Barbara Bush, the former first lady, passed away On April 17th. She was 92 years old. Aside from being married to former president George H.W. Bush, Barbara Bush was also the mother to President George W. Bush.
Bush had been struggling with illness for some time. The family recently said that she decided not to seek any further medical treatment. The grieving Bush family had many things to say about Barbara. Her husband, George H.W. was by her side as she passed. He expressed feeling broken-hearted to lose his wife of 73 years. Barbara’s son, former president George W. said that his mother was a fabulous lady and that the entire family would miss her dearly.
Right after Barbara passed, most people took to social media to express their condolences to the family. Even people that did not share the former first lady’s political beliefs expressed sadness at her death and talked warmly about her. Bill Clinton, the 42nd president of the U.S., even had kind words to say about Barbara — calling her a remarkable woman. Likewise, Barack Obama had good things to say about the matriarch of the Bush family. However, not everyone offered up kind words. Quite shockingly, one liberal professor expressed delight when she heard about Barbara Bush’s death.
Professor Randa Jarrar, who teaches English at California State University Fresno, tweeted that Barbara Bush was a smart, yet a racist woman who helped raise a war criminal. This insult was a reference to Barbara’s son George W. Bush. Jarrar didn’t stop there. She also went on to say that she is “happy the witch is dead.” The Fresno English professor said that she can’t wait for the rest of the Bush family to die, as well.
Upon reading her Tweets, the internet exploded in an uproar. The backlash on Twitter and other social media sites was immense. Thousands of people condemned Jarrar for her comments. Conservative political commentator Ben Shapiro responded that Jarrar won’t need to worry about seeing Barbara Bush when she dies because Jarrar will be burning in hell. Political talk radio host Andrew Wilkow pointed out that there is nothing like the kindness of some liberals’ hearts.
So, how did Jarrar respond to all of the criticism that she received on social media? She continued to post more taunts, and also succeeded in flooding a mental health crisis line with fake calls, which no doubt put a strain on workers trying to help people in serious crisis.
Someone on Twitter posted Jarrar’s phone number and email address online. The controversial professor responded by Tweeting that she had not activated her Fresno State number. She encouraged people to reach her at a new number — and she posted the number for Arizona State University’s crisis line.
This move resulted in the 24-hour crisis line to be slammed with phone calls. They received as many as 70 calls per hour. Normally, the hotline gets an average of five calls per week. Maliciously posting the crisis number could potentially be putting many people’s lives in danger.
Jarrar also encouraged her critics to contact Fresno State if they have a problem with what she said. The English professor boasted that she could not be fired because she is a tenured professor.
Jarrar is currently on leave from Fresno State this semester. From her Tweets, it appears that she is out of the country in Tunisia.
The president of Fresno State, Joseph Castro, said that having tenure does not mean that a professor can say and do whatever they wish. Castro said that he shares the horror that many people expressed after the professor Tweeted her comments about Barbara Bush’s death. Castro also said that everyone is accountable for their actions. The university has not explicitly said how they will handle this case, however, Castro said that they would be reviewing all of the facts to determine the best course of action.
~ Liberty Planet
