Man Fired from Wal-Mart Over 'Terrorism' Joke
David Noordewier Fired on February 27 for Gross Misconduct
David Noordewier, of Almont Township, placed a joke on his personal MySpace page that suggested that the average IQ of people in the United States would increase if bombs were thrown down on all of the Wal-Mart stores in America. He realized that the joke was of dark humor, but he never realized what the ramifications would be.
He was fired back on February 27 for gross misconduct. His firing papers also stated that there was an "integrity issue" with his character. Even though he had had a perfect record up to this point, he was still escorted out to the parking lot and told not to return.
He filed for unemployment, but his request was recently declined because of the belief that his joke was a threat against the company. In Michigan, you cannot receive unemployment benefits if you were fired because of a threat against a person, or against a company.
He is also worried about the fact that this issue from Wal-Mart will follow him for the rest of his life. He is worried that his statement would set him up for a long list of rejections in the future.
There are many groups that protest for freedom of speech that are coming to his aid. James Colim of Speak Loud America stated that "the actions that were taken against him were against his Constitutional Right of Freedom of Speech. This is just another example of how Wal-Mart wants to brainwash their workers into thinking that they are the most well taken care of workers in the US."
Walmart has raised eyebrows in the past during investigations into worker's complaints. There have been investigations into the possibility that workers lost their jobs for complaining about issues at work.
According to Colim, "Wal-Mart wants people to think the way that Wal-Mart wants them to think. Just because this gentleman put a comment against Wal-Mart on his website, people as Wal-Mart think that he is a terrorist."
A content producer for Associated Content contacted Wal-Mart about this issue, but the company said it is not interested in discussing the issue at this time. They are currently investigating the issue and are interested in hearing more about the story from their own sources.
The question at hand is whether or not this man overstepped the boundaries of the Freedom of Speech, or if Wal-Mart did. There is currently not any word if there will be legal ramifications coming to either side in the near future.
Source:
WXYZ Detroit
Published by NoPNA
NoPNA - No Pen Name Available loves to find out everything about everything. NoPna has tought literature at the college level for over a decade. View profile
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7 Comments
Post a CommentYou idiots, when you start keeping people from expressing their thoughts you are doing exactly what other countries are trying to accomplish and hate. They hate our freedoms, and they hate that we have the right to say what we please, they are loving the fact that our civil liberties are slowly eroding away.
well I guess there's a lesson for you about watching what you say in public. Even though he intended it as a joke there are still too many people that would consider it otherwise. it's a shame but that's the way it is. I'd have to read his whole statement on myspace to know whether or not he was threatening walmart (and so far it doesn't sound like he was) but he certainly will pay for his mistake.
He should have thought more about the consequences of his actions before doing what he did. It's always in bad taste to talk badly about your employer and mentioning the word "bomb" will hardly endear you to anyone, joke or not.
Sophie
Wow-- someway or another Wal Mart is in the news-- again....
Nice read!!!
It's all about employers' spying on the activities of employees. Careful of your user names and blog identities. Comments can come back to you like this.
Oh please - what planet does this guy come from? Threats against society are not protected by the constitution. Don't let the guy near an airport or on an airplane - he'll end up in jail and wonder why he is there.
Freedom of Speech or not, people should have enough sense to keep some comments to themselves. I feel other companies would probably fire their employees if they made similar statements about their company. To me it says that they aren't happy with their job and the company they work for. Don't get me wrong, Walmart is one of the worst companies to work for, but bad mouthing your employer, is not a smart thing to do.