Memphis RN wears violently racist t-shirt to polling place when voting on Tuesday

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T-shirt depicts a Confederate flag with a noose, and the phrase "Mississippi Justice"

A Mississippi Man Wore A Violently Racist Shirt To Vote In The Midterms

How in the **** did he pass background to even sit for the NCLEX, much less begin nursing school?

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1st Amendment rights to freedom of expression

However, we do have to live with the results of exercising that right.

Poor judgment on his part. Not sure he should have been fired.

Nonsense. Of course he should be fired.

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Specializes in Mental Health, Gerontology, Palliative.
"Prior to becoming a nurse, Hickey was a Memphis police officer. He left that job after being arrested in Olive Branch in 2010 and charged with contributing to the delinquency of a minor. He was found with a 17-year-old girl and open alcohol. (It's unclear what the outcome of the case was.)"ch??? .

How did someone like that get registration as a nurse?

The problem with free speech is that too many people want to say what ever they want without thinking about the consequences of their actions

As for loosing his job, he's lucky he didnt loose his registration, his actions would have constituted at least four breaches under our code of conduct

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How did someone like that get registration as a nurse?

The problem with free speech is that too many people want to say what ever they want without thinking about the consequences of their actions

As for loosing his job, he's lucky he didnt loose his registration, his actions would have constituted at least four breaches under our code of conduct

he may yet, you know the BON is not the fastest org.

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while it was a dumb shirt to wear, there is so much triggered in this thread

Like anybody here commenting is a perfect angel lol

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Specializes in Flight, ER, Transport, ICU/Critical Care.
I just found that, yes it appears I was wrong, he is only licensed as an EMT in Tennessee, which is where he works, but he holds a Mississippi multi-state RN license.

He could be a flight nurse in Missippi. To fly patients into Tennessee from a surrounding state (Mississippi) a nurse must be an EMT.

IDK what he does, but I now suspect.

While I don't generally endorse Doxxing in any form - hmmm.

:angel:

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Specializes in Flight, ER, Transport, ICU/Critical Care.
while it was a dumb shirt to wear, there is so much triggered in this thread

Like anybody here commenting is a perfect angel lol

What? Not triggered. See cop on toast thread for that.

LOL - I know as TRUTH and FACT I'm not a RACIST and DO NOT discriminate.

Easy peasy lemon breezy. Right?

I'm firmly comfortable commenting on the fact this nurse seems like he might be suffering from a lack of self-awareness and epically bad judgement. Hell, he could be a great guy just testing the limits of FREEDOM OF SPEECH. Doesn't matter - for better or worse - he has branded himself.

Life is about choices. Let your freak flag fly.

~*~*~*~*~

I operate on a few basic principles.

Every patient deserves the best of care - this applies to the wealthy bank president to the penniless undomiciled. No exceptions. In my practice, I've lived and died on a principle of non-discrimination. No one will be treated differently based on income, sex, race, gender/identification or general repulsive jerkiness.

We are imperfect angels.

Two for you!

:angel:

:angel:

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while it was a dumb shirt to wear, there is so much triggered in this thread

Like anybody here commenting is a perfect angel lol

BALONEY.

You don't have to qualify as perfect to object to overt racism. No one is expecting this guy to be perfect, either. There is a WHOLE lot of ground between perfect and RACIST.

His "freedom of speech" remains intact. However, that freedom doesn't protect one from consequences meted out by private entities.

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Agree with the post by Kooky Korky. This is the era when Big Brother became a stark reality. Stupid shirt, yes. But this individual has a right to his own opinions no matter if the general populace or the members of this website agree with them. And as such, he was not there as a representative of nursing nor his employer, he was exercising his right to vote and should have been allowed to do so unencumbered. The legality of the photo is also in question, as the Washington Post notes: In Tennessee, taking photos or videos in a polling location is against the law. So it was the person who took the photo who broke the law. Also, it should be noted that Tennessee is an "at will" employment state but since this person was voting when the decision to fire him was made, it will be interesting to see how this progresses.

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Specializes in Psych, Corrections, Med-Surg, Ambulatory.
Agree with the post by Kooky Korky. This is the era when Big Brother became a stark reality. Stupid shirt, yes. But this individual has a right to his own opinions no matter if the general populace or the members of this website agree with them. And as such, he was not there as a representative of nursing nor his employer, he was exercising his right to vote and should have been allowed to do so unencumbered. The legality of the photo is also in question, as the Washington Post notes: In Tennessee, taking photos or videos in a polling location is against the law. So it was the person who took the photo who broke the law. Also, it should be noted that Tennessee is an "at will" employment state but since this person was voting when the decision to fire him was made, it will be interesting to see how this progresses.

Here is the best reason I can see for firing the guy: Now that his racist views are public record, his employer faces increased liability. Suppose he has a patient of any minority and that patient has a bad outcome under his care. The nurse's known racist leanings would be additional fodder for the lawsuit. If I was the hospital risk manager I'd want him 86ed yesterday.

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Agree with the post by Kooky Korky. This is the era when Big Brother became a stark reality. Stupid shirt, yes. But this individual has a right to his own opinions no matter if the general populace or the members of this website agree with them. And as such, he was not there as a representative of nursing nor his employer, he was exercising his right to vote and should have been allowed to do so unencumbered. The legality of the photo is also in question, as the Washington Post notes: In Tennessee, taking photos or videos in a polling location is against the law. So it was the person who took the photo who broke the law. Also, it should be noted that Tennessee is an "at will" employment state but since this person was voting when the decision to fire him was made, it will be interesting to see how this progresses.

The nurse works in Tennessee, but lives and votes in Mississippi.

As the photo spread, people began identifying the man as Clayton John Hickey, a registered nurse who works at a hospital in Memphis and lives in Olive Branch, Mississippi, where the photo was taken. Public records confirm Hickey is an RN, and that he lives in Olive Branch.

This article references taking selfies, but this statement addresses taking photos in general:

Mississippi: There's no law against taking photos at the polling place, but the state prohibits a voter from showing his or her marked ballot to another person, says Leah Smith of the Mississippi Secretary of State's office.

Voting 2

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Specializes in oncology, MS/tele/stepdown.

It's the hospital's call to fire him. He can sue if he feels it's unjustified.

Play stupid games, win stupid prizes. He should have taken a hint from his like-minded friends and worn a hood.

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