Was there actually a video of these rants, as this seems to imply? If so, it should be easy to find on the Internet, but I couldn't. Could you help?MaxPC wrote:The news was on and there was this story about a college professor who was ranting that the first responders should have let the Republicans die on the ball field. The rant was full of expletives. Apparently there are also other professors doing the same thing as they cited each case.
As far as I can tell, the Trinity College statement may clarify some of this. It seems to be saying: (1) the professor shared an article on Facebook and Twitter, and did so with an inflammatory hashtag, (2) he did not write the article, this was not his rant, it was someone else's, (3) the college is investigating, (4) the professor has already issued a public apology, (5) death threats have been directed to Professor Williams and to others on campus.
This is being investigated:I’ve spoken with Johnny Williams, who has been a sociology professor at Trinity since 1996. I wanted to hear directly from him about the messages he posted and what has transpired since. It is important to clarify a few details. On June 16, a writer who goes by the name “Son of Baldwin”—and who is not Johnny Williams—wrote a piece for Medium.com that cited another writer’s perspective on the shooting that occurred at the Congressional baseball practice in Virginia last week. The Medium piece went on to explore broader issues concerning race and the relationship between “victims of bigotry” and “bigots.” The piece culminated with a call to show indifference to the lives of bigots. That call was reprehensible, and any such suggestion is abhorrent and wholly contrary to Trinity’s values.
While Professor Williams did not write that article, he did share it on his personal social media accounts this week, and he did so with the use of a hashtag that connected directly to the inflammatory conclusion of that article. Professor Williams, who teaches about race and racism, shared the article on his personal Twitter account using that hashtag; he also shared it on his personal Facebook page.
I think that's what we should want.The Dean of the Faculty will review this matter and advise me on whether college procedures or policies were broken. I told Professor Williams that in my opinion his use of the hashtag was reprehensible and, at the very least, in poor judgment. No matter its intent, it goes against our fundamental values as an institution, and I believe its effect is to close minds rather than open them.
I want to underscore that what we seek is to build a diverse college community that is welcoming to all viewpoints and backgrounds and that engages in civil discourse on even the most vexing issues. That requires that we continue to uphold our fundamental belief in academic freedom and support our community members’ constitutional right to free speech. But our aspirations for the community we want to be also demand we take particular care with the words we use and the contexts in which we use them.
I suspect in your day, there would have been a hearing before terminating a professor. That's what's happening now. So far, I have seen no evidence that Williams made anything like a terrorist threat.MaxPC wrote:I was shocked. If one of our faculty had said those things in my day, he would have been immediately terminated and even arrested for terroristic threats! Mass media is full of this vitriolic verbiage. I quickly asked the receptionist to turn to the weather channel. That seems to be the only real information source left.
If Williams actually did anything resembling making terrorist threats, I'm sure that will come out in the hearing. I suspect letting the hearing proceed may be the most Christlike thing we can do. They have the information we don't have. They have the authority and the responsibility.MaxPC wrote:The Information Age has become the age of Narcissistic Rage. I've even noticed this verbal violence enter the speech of people around us as they bash their neighbor. Mass media does impact our behaviors The message of Christ and the example of authentic Christian discipleship is sorely needed.