Guest Post: What's Good for the Goose Is Good for the Gander, by That Jimbo Guy

In this post, my BF weighs in on recent politically-motivated firings (or other career threats).

The hypocrisy of the left astounds me. I'd like to think that we live in a country where free speech rights actually apply, but I guess not. If not, I'd like to think that the ban on free speech should apply to both sides equally. The left seems to disagree. Apparently it's only okay to destroy someone's life over political speech if they're on the right. See the following story:

We may have seen the last of Colin Kaepernick in the NFL

This is fair whether the left likes it or not. After all, the CEO of Mozilla was forced to resign because he donated to a group that supports traditional marriage. The fire chief of Atlanta was fired from his job by an elected official (that being the mayor of Atlanta) because he wrote a pamphlet-off the clock and away from the building-for his church stating that homosexuality is a sin. Both are issues that relate to the freedoms of speech and religion protected by the First Amendment.

Brendan Eich, CEO of Mozilla, made a donation to support something he believed in. He had a right to do so. He was forced out of a position that he had spent a lifetime working toward because of his political beliefs. Put bluntly, he would still be with Mozilla had he not done something that liberals disagree with.

The left applauded this. The quote I kept hearing was "Free speech has consequences." A powerful man had been brought low. This was a good thing. After all, free speech only applied to the government, and Mozilla was not the government.

Atlanta Fire Chief Kelvin Cochran was fired from a government job that he had spent a lifetime working toward. Again, he had spoken out on a politically charged religious topic. He had the right to do so. Yet once again, he lost his job, only he was fired from a government position. Supposedly, the First Amendment only applies to the government, yet in this case it doesn't even apply then. Once again, he said something the left didn't like and lost his job.

This time the left was happy as well. It left me a bit confused, as Mr. Cochran is a black man and I had expected the left to protect him based on race. In this case, thought crime trumped skin color. Never mind the fact that he had several people working under him that were LGBT and had never had a complaint. He verbalized something he shouldn't have and now he must be deprived of his livelihood.

Let's take it one step further: At Evergreen State College, Professor Bret Weinstein has been facing both demands to step down and threats to his physical safety. Why? He said something the left didn't like. His crime was showing up to work on a day when the presence of white people on campus had been discouraged and writing a letter decrying the fact that he (along with every other white member of the faculty) was being discriminated against.

He, at the moment, still has his job - at least technically. He has been asked not to set foot on campus as he is no longer safe there. Students "threatened" by his words have taken to walking around campus threatening people with bats. Once again though, it's okay because, even though Weinstein is himself a leftist, he said something the left didn't like.

All of which brings us to Colin Kaepernick, who refused to stand for the national anthem. He too was committing an act of political speech. He too offended many people when he did so. It would appear that he has been blackballed by the NFL ownership. (He could still get signed, but it does not appear that he will. Based on what he has done, he's damn sure good enough.) For some reason this is a problem.

What the left needs to understand is this: Kelvin Cochran did nothing illegal either, yet he was fired. Bret Weinstein has committed no crime, and he can't even walk into his place of business. What Brendan Eich did is against precisely zero laws, but his career is over.

Colin Kaepernick did the same thing that all of them did. If the NFL owners have blackballed Kaepernick, and it appears that they have, then they are the people responsible for doing so. That's the way it works. Their actions are their own fault. Understand this though: The left created the atmosphere that allowed it to happen.

The left has created the attitude that free speech has consequences. They have taken jobs from people who said things they didn't agree with before. They have no right to complain when it happens to one of their own. Free speech only applies to the government right? Guess what: The NFL is a non-governmental entity.

Sorry guys, but when you opened Pandora's Box, you let all of this out, and it won't go back in easily. You handed the right a weapon to use against you. We're not going to refuse to use it when you've turned it against us so often. Congratulations. Colin Kaepernick is reaping what you have sown.