Difficult Civil Rights Question

[richlevy]

Originally Posted by Ibram

You can't be persecuted or fired for your beliefs.

You CAN be fired for neglecting your duties.

If you're in the KKK, there's a preeeeetty good chance you arent being fair and upholding the law like a good cop.

Its only a matter of finding the instances of discrimination.

If he hasnt done anything racist or discriminatory, ever, then he can't be fired. But if he has, which is most likely given his KKK membership, then he's out.

The article states that they could not find any instances of discrimination. The officer maintains that this was a poor choice on his part caused by the stress of a personal situation.

Legally speaking, the Klan has in the past been labelled a terrorist organization, but in the 1920's it was a huge almost mainstream organization that paraded in Washington.

Also, it seems to have become decentralized, where any local group can adopt the name. This means that there is not one large Klan that can be put on a list.

The two questions are can any employee be fired for legal off-work activities which embarass his or her company and are police any different? Military service members voluntarily accept a code of conduct which does to some degree cover private legal activities. Public figures accept morals clauses in contracts covering private behavior.

Should police be held to a higher standard considering the power they wield and the public trust they hold?