Saturday, May 21, 2016

Lt. General Jerry Boykin Rehired After Support from Senator Ted Cruz

Lt. General Jerry Boykin
Lt. General Jerry Boykin was fired from all male Hampden-Sydney College in Virginia after he half joked in a March speech about transgender bathroom policies: “The first man who goes into the restroom with my daughter will not have to worry about surgery.” He was fired when LGBT activists demanded Boykin be let go.
[Boykin] said he was fired without warning and without being afforded the opportunity to defend himself. A representative for the college told Fox that his contract was “simply not renewed” and denied that the comments about transgender bathrooms were the “determining factor” in his firing. The representative did, however, expressed concern that the statement “appeared to advocate or approve of violence.”
The only national figure to weigh in on the case was Senator Ted Cruz. From people currently getting tons of media attention like Ben Carson, Mike Huckabee, Sarah Palin (who, to be fair, isn't speaking out all that much right now), and, of course, Donald Trump--crickets.
Boykin received an outpouring of support, including from Sen. Ted Cruz (R., Texas), a one-time presidential candidate.
“Hampden-Sydney College has fired General Boykin. At a time where young people are desperately seeking hope and inspiration, you would think General Boykin (who had taught there nine years) would be one of their most valued faculty. But instead, he fell victim to the PC police,” Cruz wrote in a Facebook post.
Senator Ted Cruz
Cruz's support was based on principle.

1. "our universities are losing their souls. College should be about learning, and that requires a diversity of views"

2. "free speech matters. If you disagree with someone, disagree with them. Don't silence or punish them. Censorship is the refuge of the weak-minded (those who cannot defend their views) or the tyrannical (those who simply want to force submission and compliance)."

3. "young people need heroes like General Boykin. Ironically, Hampden-Sydney's motto is Huc venite iuvenes ut exeatis viri, which translates to: Come here as boys so you may leave as men. This storied institution, founded the year before the signing of the Declaration of Independence, has decided that warriors and heroes are no longer welcome on its faculty."


Hampden-Sydney College changed its stance and rehired Boykin. General Boykin thanked Cruz for his support.


It seems the tone of this presidential race is sucking all the air out of the room as regards morals and principles. Ted Cruz was the only conservative and major Republican political figure to mount a campaign supporting General Boykin's First Amendment rights.



Too bad most Republican voters and leaders aren't that turned on by the Constitution.

4 comments:

MAX Redline said...

Yep, Ted was without doubt the better guy. Still is.

T. D. said...

Agreed--and not only in comparison to Trump.

MAX Redline said...

1. "our universities are losing their souls. College should be about learning, and that requires a diversity of views"

2. "free speech matters. If you disagree with someone, disagree with them. Don't silence or punish them. Censorship is the refuge of the weak-minded (those who cannot defend their views) or the tyrannical (those who simply want to force submission and compliance)."


I can't see how anyone could argue with these points. Neither does anyone else - so they demonize him instead.

T. D. said...

The latest swat at Cruz is from Mitch McConnell: "I would say he has maybe one follower on a good day." (https://twitter.com/ByronYork/status/737593228619186176)

Why do politicians say such ridiculous stuff? Last I checked Cruz had 7.4 million primary votes (which is 7.4 million more than McConnell) and 1.21 million twitter followers (which is about 1.2 million more than McConnell).(https://twitter.com/McConnellPress).