We don't all think-even if trained-under those circumstances.

exoticfruits · 08/12/2012 09:01

People should think first and then not blame the hospital for not wasting time training staff to handle hoax calls.

MerryKissMyArse · 08/12/2012 09:02

I think what they did was stupid and I feel terribly bad for the poor nurse and her family, of course, but I do think there must be more behind her tragic death than just the prank call alone. Yes I do feel some sympathy for the DJs.

Anifrangapani · 08/12/2012 09:03

The DJs and the rest of the people who re reported or retweeted or liked it held a person up to public ridicule for such a non story. In my world that is bullying. Bullying is nasty no matter the consequences.
I don't feel sorry for them. If they never forget their role in this it would be too soon.

Morloth · 08/12/2012 09:04

Of course there is more to it from the nurse's point of view, of course there is.

The point is, this should never have been part of her problems.

soverylucky · 08/12/2012 09:06

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

diddl · 08/12/2012 09:07

Not terribly sorry tbh.

Although I can´t help thinking that if it hadn´t been these two, it would have been a national newspaper under the guise of exposing lack of security.

Can´t understand why staff just weren´t told-the Royals will not phone/security will deal with any calls re Kate.

soverylucky · 08/12/2012 09:08

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

CabbageLeaves · 08/12/2012 09:10

No sympathy whatsoever. They pranked and someone died. Maybe she had mental health issues, depression, other problems...but it certainly seems that this call was devastating to her. They made the call. They carry that guilt.

Along with the station, lawyers and viewers who delight in watching others misfortune. We've moved away from 'pranks' to nasty actions. Would you like to lose your job because of a mistake made whilst being scammed? They knew the consequence for staff if they played the clip.

CSIJanner · 08/12/2012 09:13

Ex-producers have stated that those involved with the call must give permission for it to be aired. Something tells me that it wasn't here. I was a crap joke that wasn't funny to start with.

I don't feel sorry for them. They're twats who took advantage of a pregnant woman's situation. I feel sorry for the two children who lost their mother at Christmas and will never be able to enjoy this time of year again.

janey68 · 08/12/2012 09:14

No, I don't feel sorry for them. Of course no one could predict that she would kill herself, but it doesn't take a genius to work out that she would feel publicly humiliated, shamed and possibly face disciplinary action. Weren't there even calls from some posters on here for her to be sacked .... Nice. Hmm
I hope the DJs now know what it feels like to be publicly vilified, no doubt they will feel haunted and threatened now after their actions and they dint deserve a good nights sleep or a days work for a long time

hiddenhome · 08/12/2012 09:18

What I think a great many people are missing is that not only would this nurse have been worrying about losing her job, but she would possibly have been worried in case it was referred to the NMC (nursing governing body) who can and do strike nurses off the nursing register for a whole range of things Sad Her entire career could have potentially been on the line. We don't know that she was worried about this of course but it's possible.

Chubfuddler · 08/12/2012 09:18

I think it's laughable to try to paint these two arseholes as some kind of Lenny Bruce characters pushing at the boundaries of humour. What a load of crap.

They're upset that they've been pulled off air. They're upset they're getting stick on twitter and fb and in the media. They're not in the least bit upset that their fucking stupid prank has had these results. I don't buy that for a second.

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