An associate professor who sparked widespread backlash after he
tweeted "All I Want for Christmas is White Genocide" claimed on Monday that his critics -- some of whom were "violent racists" -- simply didn't get the
joke.
Drexel University administrators clearly thought George Ciccariello-Maher's tweet was no laughing matter.
"The University is taking this situation very seriously. We contacted Ciccariello-Maher today to arrange a meeting to discuss this matter in detail," they said in a statement.
Ciccariello-Maher, who is white and an associate professor of politics at the Philadelphia university, fired back in a statement to The Philadelphia Inquirer.
The controversy got the attention of
white nationalist leader Richard Spencer, who tweeted, "Anyone at Drexel able to bring me to speak to the student body?"
The Drexel statement continued, "While the University recognizes the right of its faculty to freely express their thoughts and opinions in public debate, Professor Ciccariello-Maher's comments are utterly reprehensible, deeply disturbing, and do not in any way reflect the values of the University."
The associate professor, whose online biography
claimed his academic specialties included "race and racism," said Drexel apparently didn't understand "the content or the context" of his tweets.
The professor told The Associated Press he was mocking what he called the "imaginary concept" of white genocide, which he says was invented by white supremacists.
Ciccariello-Maher
followed up his initial tweet by praising the "massacre" of whites in Haiti during the country's slave uprising and revolution more than two centuries ago.
Though his Twitter account is private,
he is a prolific tweeter with more than 11,000 followers, and his weekend messages spread quickly online.
He said he has received hundreds of death threats and claimed Drexel's statement "sends a chilling message.
http://www.foxnews.com/us/2016/12/27...or-uproar.html
Bookmarks