The problem is the witch hunting. Invariably the wrongthink gets "leaked" to the bottom-dweller clickbait outfits like Vice or Slate who then feed it into the court of public opinion. I agree that there are a great number of things I shouldn't say at work, but that also doesn't mean I'm okay with the threat of being very publicly outed if I do. To me it's very close to the "well if you have nothing to hide" argument.

> appropriately and at the correct times

Where and by whom is appropriateness and timeliness determined?

private institutions, and mostly at their whim and discretion

So if it was Berkeley (a state school), he should have not been fired?

Yes, this has already been addressed. He would have been more protected if it was a state school.