Earlier, we told you about Aaron Hillegass, the professor at the New College of Florida who decided to take a stand against Gov. Ron DeSantis by resigning and wishing that he could just burn the whole college to the ground.
I was hired at New College of Florida (my alma mater) immediately before Governor Desantis replaced the trustees and president in an effort to make it "The Hillsdale of the South". I just gave notice. pic.twitter.com/8mMZoK8uoA
— Aaron Hillegass (@AaronHillegass) April 8, 2023
He’d literally set the whole place on fire rather than watch it turn into another Hillsdale College. He has his principles, you know.
I know how hard this has to be for you, because I know how much you love that place. I am so sorry that it has come to this.
— Richard (@beerismymantra) April 8, 2023
Right!? It was my dream job. And I was crushing it.
Thanks!
— Aaron Hillegass (@AaronHillegass) April 8, 2023
Yes, we’re sure he was crushing it. Because only people who are really confident in their abilities have to talk about how stunning and brave they are.
Anyway, Hillegass has understandably been getting some pushback since he posted his resignation letter, and is hard at work on damage control:
For the record: I would never burn a building down. Nor should anyone else. That was a poetic flourish that sounded cool until it showed up in the Sarasota Herald Tribune.
— Aaron Hillegass (@AaronHillegass) April 8, 2023
Oh OK.
The most charitable interpretation of your original comments are that you got carried away by your emotions.
But you definitely implied that there would be something noble and morally sound about destroying the college via arson.
That was wrong and you should acknowledge that.
— John William Sherrod (@jwsherrod) April 10, 2023
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Aaron was just a poetic flourish! You know how those can be.
Arson is poetry LOL https://t.co/yIlc5cmzEe
— Jay (@OneFineJay) April 10, 2023
Want to see some more poetic flourishes? Take a look at this thread from Hillegass all about how he’s actually a pretty great and cool guy once you get to know him:
I have been getting some requests for clarification, so I will give those in this thread. 1) The line about burning buildings is pretty mild. It says “I’m not going to burn down any buildings. I’m just going to walk away.” I believe that no one should burn down any buildings.
— Aaron Hillegass (@AaronHillegass) April 10, 2023
2) Many people in Florida may disagree with my politics, but if enough smart, experienced people (like me) walk away, it will have a difficult time creating a modern workforce. Even if you disagree with me, you should want me teaching in the university your kids attend.
— Aaron Hillegass (@AaronHillegass) April 10, 2023
3) I’m a capitalist. I started a company, grew it and sold it to a publicly traded company. Today it employs over 200 Americans. Healthy capitalism does not require the ideas of the extreme right.
— Aaron Hillegass (@AaronHillegass) April 10, 2023
4) My ancestors include Michael Hillegas who was the treasurer of the Continental Congress. The ideas of the extreme right, those pushed by Hillsdale College, are tearing this nation apart.
— Aaron Hillegass (@AaronHillegass) April 10, 2023
Michael Hillegas and his friends who created this nation imagined a pluralistic society where we worked together to find a common ground. To imagine that politics is a football game where only one side wins is anti-American.
— Aaron Hillegass (@AaronHillegass) April 10, 2023
As the great American statesman J. Peterman would say, that certainly looks like a lot of words.
Sound and fury, signifying nothing. Other than that Aaron Hillegass is trying and failing to dig himself out of the hole he’s currently stuck in.
New College professor desperately walking it back after suggesting that if he were "more patriotic," he would "burn the college's buildings to the ground."
This kind of violent, partisan rhetoric has no place in the public university system. https://t.co/jY24YBg34y
— Christopher F. Rufo ⚔️ (@realchrisrufo) April 10, 2023
We all saw what Hillegass wrote.
Receipts: pic.twitter.com/FwXPGVqlJc
— Christopher F. Rufo ⚔️ (@realchrisrufo) April 10, 2023
Also, we’re pa-retty sure that Michael Hillegass would’ve found it pretty anti-American to talk about burning down a college just because you declare it to be fascist. Just sayin’.
Just incredible: the guy glorifying arson attacks against a public university is accusing other people of "fascism."
— Christopher F. Rufo ⚔️ (@realchrisrufo) April 10, 2023
And then pretending that he didn’t mean that thing he said!
And it's a classic walk-back because of the blow-back, not because he didn't mean it.
— Lord of the Flyaways 🇺🇸🔥 (@HangaburDad) April 10, 2023
"Fiery, but mostly peaceful resignation."
— BlimpCo Omniversal (@Blimp_Co2) April 10, 2023
Yeah … and speaking of which:
His future employer should alert the risk management/loss prevention team.
— James Crawford (@DrJCrawford) April 10, 2023
Probably a good idea.
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