close
close

Trump's comments about shooting led to my dismissal from Bellarmine University

Bellarmine could have served as a role model for its fellow campaigners. Instead, it shirked its responsibility.

John James
| Opinion piece

play

On the evening of July 14, I, then a professor at Bellarmine University, became the target of a political “doxing” campaign. The X, formerly Twitter handle Libs of TikTok, sent a screenshot of my Instagram account to his more than 3 million followers.

Almost immediately, I was bombarded with a torrent of hate messages. These people threatened to kill me. They threatened the health and well-being of my children. And with disturbing frequency, they threatened to lose my job.

For those who don't know, doxing is when a person's private information is collected and distributed online. These people, often complete strangers, attack individuals by targeting employers and creating a media storm around them.

Libs of TikTok founder Chaya Raichik has been described as a “stochastic terrorist.”

Bomb threats related to their posts have hit hospitals, libraries, and small businesses. Their doxxing campaigns have cost other educators' jobs and targeted government employees, medical personnel, and others.

What I wrote about the shooting of Donald Trump was wrong, but that was the wrong way to deal with it.

To be clear, my post about the attempted assassination of Donald Trump was in poor taste. I am not repeating it here because it seemed out of context, even though it was widely reported. I apologize to those it may have offended.

Contrary to the way that statement has been characterized, I am not advocating violence. Rather, I was suggesting that a failed assassination attempt strengthens a candidate. It makes him a hero. We saw that at the 2024 Republican National Convention.

Trump rally: Divisive political rhetoric is dangerous for America.

The night of the Libs of TikTok post, hundreds of hate messages hit my campus inbox. Similar messages were sent to members of the faculty and administration. Before I knew it, local media were reporting on the situation, which was aired—often without mentioning the doxxing campaign—on NPR, the Louisville Courier Journal, USA TODAY and elsewhere.

On July 15, the school suspended me. After this notice, the university asked me to keep quiet about my statements. This silenced me. Instead of defending myself or explaining my thoughts to the public, I remained silent to protect my job. The university fired me anyway.

We expect more from universities and their commitment to academic freedom

As horrific as it is, we expect such behavior from political extremists whose goal is to spread fear, destroy livelihoods, and intimidate. But we expect better from universities, whose commitment to academic freedom and engagement in the deliberative process can serve as a countermeasure to the reactionary vitriol of social media.

In addition, universities and other employers have a societal obligation to curb such attacks, which threaten the livelihoods – and sometimes even the lives – of the people who work for them.

Particularly as a Catholic university, Bellarmine had the opportunity to serve as a beacon for other universities. The school could have reaffirmed its commitment to academic freedom, called for open dialogue and a careful deliberation process, or launched an internal investigation.

It might have given me the opportunity to contextualize my comments or apologize for my statement, as I have done here. In doing so, Bellarmine might have shaped the way our society responds to such events, which have become frighteningly common.

Instead, Bellarmine has shirked his responsibility. Rather than influencing the discourse, Bellarmine has capitulated to a social media narrative. Rather than protecting a valued teacher and scholar—a real human being with a family who invested years in the campus community and enjoyed every moment of teaching—the administration has caved in to political extremism. In doing so, Bellarmine has undermined the pillars of free speech and academic freedom that are central to the university, violated tenets of Catholic social teaching, and undermined his own mission to develop “critical” and “engaged” learners.

Bellarmine's failure to shape this discourse is particularly disappointing given the school's stated commitments. It disregards the right of individuals to participate in communities as advocated by the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops. It disregards Bellarmine's motto: in true loveor “in the love of the truth.”

Worst of all, Bellarmine violates the theology of Thomas Merton, whose teachings are emphasized at almost every corner of the university. As Merton says, “A life in community, in genuine dialogue with others, is absolutely necessary if man is to remain human.”

As difficult as it may be, the practice of engaging in open discourse strengthens us as thinkers, communities, and people. I invite the Bellarmine administration to engage in a transparent dialogue about their decision-making process and about the university's responsibility in curbing hateful doxxing attacks.

I hope that this conversation can provide a better process for responding to threats that harm individuals and institutions alike.

John James is a poet, critic, and essayist whose work has appeared in numerous journals, including the Boston Review, the Los Angeles Review of Books, and Best American Poetry. He teaches at the Ruth Stone House and the Hudson Valley Writers Center.

Agree or disagree? Send your letter to the editor here.

You may also like...