Don’t get me wrong, you should be allowed to criticize public figures whether they’re alive or dead. However, if Jarrar was trying to criticize the former first lady, she did a very poor job of expressing it. Calling her a “racist” who intentionally “raised a war criminal” isn’t criticism, it’s just nasty.

Here’s the thing, though: Jarrar shouldn’t be fired from Fresno State University over her comments, as objectionable they may seem. She’s protected by the First Amendment, and Fresno State is a public university. It would be hypocritical of conservatives to call on her to be fired for making crude comments about the former first lady, especially if they criticize colleges for suppressing the speech of conservatives.

Bottom line: Jarrar represents a quality in people that’s not only unflattering, but damn near cancerous. Some people choose to see the glass half full, meanwhile folks like Jarrar always see it as half empty, and there’s no way to convince her that the glass is anything but. And while it’s clear we shouldn’t take to a boycott or protest to demand a professor be fired for speaking their mind, the very least we can do is call them out on it. After all, the answer to problematic speech is more speech to counter it.