September 2, 2014
Judge Tom
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Public defenders fired over hate speech on Facebook

Facebook burnout

Once again, we see another incident of careless speech but this time it’s not by teenagers. Adults are just as capable of offensive and irresponsible communication.

Two assistant public defenders in Florida were fired in July, 2014 for hate speech posted on Facebook about Palestinians. Their comments were reportedly in response to the killing of three teenagers in Israel by Palestinian extremists. Bruce Raticoff wrote “That’s why the Palestinian people are considered the cockroaches of the world. Reprehensible and despictable with utter disregard for civility and humanity. Burn them to the ground.” Gary Sheres “liked” Raticoff’s post and added his own comments.

Words matter. Think before you post.

Photo by howtostartablogonline.net

Judge Tom

The Author Judge Tom

Judge Tom is the founder and moderator of AsktheJudge.info. He is a retired juvenile judge and spent 23 years on the bench. He has written several books for lawyers and judges as well as teens and parents including 'Teen Cyberbullying Investigated' (Free Spirit Publishing) and 'Every Vote Matters: the Power of Your Voice, from Student Elections to the Supreme Court' (Free Spirit Publishing). In 2020, the American Bar Association published "Cyberbullying Law," the nation's first case-law book written for lawyers, judges and law students. When he's not answering teens' questions, Judge Tom volunteers with the American Red Cross and can be found hiking, traveling and reading.

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