Uni professor slammed for wishing the Queen “excruciating pain”
<p>A linguistics professor has come under fire after tweeting that she hoped the Queen's death was "excruciating". </p>
<p>Uju Anya, a critical race theory professor from Pennsylvania, posted on Twitter last week, "I heard the chief monarch of a thieving raping genocidal empire is finally dying. May her pain be excruciating."</p>
<p>She went on to say, "That wretched woman and her bloodthirsty throne have f***** generations of my ancestors on both sides of the family, and she supervised a government that sponsored the genocide my parents and siblings survived. May she die in agony."</p>
<p>Her original tweet was deleted by the social media platform for violating their guidelines. </p>
<p>Since going viral and thousands of people calling for Anya to apologise, she doubled down on her stance, saying she has nothing but "disdain" for the monarchy. </p>
<p>Again unleashing on Twitter, she wrote, "If anyone expects me to express anything but disdain for the monarch who supervised a government that sponsored the genocide that massacred and displaced half my family and the consequences of which those alive today are still trying to overcome, you can keep wishing upon a star."</p>
<p>Her employer, private university Carnegie Mellon, said in a statement, "We do not condone the offensive and objectionable messages posted by Uju Anya today on her social media account."</p>
<p>"Free expression is core to the mission of higher education. However, the views she shared absolutely do not represent the values of the institution, nor the standards of discourse we seek to foster," they concluded.</p>
<p>Despite thousands of people being up in arms over her comments and demanding an apology, others have jumped to the professor's defence. </p>
<p>Over 4,000 people have signed a petition defending Anya, saying her posts on Twitter spoke to personal anguish the Nigerian-born scholar still feels about atrocities by the British Empire decades ago that touched her family.</p>
<p>The online petition and accompanying letter claim the professor was well within her right to speak freely over the matters, and had just cause to do so. </p>
<p>“As colleagues at other institutions, one thing that sticks out to us is that universities have nothing to gain by calling out individual employees on free speech—especially when they can be seen doing it selectively—as is the case for CMU. Professor Anya’s Twitter clearly states: ‘Views are mine,’” the letter reads in part. </p>
<p>“Yet, her institution took up the charge to admonish a Black woman professor, calling her response to her lived experiences of the real and tangible impacts of colonialism and white supremacy, ‘offensive and objectionable.’ This is unacceptable and dehumanising."</p>
<p>Since the passing of Queen Elizabeth, many have mourned the loss of the monarch, as she was revered as a leader of grace, longevity and resilience. </p>
<p>However, her death also has brought to the surface lingering bitterness in parts of Africa, Asia and the Caribbean, according to reports by <a href="https://apnews.com/article/king-charles-iii-africa-caribbean-slavery-50f9175b541f307adb2e494fcccc80f5" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Associated Press</a>. </p>
<p><em>Image credits: Getty Images / Carnegie Mellon University</em></p>
