What rights were deprived from the author exactly? Did I miss a story where he got arrested?
You can perhaps say there are exceptions to views to be tolerated, but we're letting those exceptions become bigger and bigger. It's a dangerous trend, and if it continues, the idea of Freedom of Speech could be gone, even if the Government doesn't explicitly suppress it.
He hasn't been silenced though, if anything his voice carried far further than intended.
I'm not sure Google did the right thing here. The argument that this is the precise sacred cow he was talking about is strong.
But it isn't censorship. His speech wasn't abridged. He isn't in jail. There is no freedom from reaction, nor is there a freedom from outrage. If he had sent out a racist tirade, dropping racial epithets, would you still say his right to free speech was infringed when he got fired?