I post this here because I think there is a interesting discussion out of this, what do you people think about this?
In the summer of 2020, two issues dominated the headlines: the COVID pandemic and the widespread unrest surrounding George Floyd, Black Lives Matter, and the “racial reckoning.” It was in this environment, with the country also at or near the apex of “cancel culture,” that the University of Central Florida tried to fire associate professor of psychology Charles Negy for his tweets about race and society. Negy fought back and sued.
Five years later, his lawsuit continues — and last week, it brought good news not just for Professor Negy but for everyone who cares about free speech on campus.
Last week, Judge Carlos E. Mendoza of the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Florida ruled that Negy’s lawsuit could proceed against four of the five administrators he sued. Importantly, the court denied claims of qualified immunity, a doctrine that says public officials aren’t liable for unconstitutional activity unless they knew or should have known their actions were unconstitutional. By denying qualified immunity to UCF’s administrators, Judge Mendoza formally recognized what was obvious from the very beginning: UCF knew or should have known that what it was doing violated the First Amendment, but they went ahead and did it anyway.
is there such a thing as “legitimate criticism” against an entire race of people? this writer is bonkers, and you can tell from the intro. seems like the actual content of the post was buried beneath the first paragraph where a rare few would find it. maybe it was wrong or illegal to fire this guy for being a racist asshole (being a state funded org or something?), but couching it in this narrative of “cancel culture” and “a violation of the first amendment” has fashy vibes to me. institutions should be allowed to control the narrative set by their employees. i understand that as part of my company my words reflect on them, and it’s up to their discretion whether they want to continue to associate with me based on the things i say. you have every right to say racist shit on your favorite fascist-owned platform, but everyone else has the right to tell you to fuck off.
also big downvote for posting this in a technology community