"Liberal" mayor fires worker over protest

If Boston truly had a progressive mayor, this story never would have taken place.

When Marty Walsh was elected Mayor of Boston, it was heralded as a victory for progressivism. Now Walsh's legacy is falling to rack and ruin. A few days ago, Walsh fired a 25-year-old employee of the Boston Centers for Youth and Families because she participated in a protest against police killings of unarmed civilians. The protest itself wasn't even in Boston, but in the suburb of Milton. Even if it was in Boston, it should have made no difference. The protest wasn't on work time.

That's like if the Campbell County Public Library had fired me from my job because of my involvement with The Last Word. Then again, I was expelled from NKU because of my political views, so I've had a parallel experience.

How many people have been fired from their job for participating in a Tea Party rally? Probably zero, but on the other hand, that's partly because most Tea Party folks are zillionaires who retired before turning 25. Still, you can't use the argument that the Tea Party has never blocked traffic, because I've been an eyewitness to at least a couple Tea Party marches that have done so.

Naturally, The Media's legal eagles have chimed in to defend the Boston firing. One said public employees have fewer free speech rights than the rest of us, even when they're not on work time. Um, no. I don't see anything in the Constitution that limits the First Amendment for public workers. If you had told me when I worked at the library that I had fewer First Amendment rights than everyone else, you would have found your face laughed in - even back then.

Hopefully there will be a lawsuit against the Walsh administration.