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News and commentary about the anti-gay lobbyJanuary 13th, 2015
It seems like every day is Andrew Shirvell’s terrible, horrible, no good, very bad day.
For a while it seemed like things were going wonderfully. Shirvell was accepted to Ave Maria School of Law, a Catholic law school with teachings that are “in fidelity to the Catholic Faith as expressed through Sacred Tradition, Sacred Scripture, and the teaching authority of the Church”. And after school he got a prestigious position as Michigan Assistant Attorney General.
But things took a tick in the wrong direction in March 2010 when Chris Armstrong was elected Student Body President at University of Michigan. Armstrong was a Radical Homosexual Activist, you see.
And rather handsome.
So Shirvell decided that he needed to keep an eye on things. Not having the distractions of wife or family, Shirvell had plenty of time to keep track of what kind of radical homosexual agenda Armstrong was up to and report on it in a blogsite dedicated to just that purpose.
He hid in Armstrong’s bushes, peered in his windows, and followed him on campus taking pictures to post on chris-armstrong-watch.blogspot.com. He posted pictures of Armstrong with swastikas scribbles on his face and accused him of being racist and a pervert and Satan’s representative on the Student Council.
His efforts caught him some attention, such as an interview with Anderson Cooper. Shirvell probably thought that was going to be a good day, but… well… it really wasn’t.
At first his boss, AG Mike Cox defended Shirvell’s right to “free speech outside work hours”. Cox even went on Cooper’s show to defend him. That proved not to be a good day for either of them.
In October 2010, Shirvell took an “indefinite personal leave”, with the expectation of returning to his job after things quieted down and people stopped asking his boss if he usually hired escapees from the looney bin. Nevertheless, no, not a good day.
But on November 8, 2010, Andrew was fired. It seems that some of his cyber-stalking was done on office computers. Definitely a terrible, horrible day.
But that wasn’t no good, very bad enough. Armstrong sued Shirvell for harassment, asking for $25,000. And being short on funds, Shirvell chose to hire a lawyer that didn’t have the best track record: himself.
Maybe he thought it a daring strategy, but when he spent an hour questioning himself on the stand, it probably didn’t give quite the impression that he wanted. The jury didn’t think that Armstrong’s request was reasonable and came back with different verdict: 4.5 million dollars. Definitely a no good day, no good at all.
He then tried to sue Armstrong’s attorney for suggesting that he wasn’t the brightest bulb in the hallway. (What are they teaching at Ave Maria? Yikes!). But the judge tossed the case saying that the attorneys statements were either her opinion or, perhaps, true. Terrible, check; horrible, check; no good, check; very bad, check.
But there was a bright ray of sunshine in the dark. In December 2012, Judge Paula Manderfield told the state of Michigan that they had to pay Shirvell unemployment. He had a First Amendment right to say crazy wackadoodle things and not be fired for it. So there’s that.
But this week he had another terrible, horrible, no good, very bad day. A Michigan appeals court ruled that he doesn’t get any unemployment compensation after all. Embarrassing your boss and discrediting the state isn’t protected speech, it turns out. (Detroit Free Press)
The attorney general’s office was justified in firing Andrew Shirvell in 2010 because his posts on Facebook and an anti-gay blog, as well as his campus visits and TV appearances, clearly had an adverse impact on the agency’s credibility, the court said in a 3-0 decision released Friday.
“Shirvell’s conduct undermined one of the department’s specific missions — i.e. the integrity of its anti-cyberbullying campaign,” said judges Stephen Borrello, Christopher Murray and Peter O’Connell. “By employing an individual such as Shirvell, whose conduct Cox agreed amounted to bullying, the department undermined its own message.”
Ya think?
Andrew plans on appealing to the Michigan Supreme Court.
“Every public employee, whether liberal or conservative, will now be in fear of what they’re doing on their off hours,” he said.
Yep, Andrew Shirvell is still nutty as squirrel poo. And he has probably moved his obsession on to some other handsome radical homosexual activist and is busy creeping out whomever he meets.
But at this point all I can feel for him is pity. That’s a long string of terrible, horrible, no good, very bad days.
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Hyhybt
January 13th, 2015
If you’re spending your off hours stalking people and defaming them, you SHOULD fear getting in trouble over it.
Josh
January 13th, 2015
Am I loony or did you confuse “Anderson” and “Armstrong” in many places?
Lucrece
January 14th, 2015
I pity him, he seems to have a really bad case of Asperger’s so I can’t take him too seriously.
Spunky
January 14th, 2015
I feel so bad for Andrew Shirvell. This is the classic, 5th-grade, I-have-a-crush-on-you-but-can’t-properly-express-myself-so-I’m-going-to-harass-you-instead-and-never-admit-my-true-feelings.
Most of us grow out of this type of behavior. I guess some boys just never become men. What a waste…
Stephen
January 14th, 2015
I’m surprised Liberty Council isn’t in on this. Matt Staver would have all kinds of fascinating insights.
Richard Rush
January 14th, 2015
“But at this point all I can feel for him is pity.”
If you really cared, Timothy, you would send him some of that
renewed hope in a jar.
Eric Payne
January 14th, 2015
Y’know, if Shirvell hadn’t been a semi-public figure, this wouldn’t have been a national news story.
Shirvell is, simply, another victim of mental illness — the onset of paranoia is almost always centered around a single fixation by the paranoid.
Those of us who believe government needs to fix itself may think… oh… “John Boehner is the devil,” but we don’t believe wholeheartedly it’s true enough to buy handguns, rifles and ammo.
I’m hoping the least 3 years have seen Mr. Shirvell receiving therapy and counseling, and that he’s coping with his paranoia in a healthy manner.
(Meaning: I hope that since he’s dropped out of public sight, he’s worked up the courage to go get fucked already.)
Timothy Kincaid
January 14th, 2015
Josh,
Yes I did. Thanks. I’ve corrected the text.
Priya Lynn
January 14th, 2015
“Yep, Andrew Shirvell is still nutty as squirrel poo.”
LOL
NancyP
January 14th, 2015
Apparently one Ohio man did decide that Boehner was the devil and started assembling an arsenal. No motive has been uncovered yet. I will guess that Boehner is not conservative enough for the Ohioan would-be assassin.
enough already
January 14th, 2015
Goodness. Isn’t it reassuring to know that elections don’t matter, because the quality of people working in state offices where life and death decisions are made is irrelevant?
Ben in oakland
January 14th, 2015
I’m going to say it once again:
I am increasingly convinced that the bulk of our most virulent opposition consists of a coterie of homo-hating-homos.
I’m not saying that Her Majesty is a homo-hating-homo. But all of the warning signs are there: on session with homosexuality in others, especially attractive others. Complete irrationality on the subject. Did I mention obsession?
Bryan Fischer comes to mind. When asked a direct question about whether he had any homo-directed thoughts, he said “don’t go there.” A direct evasion to a direct question.
Timothy Kincaid
January 14th, 2015
Ben,
Occasionally we get third hand info about one or another of the more virulent phobes. We do not and will not run with that information without corroboration or – at lease – a first hand account, but that doesn’t mean that we don’t believe it.
Bernie Keefe
January 14th, 2015
The man needs serious help.
Mark F.
January 14th, 2015
@Timothy. Sometimes there is more than a hand involved. I’ve heard of many oral accounts.
Ben in Oakland
January 14th, 2015
Absolutely, Timothy. That’s why I was deliberately circumspect, except in the matter of royalty.
BTW, it should read an obsession. My ipad is a typo-hating typo generator.
Paul Douglas
January 15th, 2015
I agree with Spunky:
“I feel so bad for Andrew Shirvell. This is the classic, 5th-grade, I-have-a-crush-on-you-but-can’t-properly-express-myself-so-I’m-going-to-harass-you-instead-and-never-admit-my-true-feelings.”
Most of us grow out of this type of behavior. I guess some boys just never become men. What a waste…”
Instead they often become catholic priests.
Priya Lynn
January 15th, 2015
I agree with Spunky too.
Nathaniel
January 15th, 2015
Stephen:”I’m surprised Liberty Council isn’t in on this.”
That’s easy to explain. No matter what way you cut it, Shirvell broke the law. He stalked and harassed another person. Even they would find that hard to defend, since it would be impossible to blame Armstrong or the Gay Agenda for this man’s inability to follow the law.
Soren456
January 15th, 2015
If Shirvell had based his appeal on his illness, he might have prevailed.
Regan DuCasse
January 15th, 2015
It shouldn’t be forgotten, that a few of Liberty U’s legal officers, aided and abetted a kidnapping of a little girl in a custody case.
The child’s second parent was eventually awarded full custody, and the child was taken from this country and hasn’t been seen since.
So breaking the law means nothing to LU.
But they probably thought Shirvell was weird, even for them, and declined firing up their ambulance to chase him with.
Nathaniel
January 16th, 2015
Actually, Regan, I had forgotten about that. However, their argument would be that they were saving the child from The Gay Agenda. While that doesn’t really justify breaking the law, it at least could seem more virtuous than Shirvell’s actions. That said, it is a useful reminder of how some people really aren’t above breaking the law to punish gay people for being gay.
Elizabeth
January 16th, 2015
Reminds me of a cartoon in the latest New Yorker that reads- “I’m not stalking you. I’m binge-watching you.â€
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