Man fired for heckling Bush - Dallas-Mavs.com Forums

Epitome22 · 08-21-2004, 02:53 PM

http://www.kansascity.com/mld/kansascity/news/nation/94...

Graphic Designer Fired After Heckling Bush

Associated Press

MARTINSBURG, W.Va. - A man who heckled President Bush at a political rally was fired from his job at an advertising and design company. The graphic designer said he was told he'd embarrassed and offended a client who provided tickets to the event.

"I was told that my actions reflected badly on the company and that a client was upset," Glen Hiller of Berkeley Springs said.

Hiller was escorted from Hedgesville High School on Tuesday after shouting comments about the Iraq war and the failure to find weapons of mass destruction there. The crowd had easily drowned out Hiller with its chant: "Four more years."

Arriving at his job with Octavo Designs in Frederick, Md., the next morning, Hiller said he was "shocked" to learn he was fired. A woman at the company who declined to give her name confirmed Hiller was axed because of his conduct at the rally.

"They see my actions as negative," Hiller said, adding he'd do the same thing again. "There is no venue for the regular guy to ask a question. We don't have access to people in power. And those events are completely scripted and controlled."

Last month, Charleston City Council apologized to two protesters arrested for wearing anti-Bush T-shirts to the president's July 4 rally. The pair were taken from the event in restraints after revealing T-shirts with Bush's name crossed out on the front and the words "Love America, Hate Bush" on the back. Trespassing charges were ultimately dismissed.

LRB · 08-21-2004, 03:20 PM

The guy makes an ass of himself in public at an event where a client provided tickets, the he should be fired. The only real reason that this is especially news worthy is that it was at a political rally and not a sporting event, play, concert, or other nonpolitical function. If some did the reciprocal actions at a Kerry rally where a client gave them tickets to go, then they should be fired as well.

dude1394 · 08-21-2004, 04:13 PM

Maybe bush should have just filed a complaint at the fec instead.

Sinn Fein · 08-21-2004, 06:55 PM

This is no different for being fired for punching a guy, or exposing yourself in public. The man made a scene and embarassed the PRIVATE business he works for, that was his right...and accordingly, it was his boss' right to fire his hippie ass.

Mavdog · 08-21-2004, 07:03 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by: Sinn Fein
This is no different for being fired for punching a guy, or exposing yourself in public. The man made a scene and embarassed the PRIVATE business he works for, that was his right...and accordingly, it was his boss' right to fire his hippie ass.

yeah, expressing one's politics is a lot like assault/battery and sexual offenses aren't they? [img]i/expressions/anim_roller.gif[/img]

Every citizen should have the right to respectfully express themselves. This guy may have crossed the line of decorum and civility, and if he did his dismissal may have been justified. but to fire a person simply for their political beliefs smells of repression.

Sinn Fein · 08-21-2004, 07:07 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by: Mavdog

Quote:

Originally posted by: Sinn Fein
This is no different for being fired for punching a guy, or exposing yourself in public. The man made a scene and embarassed the PRIVATE business he works for, that was his right...and accordingly, it was his boss' right to fire his hippie ass.

yeah, expressing one's politics is a lot like assault/battery and sexual offenses aren't they? [img]i/expressions/anim_roller.gif[/img]

Every citizen should have the right to respectfully express themselves. This guy may have crossed the line of decorum and civility, and if he did his dismissal may have been justified. but to fire a person simply for their political beliefs smells of repression.

I am sorry, where did it say he was fired for his POLITICAL BELIEFS? Its not as if he said "Im voting for Kerry", or had a Kerry bumper sticker and got canned. He DID NOT respectfully express himself, ergo he got fired. This is a case of trying to make something out of nothing. And my analogy is fair. Yes, expressing one's political beliefs is ok. However, making a embarassing scene isn't, he did. That is no different then a bar fight, ect.

Drbio · 08-21-2004, 10:18 PM

Sinn- pay no mind to the resident Kerry nutsack clown. You cannot drive a fact into that dense head..even with a sledgehammer.

mavsman55 · 08-21-2004, 11:30 PM

His opinion isn't the reason he was fired Mavdog. He was fired because he was making an ass of himself and making the company look bad.

Mavdog · 08-22-2004, 08:43 AM

[quote]
Originally posted by: Sinn Fein

Quote:

I am sorry, where did it say he was fired for his POLITICAL BELIEFS? Its not as if he said "Im voting for Kerry", or had a Kerry bumper sticker and got canned. He DID NOT respectfully express himself, ergo he got fired. This is a case of trying to make something out of nothing. And my analogy is fair. Yes, expressing one's political beliefs is ok. However, making a embarassing scene isn't, he did. That is no different then a bar fight, ect.

As I said above, if he was too agressive "he crossed the line" and a response of termination could be justified.

If he was civil in his expressions, it was and is wrong to make him unemployed simply due to his political beliefs.

To equate a person's expression of their political beliefs, even if he was a loud mouth, to physical assault makes no sense. There is a harmed person in assault, physical harm, that comes nowhere near what a loud mouth does. Physical assault is much more than an "embarassing scene".

MavKikiNYC · 08-22-2004, 09:34 AM

IMO:

I don't think there is any question that the company was well within its rights to dismiss this employee for inappropriate behavior at an event to which he was given access by virtue of his status as an employee of the company, and to which the company was given access by virtue of its relationship with a client.

Assault might not be the best comparison, but the employee's behavior need not be that extreme either.

He could've engaged in an inappropriate (belligerent, disrespectful, profane, etc.) discussion of politics on company property on company time in the presence of the client--grounds for dismissal.

He could've inappropriately interjected a political discussion into a meeting with the client, expressing views which he should've known would be offensive to the client and might jeapordize his employer's business with the client--grounds for dismissal.

He could've surreptitiously inserted a political message into an ad spot, with said message being in direct opposition to his client's views--grounds for his dismissal.

He could've inserted a political message onto signage that his company produced for the client, with a message that was in direct opposition to his client's views--grounds for his dismissal.

Or, he could, as he did, attend a political rally to which tickets were required, with tickets provided by a client, and conducted himself in a way that constituted an embarrassment to his employer, and which constituted offensive behavior to the client--again, grounds for his dismissal.

If this person wanted to express his political beliefs, he should've taken care to do so in a context where he was clearly doing so as an individual, not as a representative of his employer, and not as a guest of a client.