Regarding the death of Musharraf, there is a current discussion about the saying “don’t speak ill of the dead.” I would like to illustrate my perspective by referencing the case of Dr. Rhonda Jarrar, a tenured professor at Fresno State University.
On the day of Barbara Bush’s passing, Dr. Rhonda Jarrar tweeted that she was an “amazing racist” who raised a war criminal, George W. Bush. Her tweets, made on the night of the former First Lady’s death, received widespread criticism from across the US media.
The timing of her tweets was certainly controversial and as Fresno State University is part of the publicly funded California State University system, many conservatives were outraged and called for her immediate dismissal from the university.
Fresno State University attempted to manage the situation and the university’s president stated that he did not condone the comments made. The university’s flag was also flown at half-mast. An investigation was launched into the conduct of Dr. Rhonda Jarrar and it appeared that she would be fired as a result of her tweets.
However, it’s important to note that the Iraq war led by Bush resulted in the death of over 1.1 million civilians and there was much debate over the legitimacy of the war. Some argued that Dr. Jarrar’s comments were made during her private time and not in the classroom.
