In the wake of racist comments online last weekend by a Freeport Volunteer Fire Department firefighter and officer, we’re compelled to do two things:

First, we want to applaud the department for suspending the firefighter, Christopher Negley, indefinitely and convening an investigation into the matter.

Second, we want to add our voice to the chorus of condemnations that have been expressed on social media.

Negely’s comments are unacceptable and deserve a swift, unequivocal rebuke.

Not only did Negley deploy a racial slur in a public forum, he also, by implication, made clear that his racism runs deeper than an ill-advised turn of phrase.

Black people protesting the shooting of Antwon Rose II aren’t just n---s, they’re jobless, menthol cigarette-smokiing, Nike sneaker-wearing caricatures, according to Negley.

Ladies and gentlemen, it doesn’t get much more repugnant than this.

Now, we’ve also seen it mentioned online that this man is entitled to his opinions.

Absolutely; it’s a free country. Negley is entitled to spew forth all of the reductive, hate-filled jeremiads he can stomach, to anyone who will listen.

Here’s what he’s not entitled to:

Volunteer with a government-funded agency responsible for the safety of all citizens in the region.

Represent the membership of a volunteer organization as an elected officer.

Be entrusted with the health and safety of individuals in emergency situations that may at any point become life-or-death scenarios.

Those things are not rights; they are privileges, which Negley forfeited the moment he expressed views which are incompatible with both the tenets of this country and of the department in which he served.

There’s little left to say or do in this matter but make Negely’s suspension from the department permanent.

Racism has no place in American society, and no place in Freeport VFD or any other fire department — volunteer or paid — in Pennsylvania or across the country.