To those calling for the heads of two young Aussie DJs, who they believe are responsible for the death of a London hospital worker... time to take a pill, people!
When MC and Mel, of Sydney's 2Day FM, placed a crank call to London's King Edward VII Hospital, there's no way on earth they could have foreseen, that it might play a part in a tragic event like this.
Pretending to be the Queen and Prince Charles, the two inquired about the condition of the Duchess of Cambridge, who was battling a severe case of morning sickness. Apparently fooled by the pair, nurse/receptionist, Jacintha Saldanha, put the call through to the nurse's station on Kate's ward.
What followed was a conversation, more silly than funny, with a still unnamed nurse, updating "The Royals" on Kate's condition... information that had already been made public.
Subsequently, a mocking world pointed and laughed, incredulous, that anyone was dumb enough to fall for the gag... the twitterverse was a-giggle, and comedians and talk show hosts feasted on the "stupidity."
Three days later, the laughing stopped.
Early Friday morning, Jacintha's body was found in her home near the hospital. It appeared the 47-year-old mother of two teens had taken her own life. Now, the world has a new target -- those two heartless DJs at 2Day FM!
The social media surfers are crying out for justice -- they must be punished, persecuted and prosecuted! Australia's communication authority has launched an investigation, and the nation's Prime Minister has expressed her regrets.
Meanwhile, a devastated MC and Mel have been be benched, their careers on hold.
But what are these two actually guilty of? Crank calls on radio have been around for at least 50 years, maybe, since Bell met Marconi!
And was it really this gag that led to Saldanha's apparent suicide? Did she tell someone or leave a note? Did she suffer emotional problems and this nudged her over? Could the timing of her death be just a coincidence?
I have no idea, but all I've heard to this point is a lot of speculation and assumptions.She killed herself, ashamed and embarrassed over being fooled.
Few of us escape life without being pranked at some point, but, fortunately, most of us have the ability to laugh at ourselves. It's not only an admirable quality, but a necessary one.
Maybe Jacintha could take a joke, but maybe, for her, this one was just too big to handle. Again, who really knows for sure? What I do know is, these two young DJs don't deserve the pummelling they're taking.
If you're torn up by this tragic event, just imagine how they feel, standing accused of pushing a woman to take her own life!
Hang in there, MC and Mel...
The Motts can be heard weekdays from 11 until noon at themotts.ca with podcasts available anytime. "Motts Weekend" is heard on 610 CKTB, CKNX in Wingham, CHOK in Sarnia and CJBQ in Belleville.
Obfuscating much? Sure, they would not have figured then but what about when they were, or should have been weighing up the damage caused to others if they aired their "coop"? My issue with them is thinking of themselves rather than how a nurse may feel about causing grief to a colleague, employer, family and royals.
that adults should think ahead of consequences for their actions?
that bullying (and lets be honest...it is a form of bullying) is ok?
that it's ok to call and impersonate somebody to glean medical information?
maybe you should think about what your saying before attempting to exonerate the actions of the DJs.
Pranks are intentional, personal attacks meant to cause humiliation or harm dressed up in bad humor! It is time to stop this disgusting behavior and lay it to rest like its terrible first cousin............bullying!
People.............just say NO to playing pranks! Too many people have been hurt by this!
As for the Motts, maybe you could use your "voice" in a positive way and help bring an end to this stupid behavior!
Can't find any other items to fill your show?
Act like you are 10 , and find it hilarious to publicly fool someone? WoW what talent?! Gee. How come the pair of you aren't International celebs with your great talents?
Losers.
Now that you both are in the International Public Eye , in an unfavourable light~ tell us, how does it feel???
Charges are pending as they should be. Guess you should get permission before you humiliate people before the world. Who knew?
Yes, I hope the two in Australia and all there media friends should take a consequential pill for their actions.
Tragic that she killed herself and shows how unstable she. All she did was pass through the call. She didn't even give information.
The hospital, local media and paparazzi should carry the blunt of the blame.
From my perspective it was a silly prank. I am not much for pranks but it hardly merits making pariahs of the DJs.
Presumably the hospital has some protocol regarding the dissemination of patient information. If Ms. Saldanha followed these protocols she had nothing to be embarrassed about. Given the King Edward VII Hospital's statement to the media that she was not disciplined, I can only assume she followed protocol.
Even if we find that the woman did take her own life what can be determined from that? Does anyone really believe that a well adjusted individual who's 'only' problem is being duped by a prank would take their life?
Death of a loved one is always tragic. Unfortunately it isn't the only tragic part of this story. The other tragedy is that this is another example gossip and sensationalism replacing the once proud field of journalism.
Maybe we can get tour of Princess Kate's uterus on the next episode of 'Cribs'.
Sometimes things happen and they aren't anyone's fault. Not everything has to have a person at fault. I read once (maybe in one of the Gladwell books...) that for a plane crash it takes something like six errors occurring in serial, any one of which, had it not happened, would prevent the crash. I think this is kind of like that, and the DJ's little prank, which was quite harmless in my opinion was just the final contributing factor, by definition.
What if this was the penultimate and not the final "straw"? We wouldn't be talking about it...
I hope that the authorities do not respond to the mob mentality with any charges etc, as is being rumoured. THAT would be the real injustice.
Really? Someone died.
To me, THAT is the ridiculous position to take on this matter.
No one even knows why this woman killed herself yet. It's too early to blame anyone but it certainly is not the fault of the DJ's who quite frankly, never should have gotten through to make this prank worth even listening to.
We all learn fairly early on that jokes at the expense of someone else can be extremely hurtful...and that what one finds humorous doesn't always illicit the same response in another...
So what is the cop out here from the disingenuous? 'We didn't ever fathom that what we were doing could in some case have a significant impact on the individual'?
India, where Ms. Saldanha grew up, is a shame based culture. Instead of blathering megalomaniacally on about what you think others should think, perhaps you should do a little research and find out about just what being brought up in those cultures means for the individual.