Texas teacher suspended over racially-charged, profanity-laced tweet

[blisterpeanuts]

Originally Posted by shyguylh

...I think it should be against the law to terminate someone for what they say on their own time.

We're a civilized society based on spoken and written language, and what we say and write has real effects, real consequences.

It's like that guy who videoed himself bullying that gal in the drive-through window of a Chick Fil-a in Tucson a couple of years ago; his video went viral on Youtube, his inappropriate and mean spirited bullying angered millions of people, and he was fired the next day. Few would say it was an inappropriate response.

Now to pass a law saying you can't fire someone for what they do on their own time? Not just "say on their own time" because posting a rant in a public place is a very concrete and permanent action, not like just saying something at the dinner table or at a party.

It's like saying, even if you discover one of your employees to be morally repugnant, you can't get rid of them. Sorry, life doesn't work that way. In an economically free country, to the extent that it is still somewhat free at least, people have to have the right to feel comfortable around their co-workers and not be forced to spend 40 hours a week with sociopaths, ranting racists, and idiots. Bad enough as it is, but chrissakes, passing a law to prevent firing idiots? Good luck with that.

[Dd714]

Originally Posted by shyguylh

I could not agree more. In fact, I think it should be against the law to terminate someone for what they say on their own time. ....
And yes, this IS a free speech issue. What kind of foolishness is it to say that free speech isn't without consequences? That's what free speech is, that's the very definition of free speech--that you can say whatever you feel like and, unless you're making a legitimate thread, nothing happens to you. Nothing. Otherwise, free speech is as much of a fallacy as a free lunch is. Maybe it's not in the Bill of Rights--I don't care. It's how it should be whether or not it's in the Bill of Rights.

Do you understand your own hypocrisy? Do you understand the consequences on what you are proposing? Proposing a law to make it impossible for an employer to fire an employee for acting like an idiot is indeed a free speech issue - targeted and violating the free speach of the employer, not the employee. There are employment laws already on the books to protect discrimination based on age, race, disabilities, and sex...their are laws to protect whistleblowers. But I don't think we need an employment law to protect idiots (I am not talking "mentally disabeled" here).

[Vector1]

Originally Posted by GuyontheInternet

Why should someone lose their job over something like this?

Originally Posted by BigDGeek

Because people are a bunch of PC crybabies.

I agree with both of you. However here is the caveat. You both know that in this PC environment we are currently in, anything even remotely unflattering said about minorities or homosexuals results in someone losing their career. While it should not be that way, you cannot continue to excuse black or brown racism and only penalize whites.

It is the same with so called "hate crimes" which I think is absurd. If someone commits a crime, charge them for it, but don't tack on extra time for perceived or even real racism.
However, if society wishes to have such laws, they must be applied across the board to everyone, not just against whites. Yet far too often white on black issues are blown out of proportion and assumed to have a racial motivation, yet black on white crime is assumed to be an economic crime. This despite racial epithets toward whites when the crime occurs. Yet these hate crime laws are rarely brought against minorities.

The bottom line is that this woman is likely unionized, so I have serious doubts whether she will lose her career even if they remove her from that school.

[MRG Dallas]

Originally Posted by GuyontheInternet

Why should someone lose their job over something like this?

You can't possibly be serious?

[kayanne]

I asked about in back in post 11, and I'll ask about it again---

Why are so many of you focusing only on the racial aspect of the teacher's comments?

Does it not HORRIFY you that a teacher would tweet that those with whom she disagrees should "Kill yourselves"? You truly think a school should keep a teacher on staff, when THAT is the solution she offers to a complex issue?

She not only should be fired, but be required to get serious counseling before ever being allowed to teach again. She is a disgrace of a human being.

[Sundaydrive00]

Originally Posted by shyguylh

How is that relevant to my job, so long as I treat all people with respect AT WORK? I should be able to treat homosexuals at work with the respect they deserve, then turn around and say that I don't agree with the whole "gay agenda" thing going on. I should be able to say on my own time how tacky I find tattoos. So long as I don't mistreat a co-worker at the workplace who has them, THAT is what matters.

I don't think I would actually believe that you were being respectful to these people at work if on social media you were saying such things as "Hey f**s... Go kill yourself!"

If your coworkers saw that, it would create a bad work environment. I wouldn't like working with someone who said such things about me... If I saw a coworker had gone on some horrible rant about women... And wishing horrible things to happen to women... Hey dumb b******.... I hope you get brutally raped... I would loose any respect I had for that coworker and would not want to work with such a horrible person.

So can we really believe that the teacher is being fair to her white students when she says such racist things? And her students are high school students. They're on d social media, they've all seen what she has said. Are her students going to feel comfortable being in her class? Are they even going to want to learn from her? Listen to what she says knowing her racist views?

And no, I don't care that she's a teacher. So what? She doesn't have the right to her own life? She has to live like a Puritan 24 hours a day, even on vacation? She can't enjoy the pool in a bikini and post photos of her excursions to her ADULT-AGED friends? Bull. She doesn't owe you people SQUAT for how she behaves on her OWN TIME. How she (or he) behaves in the school, that's absolutely your business; outside of it, mind your own.

This isn't about a teacher wearing a bikini on vacation... It's about a teacher having racist views towards the students that she teaches.

And yes, this IS a free speech issue. What kind of foolishness is it to say that free speech isn't without consequences? That's what free speech is, that's the very definition of free speech--that you can say whatever you feel like and, unless you're making a legitimate thread, nothing happens to you. Nothing. Otherwise, free speech is as much of a fallacy as a free lunch is.

Well someone failed US Government in school.

Is it really considered that difficult to keep racist or homophobic thought to yourself? I would never think to get on social media and say such things. Of course I don't even think such things... But still?

[N. Buck]

DEATH TO ALL petaQs! Klingons have no place in the Federation! They are in cahoots with the Romulans!

[Kgreenel]

If you tweet anything about Ferguson, Micheal Brown or the impending Grand Jury decision on twitter right now you have to have thick skin.
I've never encountered such vile, racist and disgusting tweets. There are groups of people sitting behind computers on social media and they are acting like Internet Thugs. If you say anything the extremists on both sides will attack you and get under your skin retweet what you said and get more people to attack you.
Nothing that was said back and forth prior to that tweet has been focused on.
They tried to make her snap then looked at her profile and trolled the school district and began mass calling the school.
You have to learn not to feed the trolls. They upset me at first. I just block and ignore no matter how disgusting it gets. When they attack and you block and ignore they stop.
She shouldn't put her school district in her profile.
I've been hacked, my YouTube channel has been spammed and I continue to ignore and block.
The struggle is real in the E-Streets.

[danielj72]

Originally Posted by angelenogirl

Yes, you can get arrested if you threaten to, say, kill someone and that frightened person takes you seriously.

You sound a bit paranoid. I don't believe employers are bugging homes, eavesdropping or looking for reasons to fire employees (finding, hiring and training new ones is a costly endeavor). You don't have to "always" be hiding your views. However, if you are going to broadcast ugly sentiments - especially if you work with children - and it draws negative attention to your employer, then they have a right to fire you. In many states they have a right to fire you for less than this. You are not owed a job.

And yes, I mostly keep my thoughts about politics and controversial subjects off of Facebook and I don't use other social media. Not out of fear (I work for myself) but because I don't feel it serves any purpose.

I find it disturbing that so many people agree with you. I also disagree with you that you don't have to hide your views, especially if you have a good job. Take the issue of homosexuality. That has become the liberal darling issue, those who oppose homosexual marriage are considered to be no different than Jim Crow era racists. If you come out opposed to the gay agenda then you will be treated as some backward thinking ignorant bigot. Translate that to the corporate environment today, which has been heavily influenced by liberal interest groups. If they find out at work that you speak out against gays and their lifestyle you will be looking for a job. Most of the folks that think its ok to fire an employee for political belief are likely liberal. Liberals have spent a lot of effort boycotting and suing corporations in order to force their agenda on them, as a settlement corporations often add things like diversity programs and pro homosexual policies to their company. This has created a corporate culture supporting the liberal agenda. Most people if they look at those things posted on the wall at work will see references to the companies diversity program or other liberal darling issues. That is not there by accident. Even the idea of a law protecting employees from being fired for their political beliefs expressed outside of work threatens years of work by liberals. They have put a lot into getting this influence in corporate America, and they will not let it be chipped away like that easily. The liberal agenda has never been successful in a legitimate way (legislative process), so it has been forced through courts, and other means like protests and boycotts. This is another tactic they are really just beginning to use in order to further their agenda. Silence the conservative traditionalist opposition by using their influence in corporate America to threaten their jobs. Conservative people tend to be employed, and that really is the best way to get at them. Make it difficult for them to be active conservatives AND keep a job at the corporations they have made inroads into. Free speech is most definitely in danger, and in the end so is freedom itself.

[NLVgal]

Free speech means you cannot be jailed for it. It does not mean that you cannot be fired for being an asshat.