Professor Tweets ‘All Men Are Created Equal,’ University’s Division of Equity and Inclusion Blocks Him – Opinion

Quoting the nation’s founding documents can be problematic — just ask an instructor at Portland State University.

Bruce Gilley, a professor at PSU recently posted a famous reference. In response, he says, he was blocked — by the University of Oregon (UO).

Bruce’s egregious content came from the Declaration of Independence. He reportedly proposed, “All men are created equal.”

The hubbub began on June 14th, when UO’s Equity and Inclusion Twitter account offered a sort of woke Mad Lib exemplifying how you can masterfully sock it to racism. The account states that you must tell people what you think they are saying and ask for confirmation. In the process, you’ll become an illustrious interrupter:

Interrupting racism is possible

“It sounded like you just said _______. Is that really what you meant?”

— Racism Interrupter

Bruce tweeted the following:

Fill in the black for @UOregon “Racism Interrupter” machine. @Uequity.

My entry: …you just said “all men are created equal.”

Following that commentary, he was blocked by UO Equity and Inclusion — according to the professor’s free-speech-citing federal lawsuit.

Tova Stabin, Division of Equity and Inclusion Communication Manager, allegedly created the block.

The College Fix

The suit claims the reason Stabin blocked Gilley is because “she and her employer disagree with the viewpoint…that ‘all men are created equal.’” It also alleges Stabin “believes that Prof. Gilley’s opinion is critical of her employer’s DEI ideology and she wishes to suppress his viewpoint.”

As stated by the filing, the block “removed Bruce Gilley’s ‘all men are created equal’ reply from @UOEquity’s timeline and prevented other users from viewing it or interacting with it, and with Gilley, including followers of the @UOEquity account.”

Bruce attempted to determine what policy permitted the block after it was completed. According to Ms. Stabin, she is free to exercise her judgment.

Bruce Gilley submitted a public records request on the 5th of July 2022 in order to see the policies used by [the Office of the Vice President for Equity and Inclusion] to block Twitter users, the University of Oregon informed him that there was no written policy and that the ‘staff member that administers the VPEI Twitter account and social media has the autonomy to manage the accounts and uses professional judgment when deciding to block users.

Bruce is represented by non-partisan Institute of Free Speech.

The following statement was made public by the Institute in a press release:

First Amendment doesn’t allow government actors or agents to prohibit individuals from participating in public forums because of their views. The lawsuit asks the judge to order @UOEquity to unblock Professor Gilley and to issue a permanent injunction preventing the account’s manager and agents from discriminating on the basis of viewpoint when blocking users in the future.

Speaking to the Fix, Bruce explained he’s suing on principle:

“Clearly it’s not that I need to read the University of Oregon’s Twitter account, but what is important is I need to make use of my role as a defender of academic freedom in higher education…to make sure government-funded universities comply with our Constitution. … I knew immediately that this was a clear-cut, made-in-heaven case, all the more so because I was blocked for quoting the Declaration of Independence. This is the perfect case to establish a precedent that says if you are a public agency you can’t pick and choose who is a member of the public.”

And the man won’t accept a mere unblocking:

“The case goes forward even if they unblock me tomorrow because they could reblock me anytime and because…simply to unblock me would not show they had engaged in a change of their practices.”

Bruce is a controversial figure, as noted by The Fix.

After he published a controversial article in support of colonialism, he was subject to an investigation by Portland State. He was eventually cleared. Portland State also terminated his course on conservatism in political thought.

Earlier this month, Gilley’s latest book, German Colonialism in Defense: How Nazis, Communists and Other Enemies of The West were Empowered by Its CriticsPublication.

Back to the tweet, some people might say that claiming “men” are equal doesn’t mean that Only men are equal — in the same manner that chanting “Black lives matter” doesn’t assert that other lives don’t. Presumably — if the lawsuit’s claims are accurate — Tova Stabin isn’t one of those people.

Either way — as we’ve learned repeatedly over the past few years — all men may be created equal; but all tweets definitely are not.

-ALEX

 

You can find more of my content here:

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We appreciate your time! You are invited to leave comments in the Comment section.

 

ALEX

 

You can find more of my content here:

DOJ investigates the Southern Baptist Convention. The Reason is Extremely Alarming

WATCH: A Plane in Peril’s Pilot Tries to Land on an LA Freeway During Lunchtime Traffic

Famed All-Girls School Will Accept Biological Males Identifying as Girls, but Not Females Preferring ‘He/Him’

All my RedState works Here.

We appreciate your time! You are invited to leave comments in the Comment section.

 

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