Asheen Phansey, the Babson College employee who was fired after writing a social media post satirizing the Trump administration’s threats to Iran, warned of the “chilling” effect and self-censorship that could result from the college’s decision.
“It’s absolutely chilling to think we have to self-censor because someone might willfully misconstrue something,” Phansey told Greater Boston Tuesday.
Phansey was fired from his job as Babson’s director of sustainability earlier this month after publishing a post on his personal Facebook page. The post, which was in response to the Trump administration’s threat to bomb Iranian cultural sites, read: “In retaliation, Ayatollah Khomenei should tweet a list of 52 sites of beloved American cultural heritage that he would bomb. Um… Mall of America? Kardashian residence?”
Phansey later deleted the post.
“It was just satirical. It was saying, in the context of what would America threatened, where does this lead?” he told host Jim Braude.
Though the post was originally published on Phansey’s personal Facebook profile, a screenshot was obtained and published by a local blog. After that, Phansey said he received racist comments and threats, including those saying he should be “deported.” (Phansey was born in the United States.)
“All Americans, no matter what we look like [or] what our names are, should be able to say, ‘I’m just as American as anyone else, and here are comments I have about my country, about the administration,” Phansey said.
In a statement made shortly after his firing, Babson said Phansey’s post did “not represent the values and culture of Babson College.” But many high-profile figures came to Phansey’s defense, including the free speech organization PEN America, which issued a letter signed by 150 academics and writers — including Salman Rushdie, Joyce Carol Oates, and Molly Ringwald, among others — in protest of Babson’s decision.
Phansey says he is not considering taking action against Babson at this time.
“I’m really just focusing on the support I’ve been getting from the community of folks who are interested in academic free speech. Otherwise, keeping my options open,” he said.
