Dear Pericles,

I saw nothing in the article to indicate that Spurr's comments were made on a university computer. They may have been made on his own computer.

When I lived in Connecticut I knew a man who made many racist comments. I found the comments offensive. I knew another man who was a colleague of the man in question as they both worked in a department of the Connecticut government devoted to civil rights. The colleague told me that the man in question was vigorous in the defense of the civil rights of people belonging to the same groups he made racist remarks about. His attitudes as shown by his remarks did not prevent him from doing his job. We should make a distinction between speech and action. Racist and sexist comments are unpleasant, but a person may make such comments and have such attitudes while not acting in a racist or sexist way. We should be called to account for what we do not for what we say.

I was relying upon other reports for this information david f.

>>Dear Pericles, I saw nothing in the article to indicate that Spurr's comments were made on a university computer.<<

"New Matilda has also been ordered to keep in safe custody all copies of the emails that came from the computer records or database of Sydney University".

http://www.abc.net.au/news/2014-10-23/suspended-professor-is-collateral-damage-lawyers-say/5836430

But on the subject of free speech, I agree that generally speaking, the personal views of an individual are none of our business.

Dear David F.,

The following link may help clarify things for you:

http://newmatilda.com/2014/10/19/transcripts-partial-works-professor-barry-spurr-poet-racist-misogynist

Michael Brull has written an excellent article in which
he states:

"I agree that Professor Spurr should not be fired for
his prvately expressed opinions. I don't even think
he should have been fired from his post if he
had expressed those views publicly. I don't think he
should have been suspended from his job."

Yet as Brull points out this was a decision made by Sydney
University, the Professor's emails were sent
on a University computer.
The emails were sent over a two year period from September
2012 to June 2014 to university friends and
colleagues. Sydney University have a code of
conduct that all academic staff are expected to abide by.
Professor Spurr is not excempt from this.

Another link on the subject:

http://newmatilda.com/2014/10/28/murdochs-do-we-say-not-we-do-school-news-journalism

Dear Foxy,

I read the references and think from reading them that Professor Spurr is unfit to be involved in determining a national curriculum for Australia.

I also think a professor should only be suspended or sacked if he has failed in his professorial obligations or unable to fulfill them. There has been no evidence presented regarding Professor Spurr to establish that.

I agree with him in one area. I find it objectionable when a person who is not a personal friend takes the liberty of calling me by other than my last name.

Dear David F.,

As Pericles pointed out earlier - this is quite a
complex issue. Thank You for your comments and it
will be interesting to see what others have to say
on this issue. I'm interested in looking at this
from various perspectives. Hopefully I shall see
those on this discussion.

Well said David F, at last something we can agree on.

My lady has always been something of a bleeding heart. This is why, as a councillor, she took a job trying to help the long term unemployed, some of whom become homeless, or live in their cars.

She now admits that many of these people live this way by choice, something she would not have believed a few years ago. In fact she has even been heard to criticise some of her clients on occasions, an impossibility prior to dealing with so many of them.

This in no way prevents her trotting off each morning to try to help any of them that will let her, back onto their feet.