Should Clemson Fire Prof Who Said All Republicans Are “Racist Scum?”

Should Clemson Fire Prof Who Said All Republicans Are “Racist Scum?”

Should Clemson Fire Prof Who Said All Republicans Are “Racist Scum?”

The quelling of free speech on campus has frequently found its way into the news as of late. So you may have heard about the Clemson assistant professor, Bart Knijnenburg, who stated on his FaceBook page, in no uncertain terms, that all Trump voters are “racist scum:”

But Professor Ignoramus—an expert in the area of “online decision-making,” yes, really—went even further. He also stated without equivocation that all Republicans are “racist scum,” used the now-infamous hashtag “#PunchNazis,” and said this:

https://twitter.com/NataliaWalten/status/900726638643687425

Here’s the full thread, via Campus Reform:

Photo Credit: Campus Reform (click to enlarge)

He seems nice. And woefully drunk on liberal, minorities-need-a-handout koolaid.

Both of these oh-so-enlightened profs’ vicious posts target me, my family, and countless numbers of my friends who voted for Mr. Trump last fall. And I am deeply insulted by his words, and were I sitting in his classroom, he’d be getting an earful right about now. I don’t suffer bigots.

Meanwhile, Clemson’s response is, well, tepid:

“Last week, as we prepared to begin a new academic year, I shared a welcome message in which I touched upon the need for every member of the Clemson family to embrace and live our core values of honesty, integrity, and respect,” the post reads.“In those remarks, I made it clear that expressions of hatred or violence have no place in our campus dialogue.”

Acknowledging that, “like many of the rights that make our democracy a model for much of the world, the right to free expression is going to be tested from time to time,” the post goes on to state that Clemson “faced one of those tests this week when the personal views of an individual evoked disappointment, concern, and outrage from many members of the Clemson family.”

Naturally, in response, calls for Prof Knijnenburg’s firing have grown louder:

Oh, did I mention, this is Assistant Professor Knijnenburg:

Assistant Professor Bart Knijnenburg, King of Online Decision-Making; Grade: F (Photo Credit: YouTube)

You should come live in the south for a while. It’s exhausting,” Knijnenburg replied. “The republican ideology of ‘everyone is equal and nobody deserves a handout’ is naive at best, covertly racist at worst. I truly believe that turning a blind eye makes you complicit in what is happening now.”

Oh, yes, the horror of treating everyone…equally, is the new “racism.” And clearly he knows all about the black experience in America, while painting the South as “racist,” the liberal left’s favorite punching bag. But I digress.

Should he apologize? Hell, yes. Should he be required to take a civics course and post a copy of the Bill of Rights on his office cork-board? Affirmative. Should he be forced out of Clemson? I’m not so sure.

Clemson University (Photo Credit: LinkedIn)

Here’s the rub: this professor—heck, any professor who wears his hostility for diversity-of-thought on his sleeve—lauds much power over the academic success of all of his students. He has the power to affect their very futures. And anyone with the power to affect the lives of others must take that privilege very seriously and not wield it in such a way that could harm those of whom he/she lauds said power.

I’m a vehement defender of free speech. From Neo-Nazi slime, to Westboro Baptist jackwagons, to liberal profs who hate everyone who dares step foot off the Liberal Plantation. We’re talking about words here, not action. The question is: will he, has he, down-graded students whose political affiliation happens to be Republican, or anyone who happens to have voted for President Trump, that being a diverse group of ideologies? I know personally of students who’ve had their grades lowered by professors who disagree with their opinions. It’s an affront to what universities are supposed to be: a place of exploration where all ideas are welcome. But what far too many campuses are these days is anything but.

If this prof—as we’ve seen happen throughout the nation—down-grades students who he unilaterally deems “racist scum”—ironically, the kind of behavior exhibited by Hitler’s Brown Shirts—or intimidates them into silence, I’ll join in the chorus calling for his ouster, and encourage others to vote with their feet should he remain. But until proven otherwise, I support his right to say what he will, good, bad, or ugly. And I reserve the right to verbally smack him around like the ignorant, elitist, divisive loud-mouth he is. To stand otherwise would make me everything I rail against. And yes, I know all too clearly that that sentiment isn’t mutual.

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7 Comments
  • GWB says:

    The problem is he is part of the university, not merely a student. And, despite some calls for moral equivalence, the university should stand for intelligent debate, critical thinking, and a tactful approach to those with whom you disagree. The professors here violate all of those.

    like many of the rights that make our democracy a model for much of the world, the right to free expression is going to be tested from time to time

    This is not an example of free speech. This is an example of your professor expressing itself in a manner antithetical to your “core values”.

    a place of exploration where all ideas are welcome

    Sorry, no. As much as I love free speech, not all ideas should be equally welcome – from faculty. If they teach that communism is just okie-dokie and has never killed anyone, then that professor should be tossed out on his ear. If they teach racism (real racism, not the stuff progs call racism), they should be booted. If they teach that you should suck the marrow from babies bones, they should be sent away.

    Yes, I think Western Civilization is better than any other out there, and a university should support that proposition unreservedly, with every professor and staff member. If they don’t, they aren’t an university.

  • Scott says:

    Here’s an easy way to see if he should get a pass. Flip his statement, to one that calls all democrats racist scum… how would that play out? Would he still be employed? Not a chance! .. What’s good for the goose and all that..

  • Brian Brandt says:

    From the link above to his page –

    – I received a $412K research contract from the Department of Defense to study Privacy in the Total Learning Architecture.
    – I received a $176K Collaborative EAGER grant (total: ~$882K) from NSF to study the use of process tracing to improve household IoT users‘ privacy decisions.
    – I received a $175K CRII grant from NSF to study Recommender Systems for Self-Actualization.

    So we’re paying for this guy.

    – – – – –

    On the question of firing him. I think not. The more people see and hear the ridiculous excess on the left, the less likely the Democrats will regain power.

  • Phineas Whipsnade says:

    I’m torn between calling for this asshole’s immediate firing, and letting him continue to drive potential voters away from the left. You can see Dems starting to realize that they have moved so far away from the center that 2018 will probably not be a good year for them at the ballot box. It’s not that they disagree with Antifa — they really think everyone who doesn’t agree with them is a racist, hompohobic, etc. etc., but some of them would like to win an election again. This guy is working for the normal folks, reminding us what these jerks think. Remember him on election day, friends!

  • TRX says:

    > Should he be forced out of Clemson? I’m not so sure.

    Does Clemson have a morals and ethics requirement for their students, or the always-a-favorite “made the school look bad” clause for dismissal? (*)

    If so, he not only made the school look bad, he has turned the expensive diplomas of Clemson graduates into toilet paper as more and more employers roundfile applications from alumni of colleges that support feral professors like K-wossname.

    “Sorry, kid. Maybe you should see about filing a class action lawsuit against the college, because we can’t take the chance that you’ve absorbed their crazy.”

    * I’m assuming the faculty has exempted themselves from any standards of civilized behavior…

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