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:

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:

Calls Grow To Fire Clemson Univ. Professor Who Wrote “All Republicans Are Racist Scum”…. https://t.co/0gG1VaRabG pic.twitter.com/ao008Cv7dp

— Cletus (@Cletus1942) August 28, 2017

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

“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.

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.

By not immediately firing Bart Knijnenburg, this is the education you implicitly endorse – pic.twitter.com/YRqsXNJPkX

— Michael Trotman (@mtrotman) August 25, 2017

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.