Understandably, the shooting of Michael Brown by Ferguson Police officer Darren Wilson has many people’s emotions running high, but a teacher in Texas learned firsthand that that’s not an excuse to go on racist rants on Twitter.
CNN reports that Vinita Hegwood, a second-year English teacher in the Duncanville Independent School District, was fired on Friday (November 14) for sending racially charged tweets that used the hashtag #Ferguson.
“Who the (expletive_ made you dumb duck (expletive) crackers think I give a squat (expletive) about your opinions about my opinions #Ferguson? Kill yourselves,” read the tweet, followed by another equally disturbing one. “You exhibit n—a behavior, I’m a call you a n—a. You acting crackerish, I’m a call you a cracker.”
Hegwood’s personal Twitter account, @duckseason6, has since been deleted.
In her defense, Hegwood said in a statement that she was “reacting to a series of threatening and racist attached made against her and her expressed opinions on Ferguson, Missouri.”
Ferguson has been ground zero for controversy and racial debate since Brown, an unarmed African-American teen, was fatally shot on August 9 by a white police officer. Protests erupted in the aftermath and the Ferguson Police Department used a level of force many believe to be excessive against the protesters and media.
Hegwood submitted her resignation Thursday, but the seven-member school board declined it and voted to terminate her instead, said district spokeswoman Lari Barager, who added that Hegwood’s comments “were so egregious,” the school had “no other option.”
Hegwood has since apologized for her inappropriate comments.
“My reaction in no way reflects the standards to which I have held myself and my students for the last 20 years of teaching,” she said.
What do you think? Did the teacher deserve to be fired? Let us know in the comments.
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