free speech

Maybe you can help me out here. When Bill Hobbs decided to freely excercise his right to free speech and publish his feelings about Islam, was that a personal decision, or an obligation he felt to represent Belmont University?

My hunch is both Bill Hobbs and Belmont decided that was Bill’s personal choice as are the consequences. The First Amendment grants us all the right to be fools. It doesn’t protect you from the consequences of the choices you make in excercising this right.

I’m not making a first amendment argument – that’s what I was trying to clear up and avoid right off the bat.

What Bill did was foolish, yes – that doesn’t excuse Belmont.

It’s like if I pulled a gun on you and demanded your wallet and you turned a ran, so I shot you, and then tried to deny culpability because it was foolish to turn and run.

Frankly, I share no sympathy for Hobbs. And though I missed the controversy yesterday and don’t feel much like slogging through the hundreds of comments on the matter, the sampling of comments I have read seem to be touting the free speech thing and the fact that a “family man” is out of a job.

1. Free speech does not apply to your private employer. They can fire you at any time for any reason other than blatant discrimination based on certain factors in most states.

2. He’s a family man. So? I’m a single woman who supports myself, but you think that has ever gotten me special consideration when the chopping block comes out? No. I don’t have a spouse to pick up the slack when I lose a job and I have lost a job now three times in my career (never for performance, I’ll note). Besides, I’m sure some ultra-right wing organization will pick him up.

3. He works in PR; he should know the importance of public image. He should also have intimate knowledge of his employer’s goal of a public image and he’s purposely represented himself in public with ideals that are not in keeping with his employer. Therefore, as he becomes more well-known, it is completely within their right and very intelligent that they part ways with him.

I don’t know if he was forced to resign or not. It could be that they told him that he could keep his job if he would lower his profile and he refused. Nevertheless, I don’t think that Spragens was out of line for calling him out. If you can’t take the heat, stay out of the kitchen.

Incidentally, this issue brings to light one of the many reasons I blog anonymously.

I kinda want to keep defending myself for being one of the people who mentions his being a “family man.” I’m never big on giving workers with families special treatment or consideration (as I’ve written many times over at Aunt B.s) . Being a Childfree person, that whole school of thought goes against the grain.

Hobbs’ “Family Man” status makes me sympathetic is only because I feel very bad for the (I think) three people who are going to have to live with the consequences of someone else’s actions. Yeah, I think Bill should have thought of that himself. The fact that he didn’t almost makes the wife and kids more sympathetic in my opinion.

If you unionized for collective bargaining, you could get a “just cause” clause in a contract. Then, you can say pretty much all you want and not have any termination worries. Just sayin’.