The Indiana Deputy Attorney General, Jeff Cox, was recently fired for comments he made on his Twitter last week. He suggested that Wisconsin police should use deadly force when dealing with protestors. He also stated how a “black teenager was ‘deservedly’ beaten up by police”. When questioned about his comments, Cox said that his posts were meant to be political satire and that they shouldn’t have been taken literally. Obviously, his remarks were extreme and uncalled for and he knew that he would be getting many people upset by his remarks. Although I recognize the obscenity with respect to his comments, I do have to wonder if he should have been fired from his job. Twitter is a public website, and each “tweeting” person has their own personal account. Should someone not be able to share their own personal views on a website like this? Cox was engaging in free speech and political discourse (which he said was satirically based—but I find that hard to believe), and as a result, was fired from his job. If you’re in an elected position, should you limit and censor your opinion? Engaging in public discourse is key to the rhetorical process of civility. If everyone is limiting their opinions so that they can uphold approval from society, will our democracy go anywhere?
Cox fired back toward those outraged by his remarks by asking if public employees maintain their First Amendment (free speech) rights once hired by the government. He brings up a good point. If an everyday citizen were to tweet such views, they may spark heavy debate amongst their followers, however, in no such way would their personal life, such as holding a job, be condemned. Just because Cox is an elected official, he is limited to engaging in public discourse. Obviously, sharing such views may threaten his overall reputation, however, was it fair that he was actually fired from his job because of this? Again, I know this is an extreme example and many people would not share such opinions by “tweeting” them, however, I do think this is an interesting debate that goes unnoticed most of the time.
What do you think?
See the article for yourself here:
I think there's a time and a place to voice your opinion especially if it's controversial. Yes you have a right to freedom of speech but you should have some common sense to go with it. He is entitled to his opinion but he should be aware that voicing it publicly can put him in a world of hurt.
ReplyDeleteI think that as an elected official, you should be aware of the things you say because a lot of people are looking at the actions and the words you say. In positions like this, even if it is going against the First Amendment, individuals should watch and restrict their opinions to a certain degree.
ReplyDeleteI agree with John and San in the sense that Cox simply should have used some common sense when posting his remarks. Knowing that he is in the public eye, I think he should have to watch what he says to some degree. It does bring up an interesting debate though as to whether or not it should impact his job.
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