“Give Brown a break”… “Whilst I have every sympathy with Mrs Janes for the loss of her son, personally I would have been more touched that Mr Brown took the time to personally write to her to offer his condolences”… “I hate to say this, BUT well done Mr Brown for at least writting a letter, right spelling or not”…
“The woman is just taking her anger out on Gordon Brown unfairly”… “I think Brown is an awful unelected PM but give him a break… he does at least take the time to do this and it’s better than a sterile typed note…”
These are all just a few of the 130 opinions expressed on the Sun’s website yesterday in response to the premier’s letter to Jacqui Janes.
By a wide percentage, the majority of people sympathize with Prime Minister Gordon Brown. Out of the more than 100 comments about 70 were pro Gordon and against the Sun’s opinions while about 50 were anti Gordon and supportive of the Sun’s stance. About 60% of the commenters on the Sun’s article did not side with the newspaper, with less than 40% agreeing to the despicable stance.
Some examples of responses from those who support the Sun’s position.
“I would like to thank the Sun for running this story, it exposes Brown in his true colors and will hasten his downfall. I cannot remember in my lifetime a Prime Minister of Britain who is so hated and vilified and yet stubbornly refuses to admit that.” Aufdeutsch
“Gordon’s got sight problems.” Maybe he should try wearing glasses then!! Personally, with that handwriting, I’d prefer a letter with the body of the letter types and just the Dear ***, and Yours sincerely, GB handwritten.” JanetSOS
Some responses from individuals who are opposed to the article
Pathetic by the woman imho. Even If I believed the spelling mistakes were there, what possible difference could it make? The value is in the content and meaning, not whether he corrected his spelling, it was a handwritten letter.” Silverwon
“I am a CONSERVATIVE, but I do not agree with ridiculing anyone in the manner the PM has been enduring the last couple of days, it is disgusting. I would also feel very bitter if it were my son but giving the letter to the press was the wrong way to go about it.”
Based on the article’s responses, The Sun is clearly channeling the family’s grief into a personal attack on PM Gordon Brown. They have refused to consider his disability, which opens the door for other despicable acts.
The whole experience, including the released phone call, is sickening. We would only hope the reactions from the positive readers will stop this madness. The data protection laws broken by The Sun could also lead to a prosecution.
