RAMIFICATIONS: Calling a group of people “lying skanks” can result in one losing his job, and it isn’t because of his underlying political stance.
By Alex Flores, Staff Writer
FOX News fired contributor Kevin Jackson on September 27th after a series of tweets regarding Dr. Christine Blasey Ford, Deborah Ramirez, and Julie Swetnick’s accusations of sexual misconduct against the now Supreme Court justice Brett Kavanaugh. “TO HELL with the nation that women must be believed no matter what. Lying skanks is what these 3 women are, and we ALL know more,” Jackson tweeted. He continued with “…Leftist women are skanky for the most part. More will be sued and made to pay for their lies,” as well as a now deleted tweet directed toward Ford saying “Dang girl, stop opening your legs and OPEN A BOOK.”
A FOX News spokesperson claimed that Jackson’s comments were “reprehensible” and indeed they were and are for anyone else who represents a company and dares to express their opinion. Jackson’s tweets convey his conservative beliefs and this brings forth the debate over whether his conservatism is the “real” reason for his termination. Colin Kaepernick was not fired for his liberal beliefs so why was the conservative given the pink slip and not the liberal?
Perhaps it is because Kaepernick did not explicitly attack or insult anyone, unlike Jackson did. By kneeling during the national anthem to bring light to the excessive, unjustified police brutality of African Americans, Kaepernick put the NFL’s reputation at stake, as well as insulted many people. However, he did not marginalize police officers or label them with some cruel slur. Regardless of his political stance, he was not hateful or discriminatory in his actions.
Similar to Kaepernick, Jackson put FOX News’ reputation at stake and insulted countless people. The difference is that Jackson’s actions of calling the accusers of Kavanaugh, as well as liberal women, skanks “for the most part” and then proceeding to slander Ford’s integrity were fueled by unnecessary malicious intent. Did he need to tell Ford to essentially stop being a whore? Not at all, but he did and this is where the line was drawn.
Jackson’s termination is not a violation of the First Amendment, as it only prevents the government from infringing upon citizens’ speech, not workers in the private sector from being fired over speech in or outside the workplace. Jackson took voicing his beliefs a step too far than Kaepernick did. If Kaepernick had called police officers racists or white supremacists “for the most part,” it is safe to say that he would have been fired — the NFL would not want their name tied to those words, just as FOX News did not want their name tied to “lying skanks.”