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Just recently, Professor Randa Jarrar from the California State University of Fresno started a furor by posting a series of rather inflammatory tweets celebrating the death of the late First Lady Barbara Bush. And she has received a fair amount of backlash for it. I just want to disclose the fact that I have actually made the acquaintance of Mrs. Jarrar, and, personally, I could not stand her and found her a repellant loudmouth at that time.
Now, in the past few years, there have been calls mostly from the Political Left but also from the Political Right (starting in recent memory with Ward Churchill) for Professors who have made statements or who hold social/political views that people find grossly offensive to lose their jobs. Now, if Randa Jarrar worked for a private company (ANY private company), there would most likely be calls on all sides for her being fired.
So my question to the Forum is whether Randa Jarrar specifically and professors in general should be subject to firing if the public finds them grossly offensive? If yes, why? And if you say no, would you say that this principle stands no matter how offensive you personally find it?
And before anyone says anything, this is a normative discussion, not a positive one. Please no one say "Well, it's the University's right to keep or fire an offensive professor." We all know that it is a University's right to do so (though tenured professors can only be fired for cause or exigent circumstances). I want to know whether any given University should fire a professor for being deeply offensive to many or even the majority of people?
Now, in the past few years, there have been calls mostly from the Political Left but also from the Political Right (starting in recent memory with Ward Churchill) for Professors who have made statements or who hold social/political views that people find grossly offensive to lose their jobs. Now, if Randa Jarrar worked for a private company (ANY private company), there would most likely be calls on all sides for her being fired.
So my question to the Forum is whether Randa Jarrar specifically and professors in general should be subject to firing if the public finds them grossly offensive? If yes, why? And if you say no, would you say that this principle stands no matter how offensive you personally find it?
And before anyone says anything, this is a normative discussion, not a positive one. Please no one say "Well, it's the University's right to keep or fire an offensive professor." We all know that it is a University's right to do so (though tenured professors can only be fired for cause or exigent circumstances). I want to know whether any given University should fire a professor for being deeply offensive to many or even the majority of people?
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