A case of censorship in academia has emerged when Andrew Timming, an esteemed professor of human resources from Australia, was abruptly terminated, just days before Christmas last year. A faculty member at RMIT University in Australia, Timming claimed that his dismissal represented the climax of a prolonged offensive against him. This situation was reportedly triggered by a simple tweet he posted about climate activist Greta Thunberg nearly a year earlier.
Timming claimed that his dismissal represented the climax of a prolonged offensive against him.
Timming’s career took a hit following a tweet he posted. The incident stemmed from an exchange on social media involving Andrew Tate and Greta Thunberg.
Tate, who posted a photo with his Bugatti, boasting about owning 33 cars. He provocatively asked Thunberg for her email to send her a list of the cars’ “enormous emissions.”
Thunberg responded with sarcasm: “Yes, please do enlighten me. Email me at [email protected]”
Amidst this online spat, Professor Timming saw an opportunity to comment on what he perceived as a gender-based disparity in humor. He highlighted the contrast in reactions to sexual jokes depending on whether they’re made by a man or a woman. His tweet juxtaposed two phrases, both followed by emojis, to illustrate his point.
The first phrase, “Demeaning sexual jokes when directed from a woman to a man,” was accompanied by smiley and wink emojis. The second, “Demeaning sexual jokes when directed from a man to a woman,” was followed by bomb and skull-and-crossbones emojis, signifying a more critical reaction.
This tweet led to Professor Timming’s dismissal.
Timming has conveyed his dismissal story as an intellectual freedom violation after a tweet he posted in December 2022 garnered widespread attention.
He navigated through an escalating course of events that saw him assert allegations of evidence manipulation by an RMIT executive to Victoria’s renowned Independent Broad-based Anti-corruption Commission.
Timming, who is a founding member of the Free Speech Union’s Australian chapter, publicly charged that the university intended to oust him following the controversy the tweet roused. His claim was reinforced in May, when the academic institution burst into outrage over a complaint that Timming filed, accusing it of intimidating him with disciplinary action, thereby infringing upon the university’s intellectual freedom policy.
In a shockingly swift turn of events, he was faced with accusations of misconduct on December 13.
The university questioned his refusal to comply with employment directives, which Timming contended were a near doubling of his teaching load. He was found guilty just a week later.
Further repercussions took place, as the professor was relieved of his position the very next day in a meeting, and denied access to the university’s computer network. He was granted permission to retrieve his personal belongings under supervised conditions.
Timming’s dismissal saga has found no closure yet, as he seeks to challenge it before RMIT and the Fair Work Commission (FWC).
He navigated through an escalating course of events that saw him assert allegations of evidence manipulation by an RMIT executive to Victoria’s Independent Broad-based Anti-corruption Commission.
