Love is all you need

By now, you have probably heard the tale of Arthur "Mac" Love IV, who was, up until last Saturday, the deputy director of the Maryland Governor’s Office of Community Initiatives.

As the Baltimore SUN describes it, that agency's mission is to oversee the state’s ethnic and cultural commissions, community service programs and religious outreach.

Last week, in furtherance of that mission, Love posted on his Facebook page memes and quotes in support of 17-year-old vigilante hobby cop Kyle Rittenhouse, the kid who got his mommy to drive him 30 miles to Kenosha so he could strut around and (allegedly) kill two people and maim a third with his rifle.

One of the images showed young Rittenhouse shooting people in Wisconsin, fellow citizens protesting the shooting of Jacob Blake, and added the caption  “This is the definition of self-defense.”

Another of the images Love posted depicted a police officer giving a thumbs up, with the slogan, “Don’t be a thug if you can’t take a slug.”

Keeping in mind that his job was helping ethnic communities and the religious, Love posted these images, and had a can tied to him for his efforts on Saturday.

He now says he should not have been fired and wants his life back because he is an "innocent American."

Shareese Churchill, a spokeswoman for Gov. Hogan, said, “These posts are obviously totally inappropriate,” and Love's boss, Steve McAdams, Executive Director for the Office of Community Initiatives, put this out in a statement:

“These divisive images and statements are inconsistent with the mission and core values of the Office of Community Initiatives. Earlier today, I relieved this employee of his duties."

“I was appalled by what I saw and what I read,” said Del. Darryl Barnes, the chair of the Maryland Legislative Black Caucus.

As you might have expected, the Facebook furor was quick and mighty, with the usual chorus of "But his First Amendment rights!" and a lot of indignation, some of it righteous, some not so much.

Once again, we are reminded that no one abrogated his right to free speech. Indeed, he did speak freely!  We shouldn't confuse free speech with prior restraint. The Constitution forbids us from being kept from saying what we want beforehand.

McAdams and Gov. Hogan used their right of free speech to tell Love, "You're fired!"

That's the way it works when you think that pasting dumb memes is more important than the $77,000 a year job you just tossed away.