By Florida Bill Florida Professor James Tracy was satisfied that he could say almost anything, no matter how outrageous and unpatriotic, and that he would sleep well knowing that the privilege of "free speech" was there to protect him.
In the USA, free speech is a right which commands respect and maximum protection. It is owned by everyone--the sensible and the nut jobs. It protects a speaker against reprisals and retaliation by government, and there are no prior restraints on one's dialogue.
Surprisingly, freedom of speech is a right guaranteed by most nations to its citizens. It is even a part of the charter of the United Nations. But America is different from other nations. Here, it is sacred, and without prior restraint. Consequences in America are based on common sense. Like screaming "fire" as a joke in a crowded theater--that can earn the speaker a fine, maybe even incarceration. Words designed to incite violence can also trigger a consequence for the speaker.
In Saudi Arabia and other parts of the Middle East, prior restraint on speech is the law. There, for example, criticism or blasphemy of Islam can bring the death penalty.
Free speech can cause controversy. Burning the American flag is considered free speech, although millions want the conduct punished. Parading in a Jewish neighborhood with Nazi flags also is protected. Mouthing obscenities on the air waves might be penalized, but generally it is given a pass. The late George Carlin was advised to avoid his "seven dirty words," but sometimes he did and sometimes he didn't.
Without concern of citizens who were troubled by conspiracy talk, Professor Tracy expounded on his theory that the Sandy Hook school room massacre of 26 persons was an "elaborate hoax" cooked up by the government. Lots of complaints, but no real worry for Dr. Tracy. After all, he was a tenured faculty member at Florida Atlantic University, an untouchable, you could say. He had a doctorate in history from the respected University of Iowa and he knew his rights as set forth in the Bill of Rights.
His conspiratorial baloney flowed fast and loose from his mouth following the shooting of 20 children and six adults in the Connecticut classroom in December of 2012 by a 20-year-old interloper. Inside the university classrooms where he taught communications, and in his blog, he opined that Sandy Hook never happened and was arranged by FEMA (Federal Emergency Management Agency) to promote a push for gun control, which was a priority of the Obama administration.
His conspiratorial theory led to a fiery and offensive disagreement with the father of a 6-year-old pupil killed, and Tracy tormented the father in his blog, observing that parents were making use of the "hoax" to make money.
University officials wanted him out. Americans were peeved and annoyed with his hokum. The school was proscribed from firing him and shutting down his conspiratorial babble because of his right of "free speech"--but was there another way around that barn?
They took Al Capone down for tax evasion, not murder, and OJ was sent away for a "robbery." Ward Churchill, the University of Colorado professor who said that 9-11 was the work of "Little Eichmanns" in the USA, he was kicked off the faculty for "repeated intentional scholarly misconduct." It took eight years to flush out Churchill, and five to remove Dr. Tracy.
In January of 2016, the University regents gave Tracy his pink slip on grounds that he had neglected to fill in annual faculty forms seeking information on his outside employment and professional activities. Ridiculous, said Tracy, and he sued for violation of his civil right to speak freely without fear of censorship or reprisal.
He contended that the stated grounds of failing to complete routine faculty forms after repeated requests was a ruse and a smoke screen. The real reason, he argued, was the content of his blog and his public statements concerning Sandy Hook, and that stepped upon his constitutional rights.
In December of 2017, a jury heard the evidence and upheld the action of the university. His conspiratorial writings were not a factor. Simply put, he was terminated for thumbing his nose at university regulations applicable to all faculty members. "He just didn't follow the rules," said one official of the University. Tracy says that he will appeal to a higher court.
Tracy, 52, a resident of Boca Raton, Florida, and a father of three, had been a faculty member at FAU since 2002, and was granted tenure in 2008. Yes, free speech is an inviolable right found in the first amendment of the Constitution. In America, it is absolutely sacred--- but there is always a second way to skin a rat.
xxx
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