This week was a brutal week for America, another entry in a cycle of violence that never seems to stop.
Unless you have been living under a rock, you know that Charlie Kirk, an American political thinker who traveled to college campuses, was killed while at an event. This thirty-one-year-old leaves behind a wife, a daughter, and a son who will grow up never understanding why their father was taken from them, or why so many people hated him.
In the aftermath of the shooting, thousands of people have lost their jobs because of the toxic vitriol they spewed about Kirk in the hours and days following his murder. Many have cycled through the full range of emotions (rage, sadness, regret) and now some are threatening lawsuits, claiming freedom of speech. That reaction only highlights the monumental failure of the American school system.
Both governmental (public) and private employers can terminate an employee for statements they make. For government jobs, your speech is not protected in every situation. It comes down to what was said, how it relates to your role, and the laws that apply. In the coming weeks, you will hear many people reference Pickering v. Board of Education (1968) in discussions about teachers fired after making statements about Charlie Kirk. The problem is that people will stop reading after the part about whether the employee was speaking as a private citizen. They will skip over the critical analysis about whether the speech disrupts a school’s ability to operate effectively, undermines trust in the teacher’s role, or violates professional duties.
As I discuss in my political article on literacy https://paradoxgaming.net/politicalarticle.php?id=literacy, schools are more than institutions that prepare children for jobs. Schools must also forge students into citizens. A teacher, or any employee, spewing violent rhetoric about Charlie Kirk is not engaging in civic discourse. Parents entrust schools, and by extension teachers, with their children. The role of a teacher requires judgment, professionalism, and impartiality. Once parents, students, and the community witness a teacher endorsing or celebrating violence, that trust is broken.
The core of Pickering was that a teacher, as a private citizen, does not lose the right to write a letter to the editor about matters of public concern. It was meant to ensure teachers retain their rights as citizens. While arguments about freedom of speech and the right to vent about Kirk can be made, people need a reminder: The First Amendment protects your right to free speech from government censorship. It does not protect you from the consequences of your speech.
As for the private sector, with the exception of Montana, all states follow at-will employment. That means you can be terminated for any reason, including no reason. In Montana, employees do have protections after probation, but even there you can be fired “for cause.” Bringing discredit to the company, tarnishing its reputation, or making vile statements that qualify as misconduct are all valid grounds. In many states, that kind of termination will also block unemployment benefits, though the details vary by jurisdiction.
Many people will argue against this reality. To them I say, good luck. If you post where you work on your social media, you have made yourself a representative of that company. If you want stronger protection for your personal speech, don’t connect your job to your online presence. At work, be a model employee. In your private life, keep your employment off the table. If you can’t afford to lose your job, the smarter move is simple: don’t post anything on social media that you wouldn’t say directly to your CEO.
For those who respond, “But my freedom of speech,” see above. You were never properly taught civil rights or civil liberties. Those who understand them know this truth: freedom of speech is not freedom from consequence, only freedom from censorship.