Dear Rebecca Martinson,
Unless you have been living under a rock, you probably have heard about how you’ve been called The Deranged Sorority Girl because you sent the following hilarious/terrible/embarrassing/horrifying letter to your sorority sisters encouraging them to play more kickball with their frat brothers during Greek Week. Or maybe the letter was about how terrible your sister’s speaking skills are. Or maybe you were encouraging them to dress in tighter dresses and show more skin. I have no idea, I had nothing to do with Greek life in college so I don’t understand. But what I DO understand is that the letter is best read by the experts like Michael Shannon:
(warning NSFW but safe for giggles ahead)
Hilarious, right? Well, I’m about to say something that might not be popular and that is: I kinda feel bad for you, Rebecca Martinson
I know I know. I’m the worst. Especially after reading through your (Deleted) twitter account where we can find gems like this:
How COULD I have any sympathy you when you talk like that? Well.. I’m not saying you should have sent that e-mail or written those tweets. Girl, you messed up, big time. But yesterday when I was at work, furious at one of my co-workers who seems to exist only to make my job HARDER, considering the e-mail I WANTED to send to him, asking what he was thinking, why he was thinking it and if he could just S-T-O-P, I realized that you & I aren’t that different. I mean, you say F*ck in one email more than I’ve ever said it my life, you obviously think the phrase “c*unt punt” is appropriate to use.. ever and you don’t seem to have a problem with hooking up with frat boys (um, ew), but you got angry just like I did yesterday morning. The only difference is that you acted on your anger. (And you tweeted a bunch of racist stuff that I’d never tweet, but let’s ignore that for a quick second so I can make a comparison that sorta works okayyy???!)
I never sent the e-mail I drafted in my head with much softer words but was still pretty bitchy. I waited. I calmed down. And then I killed him with kindness. 10 years ago when I was in college, I might have pressed send. I can’t say that’s what I would have done, but I know I’ve acted out before thinking many times before. And while every time it was a mistake and I paid for it in same way, I never considered that I would be shamed across the internet for it. The worst that happened to me is that I felt really stupid, hurt someone’s feelings or looked like an idiot and had to work it out. My name wasn’t pasted all over Gawker, The Huffington Post, sorority boards and countless other sites, and I never caused my college to lose the chapter of the sorority which is what looks like might happen to you and the Delta Gamma at the University of Maryland.
I am not saying you weren’t wrong saying what you said in that e-mail and tweeting what you tweeted: You were. And you should be ashamed. Your sorority sisters should be upset, your friends and acquaintances should call you out on your racist & ignorant tweets, but I’m not sure you deserve to hear that from the comment section of a website you probably don’t even read.
I’m not sure. The reality is.. you sent an e-mail to a large group of people– an e-mail that obviously struck a negative cord with someone who forwarded it to someone (or sent it directly) at Gawker. And you tweeted what you tweeted publicly. So….the public backlash is unavoidable. Is this just a reality in the online world we live in now? Is the new rule now “Watch what you do and say and make sure you are willing to take responsibility for it if it ends up being seen or heard by a larger audience?”
Maybe. I think we all, including yourself, Rebecca Martinson, need to realize we have to take some personal responsibility for things we put out there in the world, even if we don’t think anyone will ever hear or read it. Is it fair that your name will forever be associated with this scandal when you are Googled by future employers or future dates (guys do that too, right?) because of a mistake you made in college, when every day similar emails and tweets (and worse!) are never read by the public? Probably not, and I think that’s why I have a tiny bit of sympathy for you.
I don’t think your life is over. In fact, I think if you find the right PR person this could turn around to be a great opportunity for you somehow for a career in the public spotlight. We suggest you find a great role model (I’m available, but maybe you should talk to an expert like Amy Poehler) and if you learn to quell to F-word a lot (we mean A LOT) we might even give you a shot at writing for us here at That’s Normal. Last I checked we didn’t have a Greek Life expert on the roster.
And look on the bright side.. I don’t think another week in your life could ever be as bad as the week you’re currently having!
Love,
Bekah (spelled the right way)
What do you think? Does she totally deserve all the backlash? Was she just a normal kid making a dumb decision? Or is she worse? Sound off in the comments!
*featured image from Gawker
