Four days after James T. Hodgkinson opened fire on a group of Republican congressmen at a baseball field in Alexandria, Virginia, Trinity Professor Johnny Eric Williams sided with anonymous blogger “Son of Baldwin,” who proposed that black emergency personnel should let wounded white people die rather than lend assistance. Baldwin posted his opinions under the hashtag, #LetThemFuckingDie.
Professor Williams linked Son of Baldwin’s statement, adopted the hashtag as his own, and posted some additional denunciations of white Americans for “their destructive mythology of whiteness and their white supremacy system.” Referring to all “self-identified ‘whites,’” he wrote, “The time is now to confront these inhuman assholes and end this now.”
When Campus Reform broke the story on June 20, it rapidly spread through the media. Trinity College put Professor Williams on leave, beginning June 26.
But after Trinity Dean and Vice President Tom Cresswell reviewed Williams’ statements, he returned with a 31-page report that found his Facebook posts were “extramural utterances” protected by Trinity College’s policy of academic freedom. Trinity College President Joanne Berger-Sweeney endorsed Dean Cresswell’s findings, and added that she doesn’t “condone the hashtag” which “offend[s] me personally” and “contradicts our fundamental institutional values.” Nevertheless, Williams has been reinstated in good standing.
Imagine a white professor posting pro-KKK sentiments far milder than that. Would he be reinstated? Of course not.
If Williams had been fired for his speech, would that not have been an outcome that Conservatives would disagree without? Freedom of speech includes even hateful remarks, does it not?
ReplyDeleteAny employer has the right outside of California to impoase standards of behavior even in off hours. Employers can fire people for animal sacrifice, adultery, joining a disagreeable political party. If you don't like the conditions of employment, look elsewhere.
ReplyDeleteIIRC, the only thing you can discriminate against an employee for in CA is smoking. That was per a court ruling in the 80's.
ReplyDeleteWorse: the same law was used to punish a German restaurant owner who insisted customers could not wear swastikas in his restaurant.
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