Support NeoGAF

[SlickShoesRUCrazy]

Good, fuck this asshole piece of shit.

 

[Vyer]

Oh well

Was he good at his job? I would have thought that's the most important thing.
Who cares what he believes in his personal life

I don't understand why everyone is after the employer of people whose opinion we don't like or agree with

Bringing that stupid shit into the classroom qualifies as 'bad at his job' imo

 

[Anion]

(Thank God)

But seriously, glad he was shown his tenure doesn't mean he is invincible

 

[Zaventem]

I joke a ton about conspiracy theorists but you really have to be fucked in the head to really believe this stuff.

 

[EdibleKnife]

Was he good at his job? I would have thought that's the most important thing.
Who cares what he believes in his personal life

I don't understand why everyone is after the employer of people whose opinion we don't like or agree with

A) They didn't fire him when he expressed his views on his own private blog. They should certainly fire him because it extended beyond his own head into harassment:

An FAU administrator said in 2013 that Tracy’s actions resulted in a number of negative consequences for the school. But officials determined at the time that he couldn’t be fired for views he expressed on his own private blog and mostly ignored his posts.

However, the issue heated up again last week, when Veronique and Lenny Pozner, whose son, Noah, died at Sandy Hook, wrote an editorial in the Sun Sentinel accusing Tracy of taunting them.

“Tracy is among those who have personally sought to cause our family pain and anguish by publicly demonizing our attempts to keep cherished photos of our slain son from falling into the hands of conspiracy theorists,” they wrote in the Dec. 10 opinion piece.

They said he even sent them a certified letter demanding proof that Noah once lived, that they were his parents and owned the rights to the photo.

Link

B) This isn't an opinion like "MOS is the best Superman movie". I'm sure they can find someone just as qualified who doesn't believe that the deaths of children was an elaborate government conspiracy. People are free to kick out profs that spout racist, sexist and batshit insane opinions at their own discretion. As a human presence in that classroom, you can end up putting across to students more than just what's needed for the assignment but also your actual world view. It's best for the student body if that world view isn't disturbing and backwards as fuck.

 

[Cyan]

I remember hearing about this guy a year or two ago as well. Didn't someone here actually have him as a professor at some point?

Meanwhile Ronda Rousey is admired.

I dunno, Sandy Hook seems to come up in every thread about her.

 

[TheJollyCorner]

As a parent of a 9 year old and a 5 year old, I can't even begin to imagine the grief and frustration of the parents of those poor murdered children that have to hear assholes like this claim "nope. Those kids weren't even real and the parents are professional actors."

 

[GeordieMark]

I find the mental gymnastics people like this guy do to explain their ludicrous theories amazing. The guy is a Professor, obviously not entirely stupid, so how he can possibly believe this crap is incredible, and a bit sad.

 

[mre]

What a fucking prick.

 

[gabbo]

Meanwhile Ronda Rousey is admired.

Is she a nutter too?

 

[ItIsOkBro]

spread his views in the classroom

byebitch.gif

 

[RumblingRosco]

I guarantee he only believes this all even more strongly now and thinks his firing is the continued plot by the government to shut him up. The guy literally needs mental help.

 

[richsena]

I took his class when I went to FAU. He's way into chem trails and every conspiracy theory ever.

 

[Bedlam]

I took his class when I went to FAU. He's way into chem trails and every conspiracy theory ever.

That's pretty much the rule with conspirary theorists: they believe all of the conspiracy theories and all of them are connected according to them. Incidentally, this trait is also one of the most prominent signs that they are mental nutcases.

 

[Neuromancer]

Lenny and Veronique Pozner, angered by Mr. Tracy’s conspiracy theories, had asked Mr. Tracy to remove a photograph of Noah from his blog, Memory Hole. In return, Mr. Tracy sent them a certified letter demanding proof that Noah ever lived and that the Pozners were his parents.

“The Pozners, alas, are as phony as the drill itself, and profiting handsomely from the fake death of their son,” Mr. Tracy wrote in a letter that is attributed to him on the Sandy Hook Hoax Facebook page.

Wow.

I'm glad they could fire him even if it was on a technicality and not just for being a crazy asshole.

 

[LosDaddie]

And nothing of value was lost.

 

[Jag]

Popehat (law/geek blog) did a Lawsplainer on the firing.

Lawsplainer: Was FAU Prof. James Tracy Fired in Violation of His First Amendment Rights?

 

[AstroNut325]

Is she a nutter too?

Yes. She is a piece of sh!t.

 

[zulfate]

my friend who's a foot surgeon is by far the stupidest person I've ever met

 

[IrishNinja]

good, we really shouldn't have shit like this spreading in classrooms of all places

It's not as if this is the only example.

...well goddamn

Meanwhile Ronda Rousey is admired.

is she? i thought that kinda stayed behind in 2k15

 

[gutter_trash]

all Sandy Hook Truthers are scum and that includes a certain MMA fighter as well

 

[GnawtyDog]

As someone in his thirties who is just finishing up his undergraduate degree: you'd be surprised.

Indeed. I made a post about this yesterday in a way...

 

[Duane Cunningham]

Yes. She is a piece of sh!t.

Is there more to it than this? The idea of Sandy Hook truthers disgusts me, but I don't think that's quite an equivalence with the asshole in the OP who actually harassed parents, demanding proof that their dead son ever existed.

Spoiler

Also, you mispelled the word "shit", I don't believe there's supposed to be an exclamation point in it.

 

[Malyse]

This firing never happened. I doubt Mr. Tracy even ever worked at this university. It's all just a ploy by interest groups that want to make citizens feel that both the government and private businesses are observing our private lives too much.

Well played.

 

[ant1532]

I was in his course years ago about Conspiracy Theories. He was pretty normal for being someone indebted to the subject. I failed the course because I was more focused on work than school, slacking real hard and never did the h/w assignments. Overall, the course twas a good time. I thought it was largely undeserved the way he was demonized by Anderson Cooper on national television the week his blog post hit the media.

ama

 

[richsena]

I was in his course years ago about Conspiracy Theories. He was pretty normal for being someone indebted to the subject. I failed the course because I was more focused on work than school, slacking real hard and never did the h/w assignments. Overall, the course twas a good time. I thought it was largely undeserved the way he was demonized by Anderson Cooper on national television the week his blog post hit the media.

ama

I was in his course too, but not that one.

While I agree that he comes across as a mostly normal professor personality, it was pretty clear to see his skewed world perspective. He has very dogmatic views and seems to be a truther for the sake of feeling superior to people. Some of the prescribed reading material was interesting, but the structure of the class didn't really inspire deep class discussions (what can you expect from a communications course, though). In the end found him narcissistic, uningaging, and socially awkward. I got an A in the class and moved on its my life.

He deserves every bit of criticism for what he writes in his blogs--and believe me when I say he wouldn't want it any other way.

 

[PSqueak]

what do you do if you're ben carson the politician everywhere

Then you're Ben Carson the Neurosurgeon at being Ben Carson the Politician.

 

[ant1532]

I was in his course too, but not that one.

While I agree that he comes across as a mostly normal professor personality, it was pretty clear to see his skewed world perspective. He has very dogmatic views and seems to be a truther for the sake of feeling superior to people. Some of the prescribed reading material was interesting, but the structure of the class didn't really inspire deep class discussions (what can you expect from a communications course, though). In the end found him narcissistic, uningaging, and socially awkward. I got an A in the class and moved on its my life.

He deserves every bit of criticism for what he writes in his blogs--and believe me when I say he wouldn't want it any other way.

Yeah I pretty much agree with everything you're saying.

 

[Pop-O-Matic]

what do you do if you're ben carson the politician everywhere

Then you're Donald Trump.

 

[Alligatorjandro]

Good

 

[Sho_Nuff82]

Was he good at his job? I would have thought that's the most important thing.
Who cares what he believes in his personal life

I don't understand why everyone is after the employer of people whose opinion we don't like or agree with

How can you be good at your job if you bring this nonsense into the classroom? How?

 

[tcrunch]

Was he good at his job? I would have thought that's the most important thing.
Who cares what he believes in his personal life

I don't understand why everyone is after the employer of people whose opinion we don't like or agree with

You can't be good at your job of professor if you are spreading nonsense and failing to represent the university in a professional manner. Part of a professor's job is not just making sure the students get good test scores, but in developing their minds.

 

[JB2448]

Didn't someone here actually have him as a professor at some point?

Yep. Had him for Studies in New Media (COM 4332) in the Fall 2013 semester. It played out a bit like a Conspiracy Theory 101 class in the end, but most of the students in the class didn't seem to take that too seriously, luckily. They seemed fairly comfortable with how much technology has surrounded their lives, which he seemed very strongly against.

 

[Bel Marduk]

This is not legitimate political discourse

Its incredibly disrespectful to the people who died

and there is absolutely no credible basis for these crackpot theories

Im glad he was fired

 

[ant1532]

How can you be good at your job if you bring this nonsense into the classroom? How?

You can't be good at your job of professor if you are spreading nonsense and failing to represent the university in a professional manner. Part of a professor's job is not just making sure the students get good test scores, but in developing their minds.

Well he wasn't speaking about these recent events as false flag events at the school. it was in his personal blog

 

[EdibleKnife]

Well he wasn't speaking about these recent events as false flag events at the school. it was in his personal blog

It says in the article that he talked about his theories in the classroom

 

[hipbabboom]

There has to be a special part of hell for those who attempt to blame positive change for the problems said change is trying to counter. Gun control isn't the only place I've recently seen this sort of behavior but even with people who try to accuse the Gates foundation of genocide for leading the charge to reduce infant death. As in the past and even with the two recent examples, these people who for whatever reasons want to plant lies in peoples consciousness literally have so much innocent blood on their hands. This is pure evil shit.

 

[BearFlexington]

Florida Man had a job?

lol

 

[lednerg]

Those guys are the worst. Especially the ones who harass the victims families. Human garbage.

 

[Angelus Errare]

Was he good at his job? I would have thought that's the most important thing.
Who cares what he believes in his personal life

I don't understand why everyone is after the employer of people whose opinion we don't like or agree with

http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showpost.php?p=187040282&postcount=2628

 

[morikaze]

I wonder what pushes a person to go far enough to go "Yeah, I'll risk my job on this shit." Of course, I'm sure there is a lawsuit or two waiting to happen.

He obviously believes it is true and is sacrificing his own livelihood for the greater good.

 

[Ivan Amiibo]

I realize they are both trash, but I think Sandy Hook truthers take the cake from 9/11 truthers in the race to the bottom.

 

[Marvie_3]

Good. Fuck that douche

 

[Sho_Nuff82]

http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showpost.php?p=187040282&postcount=2628

Holy freaking crap at that story.

 

[Sho_Nuff82]

Well he wasn't speaking about these recent events as false flag events at the school. it was in his personal blog

That contradicts what it says in the OP and the anecdote from the GAF poster who took his class above.

 

[Beartruck]

Funny enough, Maddox brought in "Sandy Hook Conspiracy Dipshits" in the latest episode of biggest problem in the universe. It really is despicable to ask someone to prove their child was murdered.

"Florida Atlantic University ultimately dismissed him on grounds that have nothing to do with his theories or his feud with the Pozners. They said Mr. Tracy, who because of his tenure could not be easily fired, had failed to submit paperwork for three years in a row that listed any other jobs or similar activities that he performed outside the university. In a letter to Mr. Tracy, the university said it repeatedly asked him to file the form — which should have listed his blog and his work on a weekly radio show — but Mr. Tracy declined to do so."

Lets be honest in regards to the above. The people there probably hated the guy and found the justification they needed to fire him. Can't say I blame them.

 

[ant1532]

It says in the article that he talked about his theories in the classroom

That contradicts what it says in the OP and the anecdote from the GAF poster who took his class above.

I'm only speaking about my experience in my semester in his class, he would never bring up the stuff he posted on his blogs. He did however tell us the name of his blog because we(the students) found out about it. We asked him about it and in a professional manner he wouldn't go into any of it in class(this is before he was in the media). Be aware, he was teaching a class about Conspiracy Theories and why they exist and how they exist in modern time, etc. We talked about chemtrails and all that bologna. When I'm saying he wouldn't get into it, I'm talking about the more controversial stuff he was posting in his blog.

 

[EatinOlives]

The people who genuinely believe that the Sandy Hook shooting was staged are truly mentally ill, regardless of a career in academia.

 

[richsena]

Yep. Had him for Studies in New Media (COM 4332) in the Fall 2013 semester. It played out a bit like a Conspiracy Theory 101 class in the end, but most of the students in the class didn't seem to take that too seriously, luckily. They seemed fairly comfortable with how much technology has surrounded their lives, which he seemed very strongly against.

He was super concerned about cell phone towers if I recall.