A California college professor has sparked uproar—after making a slew of angry, offensive comments smearing former First Lady Barbara Bush, who died on Tuesday.
Randa Jarrar, an English professor at Fresno State University, started ranting about the 92-year-old wife of George H.W. Bush and mother of George W. Bush just an hour after her death was announced.
“Barbara Bush was a generous and smart and amazing racist who, along with her husband, raised a war criminal. F*** outta here with your nice words,” she tweeted.
“PSA: either you are against these pieces of s*** and their genocidal ways or you’re part of the problem,” she continued, in a second tweet. “That’s actually how simple this is. I’m happy the witch is dead. Can’t wait for the rest of her family to fall to their demise the way 1.5 million Iraqis have.”
Facing an onslaught of criticism, Jarrar doubled down, tweeting, “All the hate I’m getting ALMOST made me forgot how happy I am that George W. Bush is probably really sad right now,” along with a smiling emoji.
In another tweet, Jarrar bragged that she could say anything she wanted as a tenured professor.
“I work as a tenured professor. I make 100K a year doing that. I will never be fired. I will always have people wanting to hear what I have to say,” she boasted.
Fresno State, while stepping short of disciplining her, did release a statement distancing itself from Jarrar’s unhinged Twitter rant over the death of an old lady.
“On behalf of Fresno State, I extend my deepest condolences to the Bush family on the loss of our former First Lady, Barbara Bush,” said Fresno State President Joseph Castro, in the statement. “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.”
He added, “Professor Jarrar’s expressed personal views and commentary are obviously contrary to the core values of our University, which include respect and empathy for individuals with divergent points of view, and a sincere commitment to mutual understanding and progress.”
