Nurse ousted from UNC Hospitals after online racially charged comments
A nurse is no longer employed by UNC Hospitals after an investigation of racially charged comments she made on social media.
A social media account belonging to Georgia Gray, who is listed as a Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetist at UNC Medical Center, made comments the appeared to be referencing recent protests in response to the death of George Floyd, some of which have turned violent.
"Bring in the ammunition. These acts are not at all about injustice or racism. The devil incarnated is out in the form of rioters and assaulters, and we all know this deep down. We all know the differences. They've proven that over and over," the comment read. "Bring on the devil dogs. Bring on the guns. It looks like we are going to war on our own soil for the first time since the 1800s. So be it. Why should we care about the loss of life on these animals when good, innocent people are being murdered? Enough is enough."
The post went viral, leading UNC Health to launch an investigation.
"Georgia Gray is employed by UNC Health Care System as an employee at UNC Hospitals. We are conducting an investigation in accordance with our HR policies for personnel matters," UNC Health spokesman Alan Wolf said.
Gray released the following statement to WRAL News on Wednesday.
"I apologize for the confusion of my words on social media yesterday. I should have explained the meaning of my post more eloquently. It was not meant to be discriminatory at all, and was not aimed at any one color or culture. It was a hurt and frustrated response to the violent occurrence in Richmond, VA last weekend where a multi family residence with a child inside was set on fire by looters, and then first responders were blocked from getting to the residence. The second half of my post was deleted so that only my words about that occurrence were shown. This made my words seem to be a general statement when in fact it was a response to the truth that human beings, including a child, could have been burned alive. I do not know the color of those in the residence, the looters, or the first responders.
"I have spent my life trying to save and protect lives by becoming an EMT at a young age, participating in the United States Air Force Reserves as a flight nurse to now being a Nurse Anesthetist. The lack of humanity and the violence in the hijacked equality movement is what I was responding to with the example of the occurrence in Richmond, VA. If we lose our humanity, what do we have left as a society? If people of any heritage continue to hate others because of the color of their skin, when will we ever have equality? My motto is, 'Being Human is Universal,' because it is. Again, I regret the words used in my posting, and would like everyone to know that it was a hurt and frustrated response to the violence in our country during this tense time. It pains me to see people hurting each other, and I hope and pray that violence will come to an end and that equality will truly be reached in our country."
