Barbara Bush passed away last night at the age of 92, and the vilest corners of the internet were quick to attack the woman for committing the crime of marrying and giving birth to Republicans.
And in the weird world of Twitter, it’s verified journalists who get the largest platform to spew hate.
Geez, I get it. Barbara Bush is dead.
Can we stop acting like it matters to anyone but a family of war criminals?
— Peter Coffin (@petercoffin) April 18, 2018
RIP Barbara Bush, the only woman who was 92 for 30 years.
— Jen Spyra (@jenspyra) April 18, 2018
This is so so disappointing. The things she and her family have down to global Black people is criminal, to say the least. She is part of the system of white supremacy, anti Black, anti feminist, as Malcolm said “who taught you to hate yourself?”
— Rosa A. Clemente (@rosaclemente) April 18, 2018
First I am not a Democrat nor a Republican, nothing to do with political parties everything to do with her racist politics and words. Second my career is just fine. Third what white men say about me is the least of concerns.
— Rosa A. Clemente (@rosaclemente) April 18, 2018
One, in particular, stood out as vile, coming from a university professor nonetheless. A Fresno State English professor named Randa Jarrar was quick to tweet out that Barbara Bush was an “amazing racist” who raised a “war criminal.” In response to the immense backlash she faced, she dismissed the critics contacting her employer, claiming to have tenure. She also claimed to have a six-figure salary.
“What I love about being an American professor is my right to free speech, and what I love about Fresno State is that I always feel protected and at home here,” Jarrar wrote. “GO BULLDOGS!”
She used the completely rational backlash as further evidence of her own victimhood. “If you’d like to know what it’s like to be an Arab American Muslim American woman with some clout online expressing an opinion, look at the racists going crazy in my mentions right now,” she wrote in a separate tweet.
The university eventually issued a response to her comments. “On behalf of Fresno State, I extend my deepest condolences to the Bush family on the loss of our former First Lady, Barbara Bush. We share the deep concerns expressed by others over the personal comments made today by professor Randa Jarrar, a professor in the English Department at Fresno State.”
Statement by @Fresno_State President @JosephICastro regarding tweets made today by a faculty member: pic.twitter.com/h3ZbQyMmxd
— Fresno State (@Fresno_State) April 18, 2018
Making matters even worse for herself, after interacting with her internet detractors for about five hours, Jarrar tweeted out a phone number she claimed was her own (to bait people into calling it), but the listed number ended up going to a suicide/crisis line.
Your freedom of speech does not entitle you to have all these people spam an actual mental health crisis line. Please stop.
— Eugene Gu, MD (@eugenegu) April 18, 2018
Her twitter account has since been locked, and describes her as being “on leave from Frenso State.”
Perhaps she wasn’t as invincible as she seemed?
Do you think she’ll be fired? Let us know your thoughts in the comments section below.
