You've probably heard by now that Bill Hobbs is leaving his job at Belmont University. He hasn't said one way or another, but speculation on the internets is that it has something to do with an article in the Nashville alt-weekly about a "cartoon" he posted on some shadow blog of his. Michael Silence has the complete blog roundup [1].

Having also been the victim of stalking and threats by an alt-weekly, which led to an unfortunate chain of events that ended in me shutting down my previous blog after being "outed" in the mainstream daily paper (which ironically has much larger circulation than the alt-weekly that made threats but never actually carried through on them) I guess I'm obligated to have an opinion. After the jump...

It sucks.

Is Bill Hobbs an opinionated, egotistical jerk? Mostly. Is he a partisan right-wing hack who doesn't cut anybody any slack? You bet. Was his "cartoon" distasteful and borderline racist? Probably. Was posting his "cartoon" stupid and ill-advised in light of how it might reflect on his employer and the political campaign he was advocating? Most likely. Did he deserve to lose his job over it (if that is in fact what happened)? No.

I'd venture to guess that Hobbs just said what lots of Tennessee conservatives, including some folks at Belmont, were thinking but were too politically correct to say themselves. That doesn't seem fair, does it? It seems like a fellow ought to be able to have and express his own opinions outside the workplace without fear of retribution or media witch hunts and hit-pieces.

But that's not how it works in real life. Trust me on that one.

Anyway, Hobbs is probably better off. He'll find another job somewhere with an organization that respects free speech. Like maybe a less conservative, more progressive outfit. Anyway, I hope Bill Hobbs and his family will be OK. It's just blogging, folks. Pixels arranged on a screen. People take this shit way too seriously.

OK, then.

UPDATE: Lots more roundup at Nashville is Talking [2]. Start at the top and scroll down.