An associate professor who sparked widespread backlash after he tweeted “All I Want for Christmas is White Genocide” claimed on Monday that his critics — some of whom were “violent racists” — simply didn’t get the joke.
(FOX)- Drexel University administrators clearly thought George Ciccariello-Maher’s tweet was no laughing matter. “The University is taking this situation very seriously.
We contacted Ciccariello-Maher today to arrange a meeting to discuss this matter in detail,” they said in a statement.
Ciccariello-Maher, who is white and an associate professor of politics at the Philadelphia university, fired back in a statement to The Philadelphia Inquirer. “While Drexel has been nothing but supportive in the past, this statement is worrying… I teach regularly on the history of genocidal practices like colonialism and slavery -genocides carried out by the very same kind of violent racists who are smearing me today.”
The Drexel statement continued, “While the University recognizes the right of its faculty to freely express their thoughts and opinions in public debate, Professor Ciccariello-Maher’s comments are utterly reprehensible, deeply disturbing, and do not in any way reflect the values of the University.”