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But the main point is that the government didn't force him into silence. There was no First Amendment issue here. It was an employee/employer issue, not a citiz

• lsc 13y ago
  I don't disagree, as written... though the guy did seem to fear being put on lists and harassed. To the extent that you think that fear is justified, this would be a first amendment issue. But as written, it doesn't sound like there has been retaliation. I was just taking issue with this idea that a reasonable person would think that a grunt speaking off-hours was speaking for the corporation or government that employs them. (I also have pretty strong feelings that complaining about your boss to people who aren't your boss is a reasonable sort of thing to do... and maybe even a fundamental human need. But that's not really relevant to the discussion at hand.)
  • Spooky23 13y ago
    That fear is the problem with agencies like the TSA which exist to "do something", and serve little real purpose. The speech issue is a real ethical issue. A government employee has to be careful with what and how they say things in public, as people can and will decide to interpret your statement as policy statements. In NY, a DOT engineer was fired because he said something about snow plowing (that wasn't negative) which conflicted with the administrations narrative.