Photo credit: Leo Fung

George Ciccariello-Maher, an associate professor of politics at Philadelphia’s Drexel University is expected to be reprimanded after tweeting a Christmas message that seemed to approve of white genocide. But, according to the professor, his post was meant to be satirical.

On Christmas Eve, Cicariello-Maher shared his holiday celebrations with his 11,000 Twitter followers. However, instead of simply wishing them a merry Christmas, he posted about wanting for the mass slaughter of whites.

“All I want for Christmas is White Genocide,” he tweeted according to the Associated Press.

Shortly after posting his controversial message, the professor, who also covers race and racism subjects, was summoned by Drexel University officials to a meeting. In his defense, Cicariello-Maher said that his post was meant to make fun of the notion of white genocide, which he claims was invented by supremacists. Even after he was confronted by the university, the professor still did not appear apologetic.

“It is a figment of the racist imagination, it should be mocked, and I’m glad to have mocked it,” he said.

However, even though his initial post was meant to be satirical, he went a step further by praising the massacre of white French Creoles in Haiti during the slave apprising in 1804 through a follow-up tweet.

University officials, fortunately, do not share the same humor as Cicariello-Maher and referred to the professor’s online statements as “utterly reprehensible” and “deeply disturbing.” The university also noted that although it respects the faculty members’ right to free speech, it emphasized that Cicarriello-Maher’s statements do not reflect the values of the academic institution.

It is not yet clear how Drexel University will handle the controversy stirred up by the professor but the school might take action against Cicariello-Maher.

According to the professor, he has already received hundreds of death threats online after he posted his offensive Christmas message.