Was Elon Musk Right To Suspend Ye? Let’s Discuss.
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December 2, 2022So if you watched our livestream this morning you got a little taste of the inner struggle I’m having over this whole suspending-Ye-from-Twitter thing.
Ostensibly, the reason for the suspension (according to the decision maker himself) was because of the swastika-inside-the-Star-of-David graphic that Ye said he planned to use for his presidential campaign logo. That crossed Elon’s red line.
And listen, after watching the sh*tshow that was Ye on the Infowars podcast yesterday, my initial reaction to hearing the news that Ye got suspended on Twitter was, “Well…of course he was.” Elon said that posting the symbol that Ye did violated Twitter’s rules about inciting violence. And you can certainly make a case for why a swastika could incite violence.
But we’ve been railing against censorship for YEARS now. We’ve pushed back against the very idea of “hate speech” and “hate crimes” – because who’s the ultimate arbiter? Isn’t the whole point of the First Amendment to defend free speech EVEN WHEN we are personally offended by it?
I’m not saying I have the solution to this whole dilemma. I’m the first to admit I’m really struggling with this. I don’t want to be hypocritical about 1st amendment issues. We’ve always maintained that daylight is the best disinfectant. That “hate speech” is a slippery slope. That the purpose of the first amendment is to protect speech we’re most offended by. But it’s also true that social media platforms AMPLIFY crazy voices like Ye’s – and that amplification DOES have real world consequences because Ye is so influential. I’m having a really tough time squaring all of it. What should be done with voices like his? And how do we prevent the slippery slope?
Is it even possible to have a real “town square” any longer?
Elon Musk is now the CEO and owner of a PRIVATE entity, so he is perfectly entitled to suspend whoever he wants for whatever reason he wants. And I don’t envy him having to make these decisions. But the problem with these decisions is that it’s nearly impossible to be consistent with them.
Here’s a great example.
I mean, he’s got a point here. Yes, of course, Ye was outright and DIRECTLY as anti-Semitic as a person could be on the podcast yesterday. And this symbol above wasn’t as overt. But it’s pretty hard to argue that it ISN’T a swastika. So why is it allowed to stand?
And if the rule is that we’re just gonna ban anyone who’s openly a self-described Nazi, why aren’t we doing that with self-described communists? Communism is responsible for millions of deaths too. So again, WHERE IS THE LINE, and more importantly, WHO IS DRAWING IT?
There is a part of me that thinks Ye and other lunatics like him SHOULD have equal access to platforms like Twitter, because that’s what the First Amendment is all about. Let him face the consequences of his words in the “town square.” Obviously, he IS facing the consequences financially. But then there’s the other part that recognizes that people like him, who have HUGE influence over millions of people, can inspire insane people to do insane things. Is that just the assumed risk we all must take knowing that social media is the way it is now, so that freedom of speech is still upheld? I don’t know. I just don’t have the answers to this one, y’all.
Very curious to hear your thoughts.
5 Comments
>But it’s pretty hard to argue that it ISN’T a swastika.
It’s pretty easy actually, at least in the NAZI sense, since it faces the other way and has been used as a holy symbol in Thailand (where the conference was) for thousands of years.
>So why is it allowed to stand?
See above.
I think as long as you don’t say things like “I wish all Republican voters would die.” Or I wish all Democrat voters would die.” Or worse “I’m going to kill the president.” Nobody should be silenced.
Part of the issue is that the more he is fought, the more salient his message appears. Silencing him is only making what he is saying strong, not weaker. Let him speak and counter with more speech.
Ye with his stupidity is going to get innocent people hurt or worse. I say isolate their comments but put them out there where they can be ridiculed and laughed at. Hopefully with as few viewers as possible.
Mr. Musk could create a special section where these morons once flagged posts are confined. Then Mr. Musk can hold things like contest where the person with the best ridicule, decided by a reader poll, of said moron’s comments get rewarded. Like six months without having to pay the $8 fee to be a blue check.
There is no excuse for praising Nazis and Hilter. What they did is well known and was evil to the core. We, however, will always have those who want to scapegoat others to make up for their feelings of inadequacy. It is really just the bully syndrome.
Ye with his stupidity is going to get innocent people hurt or worse. I say isolate their comments but put them out there where they can be ridiculed and laughed at. Hopefully with as few viewers as possible.
Mr. Musk could create a special section where these morons once flagged posts are confined. Then Mr. Musk can hold things like contest where the person with the best ridicule, decided by a reader poll, of said moron’s comments get rewarded. Like six months without having to pay the $8 fee to be a blue check.
There is no excuse for praising Nazis and Hilter. What they did is well known and was evil to the core. We, however, will always have those who want to scapegoat others to make up for their feelings of inadequacy. It is really just the bully syndrome.
Mr Musk could make it where those who are confined to that special area of Twitter can no longer have followers and cannot make money off the site or their comments.