1/ More and more, educators are facing harassment and death threats after controversial lessons go viral.
And in some cases, wealthy conservatives are funding the internet outrage machine. revealnews.org/article/right-…
And in some cases, wealthy conservatives are funding the internet outrage machine. revealnews.org/article/right-…
2/ Take the case of Diablo Valley College political science professor Albert Ponce. In October 2016, he delivered a speech on the history of white supremacy in the United States. 
3/ Here’s the full lecture:
It ended up, heavily edited, on a conservative website called “The Red Elephants.”
It ended up, heavily edited, on a conservative website called “The Red Elephants.”
4/ Waves of harassment followed.
“I might just take a trip to Mexifornia and sit in on one of your hate speeches,” read one message Ponce received.
“Your (sic) racist, Marxist filth, you ave (sic) been noted and we all know you now,” read another.
“I might just take a trip to Mexifornia and sit in on one of your hate speeches,” read one message Ponce received.
“Your (sic) racist, Marxist filth, you ave (sic) been noted and we all know you now,” read another.
5/ The abuse altered Ponce's life.
He stopped letting his daughter open the mail.
He was forced to take personal safeguards at his school: He started parking in different spaces, took different routes between his office and car, and reorganized his daily routines.
He stopped letting his daughter open the mail.
He was forced to take personal safeguards at his school: He started parking in different spaces, took different routes between his office and car, and reorganized his daily routines.
6/ When a teacher is featured on Fox News, Breitbart, Campus Watch or The Red Elephants, the harassment follows in short order, making high-profile cases easy to count.
7/ Yet a recent report by a University of Colorado Colorado Springs sociology professor suggests that many educators experience targeted online harassment even when their words don’t go viral. journals.sagepub.com/eprint/BCATE6s…
8/ Meanwhile, the conservative media organizations that trigger such scandals are often highly organized and well-funded – including by The Charles Koch Foundation.
9/ And it's not just Ponce, either. Last summer, Texas A&M University philosophy professor Tommy Curry, an African American, was targeted after a radio segment surfaced in which he discussed armed resistance to police.
10/ Here's what Curry said:
11/ He was soon accused by a writer at The American Conservative of highlighting occasions “when it is appropriate to kill white people.”
12/ Curry’s office email and answering machine were so inundated with racist death threats that he feared for his safety. He and his family had to move out of town.
13/ One more example: Johnny Williams, a sociology professor at Trinity College in Connecticut, was targeted by internet trolls in June 2017 after he reposted a provocative article about racial violence on his Facebook page.
14/ The college placed Williams on administrative leave due to the resulting backlash. Williams was offended. Such a response “means now that universities are valuing bloggers the same way that they value professors,” he said.
15/ Even if threats die down, professors say that the potential for danger can lead to self-censorship.
Some have moved their controversial classes online – or stopped teaching them altogether.
Some have moved their controversial classes online – or stopped teaching them altogether.
16/ Meanwhile, conservative activists say it’s par for the course. “If you say crazy stuff, you’re going to get online backlash,” one said. “That is the state of the world that we live in.”
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