Virtually all of the reactions to the news of the death of former First Lady Barbara Bush were civilized and very much what you’d expect… expressions of grief and admiration for a woman who was not only married for 70 years but was the only wife and mother of a US President. Most reactions were kind and sympathetic, but a few liberals started to foam at the mouth when the news broke.
One foamer was an English professor at Fresno State University who did not share such sympathies, but rather celebrated Mrs. Bushes’ passing and quipped about how happy she was that Mrs. Bush is finally dead.
Randa Jarrar, professor of English at Fresno State, tweeted, “Barbara Bush was a generous and smart and amazing racist who, along with her husband, raised a war criminal.”
Jarrar, who describes herself in her Twitter profile as an Arab-American and a Muslim-American woman, is currently on leave from Fresno State had also stated, “I’m Glad the Witch is Dead.”
The President of Fresno State, Joseph Castro, moved quickly to distance himself from the comments of Jarrar, expressing condolences to the Bush family and adding that “Her statements were made as a private citizen, not as a representative of Fresno State.”
Further, Castro slammed Jarrar by saying her comments “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.
Even the Fresno Bee is reporting Lynnette Zelezny, provost at California State University, Fresno, on Wednesday called Jarrar’s comments “disrespectful.”
Zelezny also disputed Jarrar’s assertion that she has tenure protection and can’t be fired.
As a writer, Jarrar had won an American Book Award in 2017 for her second book, Him, Me, Muhammad Ali. The Amazon description of the book is telling
“In her first story collection, Jarrar employs a particular, rather than rhetorical approach to race and gender. Thus we have “How Can I Be of Use to You,” with its complicated relationship between a distinguished Egyptian feminist and her young intern, demonstrating that gender politics are never straightforward, and both generations—old and new—take advantage of each other. There’s also a healthy dose of magic surrealism, as in the wild and witty story “Zelda the Halfie” which follows a breed of half Ibexes/half humans and their various tribulations. The writing is peppered with gorgeous imagery: a moon reflected in an ice cream scoop, breath that runs ahead of its body, and two apartments in a high rise whose tenants precisely mirror each other.”
The truth is, liberals like Randa Jarra love to listen to themselves talk. But its more than that, they also love ridiculing and slandering anyone that disagrees with them, even the dead who can’t defend themselves.
In reading her first book, Map of Home, you get the feeling, reading between the lines, that Jarrar sees herself as a “passionate defender” in the war against bigotry and hate with a teaspoon of smut and a sprinkle of self-aggrandizement. Like many liberals, Jarra plays the role of hypocrite perfectly as she destroys everything she claims to champion.
I didn’t know Barbara Bush, but everything I’ve heard about her has been impressive. So impressive in fact, that my guess is, she was a far superior human being when compared to either George I or George II. Before she died she smiled and explained that she drank and smoked during her pregnancy with George II, which “explains a lot” according to her.
So what do you think?
Are the dead fair game? Did she in fact raise a war criminal? What standard would be used to determine how to deal with an issue like this? Does anything go?