(Article by Gregory Hoyt republished from LawEnforcementToday.com)
https://twitter.com/LevineJonathan/status/1311523617574969344
While the university is saying they don’t intend to issue any sort of disciplinary action against the professor due to First Amendment rights, that doesn’t mean the professor can avoid the intense scrutiny he’s getting elsewhere.
Professor Nathan Jun specializes in philosophy, according to his bio page from MSU, and runs courses from “Philosophy of Race and Racism” to “Critical Thinking and Reasoning Skills” – but apparently his critical thinking skills flew out the window when he reportedly wrote the following on a Facebook comment section:
“I want the entire world to burn until the last cop is strangled with the intestines of the last capitalist, who is strangled in turn with the intestines of the last politician.”
Spoiler alert – that comment didn’t resonate well with some people.
https://twitter.com/tedcruz/status/1311670694065967109
According to an email that Jun sent to his fellow “comrades” (yes, he seriously prefaced the email with “dear comrades”), he’s been getting quite the angry responses. Many of which, according to Jun, are death threats:
“As of this morning I have received more than 300 death threats by phone, email, text and private message.
I also discovered that my home had been vandalized again the fifth time since June. This time around, fortunately, my employer (Midwestern State University) has issued a public statement defending my right to free speech.”
https://twitter.com/Daedcretan/status/1309883675467755520
Jun was correct in that the school defended his right to say some rather disturbing things online, so long as they don’t skirt with any illegalities:
“As a public university, we recognize and protect individuals’ free speech rights under the First Amendment so that ideas and information may be freely exchanged and examined without the threat of censorship or retaliation.”
Without MSU giving a proverbial stamp of approval toward what Jun wrote online, they explained that the university has it’s hands tied when it pertains to employees engaging in protected speech:
“Occasionally individuals will express opinions that may be offensive and even shocking but are nonetheless entitled to First Amendment protection. When our faculty members speak or write as citizens within the confines of the law, they are free from institutional censorship or discipline.”
https://twitter.com/ForestOfOaks/status/1311532815557640192
So, while the school cannot do anything to Jun, the public is certainly allowed to scrutinize.
While the death threats and vandalism are uncalled for (and also illegal), acts akin to calling for his termination or simply calling him out are also perfectly legal and permissible.
During a recent interview with Jun, he acknowledged that whenever he goes on a controversial tirade (much like the Facebook comment), he always seems to encounter backlash (big shocker there):
“There’s no way that I can make those sorts of expressions publicly around here without this kind of thing happening again and again and again and again. I’m just tired of it.”
While this advice is unsolicited, if Jun is “tired” of this habitual outcome to him saying controversial things, maybe he should consider avoiding the utterances of said controversial opinions.
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