A
Connecticut college is facing national outrage after a professor posted
a series of Facebook messages attacking white people – along with a
link to an essay that suggested first responders to last week’s
congressional shootings should’ve let
the lawmakers “f***ing” die.
Trinity
College Professor Johnny Eric Williams also reportedly shared an essay
posted on Medium that included a photograph of Majority Leader Steve
Scalise, titled, “Let Them F***ing Die.”
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The anonymous essayist
opined that the Capitol police officers should’ve let Rep. Scalise and
other Republican lawmakers die in last week’s ball park attack.
“Saving
the life of those that would kill you is the opposite of virtuous,” the
essayist wrote. “Let. Them. F***ing. Die. And smile a bit when you do.
For you have done the universe a great service.”
The professor’s incredibly offensive Facebook postings and hashtags were originally reported by Campus Reform.
“I’m
fed the f**k up with self identified ‘white’s’ daily violence directed
at immigrants, Muslim, and sexually and racially oppressed people. The
time is now to confront these inhuman a**holes and end this now,”
the professor wrote.
Ironically, Professor Williams teaches about race and racism.
Trinity
College President Joanne Berger-Sweeney said in a prepared statement
that she does not “condone hate speech or calls to incite violence.”
“I
told Professor Williams that in my opinion his use of the hashtag was
reprehensible and, at the very least, in poor judgment,” the president
said. “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.”
Instead of me trying to interpret the essay written on
Medium – I’m going to let the college president describe that
smoldering piece of garbage disguised as thoughtful prose.
“The
Medium piece went on to explore broader issues concerning race and the
relationship between ‘victims of bigotry’ and ‘bigots,’” Berger-Sweeney
said. “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.”
Williams told
the Hartford Courant that Campus Reform twisted his words and he denied
endorsing the essay. He also said the postings were not meant to be
made public.
So what did the professor mean when he wrote, “It is
past time for the racially oppressed to do what people who believe
themselves to be ‘white’ will not do, put an end to the vectors of their
destructive mythology of whiteness and their white supremacy system.
#LetThemF***ingDie”?
He told the newspaper his point was that people should
“confront these people who are racists.”
“This
is about free speech as well as academic freedom,” he said. “From my
perspective, I’m considering whether I should file a defamation against
these guys.”
The college has been inundated with so many threats they had to shut down the campus Wednesday – out of an abundance of caution.
“This
incident has caused distress on our campus and beyond; threats of
violence have been directed to Professor Williams and to our campus
community, neither of which is an acceptable response,” Berger-Sweeney
said.
President Berger-Sweeny is absolutely correct. Violence is
never an acceptable response. And neither is letting someone be
massacred just because of their skin color.
Todd Starnes is host of Fox News & Commentary. His latest book is “The Deplorables’ Guide to Making America Great Again.” Follow him on Twitter @ToddStarnes and find him on Facebook.