Lowest of the Low

Scott Hardie | March 21, 2018
Much has been made of the teacher who criticized American troops two months ago. Today, that teacher has been fired.

I know we've already talked about the idea of "disrepecting the troops", so I'm not going to ask about that, though by all means please chime in if you have something to say.

I'm more interested in the legality of the firing. The First Amendment protects citizens against the government punishing them for their speech. If I said that I hated troops, my private-sector company could fire me. But the school is a public-sector employer. They gave official reasons about the students feeling "picked at, bullied, intimidated," but everyone knows the real reason is that the teacher's comments were widely considered distasteful. Can the school fire a staff member for having a political opinion, and what is the basis for it? I thought all speech was protected, even when it's delusional and vile, but perhaps not.

Samir Mehta | March 22, 2018
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Samir Mehta | March 22, 2018
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Scott Hardie | March 24, 2018
I guess that makes sense. Thanks.

If we're talking about troubling free-speech violations, how about Georgia punishing Delta with higher taxes for not supporting the NRA?

Samir Mehta | March 24, 2018
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Scott Hardie | March 25, 2018
I'm very much against corporate personhood. Corporations should not get legal protection for their "beliefs" and "opinions." But if we're going to have it, we can't reward some opinions and punish others.