Tennessee Law Now Investigating Professor Reynolds Over Tweet

These may be the worst excuses ever.

2htn9cjryqt0bkcb5bl5_400x400After kicking up a firestorm from angry opposition and a cavalcade of whining supporters over a Tweet suggesting that drivers in Charlotte should “run them down” if protestors blocked the streets, Professor Glenn Reynolds is now under investigation by his employer, the University of Tennessee Knoxville College of Law per a written statement by Dean Melanie D. Wilson.

And Professor Reynolds isn’t helping himself, continuing to spin his words rather than offer a full mea culpa and admit he recognizes why everyone — with the exception of racists on Twitter — is so up in arms about this:

It’s as if, despite assurances to the contrary, Twitter is out to silence voices it disagrees with or something.

Oh my God, no. You know who didn’t get suspended on Twitter this week? Any number of crypto-racist “arguments” from the assorted troglodytes offering running commentary of this week’s police shootings. You know who did? The guy who said motorists should run over protestors. To cast “run them down” as if it’s some sort of political message should be an affront to conservatives instead of something to rally around.

But riots aren’t peaceful protest. And blocking interstates and trapping people in their cars is not peaceful protest — it’s threatening and dangerous, especially against the background of people rioting, cops being injured, civilian-on-civilian shootings, and so on. I wouldn’t actually aim for people blocking the road, but I wouldn’t stop because I’d fear for my safety, as I think any reasonable person would.

Yes, it’s the “civilian-on-civilian shootings” that has everyone so upset. Hey Glenn, Tom Sawyer called and says you’re doing a magnificent job on that fence.

Reynolds is correct that a riot is not a peaceful protest. Never mind that local coverage in Charlotte shows a whole lot of peaceful “die ins” and marches and not so much violence — at least not until people get pepper sprayed and start lashing out at the treatment. There’s obviously going to be violent behavior, and no one is faulted for extricating themselves from the location of a protest. But let’s knock off recasting Charlotte as if thousands upon thousands are prepping to storm the Bastille.

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Since Reynolds seems so fixated on the “background,” let’s check out the immediate context of this Tweet. The local media video that Reynolds reacted to shows a bunch of people trying to stop one car — others they let go — and the driver moving on without incident. Set against a video showing a driver safely maneuver around protesters, the response “run them down” can more than easily be read as chastising the driver for leaving protestors unharmed. This is why Twitter suspends an account.

“Run them down” perhaps didn’t capture this fully, but it’s Twitter, where character limits stand in the way of nuance.

And, of course, we all respect the demands of the Twitter character limits. Including the link to the original story in the Tweet, Professor Reynolds only had 102 characters left to use. There’s absolutely no way to make a measured, responsible statement with a mere 72 percent of your available characters left. I mean, is he f**king serious with this?

Here, if he’s looking for help: “I didn’t intend to incite violence, but I fully respect that, in a sensitive situation like this, many people would understand it that way. I fully apologize and look forward to writing more clear, opinionated, but respectful Tweets in the future.” That’s all you need to say, dude.

Everything else Reynolds says just keeps digging the hole a little deeper.

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U. of Tennessee Investigates Professor for ‘Run Them Down’ Tweet on Charlotte Protesters [Chronicle of Higher Education]

Earlier: Law Professor Suspended On Twitter — Cue The Crybaby Tour Of His Supporters