Thomas ZimmerJun 8, 2023

Key point by Moira Donegan - and exactly the intended effect: Make Twitter completely unusable for those who dare to use it as a tool to publicly question reactionary dominance in any way.

A weaponization of “free speech” to sabotage whatever is left of Twitter as an instrument to democratize the public discourse.

Show threadThomas ZimmerJun 8, 2023
Taking the blocking function away really is the perfect encapsulation of what the reactionary “free speech” crusade has always been about: The freedom of some people to subject others to their speech, their worldview – to force them to listen and endure. 2/
Show threadThomas ZimmerJun 8, 2023
Twitter, at its best, had been instrumental in amplifying the voices of traditionally marginalized groups. That’s where it really demonstrated its democratizing potential, enabling people with no traditional access to power to speak to elites directly, criticize them in the public square. 3/
Show threadThomas ZimmerJun 8, 2023
Much of the moral panic over “cancel culture” and a “free speech crisis” is a reaction to precisely this: Traditionally marginalized groups have gained enough influence and have acquired the technological means to affect the political debate. 4/
Show threadThomas ZimmerJun 8, 2023
Twitter has been crucial in this uphill struggle of traditionally marginalized groups finally making their demands heard, being able to extract a political cost for certain discriminatory speech and behavior: a tool for organizing, a platform, a global amplifier. 5/
Show threadThomas ZimmerJun 8, 2023
How valuable this has been is evidenced by the fact that many of those elites are so consistently bemoaning “persecution” – and, like Musk, wish to sabotage and destroy this instrument for public criticism. All in the name of “free speech.” 6/
Show threadThomas ZimmerJun 8, 2023
To the extent that traditional societal elites – and elite white men, in particular – face a little more scrutiny today than in the past, that they have been deprived of their supposed “right” to unquestioned deference and affirmation, Twitter has helped democratize public life. 7/
YouCan’tHandleTheTruthJun 8, 2023
Show threadThomas Zimmer
On the Right, the only definition of “freedom” that matters is the freedom to impose a reactionary “natural” order on others and subjugate all those who dare to deviate. This is one way it manifests: The “freedom” to force others to listen to your abuse. 8/
Jun 8, 2023 at 4:50pmIvory for iOS
Show threadThomas ZimmerJun 8, 2023
This idea of “freedom” as the power to curtail the freedom of others is an Ur-American ideology invoked by white settlers, apologists of slavery, and opponents of civil rights as justification for their quest to dominate. They all presented themselves as defenders of “freedom.” 9/
Show threadThomas ZimmerJun 8, 2023
We are all tired of reading about Twitter. But there are some real stakes, and Musk’s assault on the virtual public square has been part of the reactionary project to restore this white male freedom that is at the very core of the Right’s vision for America.
 
I wrote about this a while ago here: https://open.substack.com/pub/thomaszimmer/p/the-sabotage-of-twitter-is-a-disaster?r=2xrrs&utm_medium=ios&utm_campaign=post
The Sabotage of Twitter Is a Disaster for Democracy

Thoughts on Musk’s destruction of the virtual public square – and what democracy is losing

Democracy Americana
Show threadLorq Von RayJun 8, 2023
@tzimmer_history - So the Alt-Right-loony-come-lately has whizzed away $30 Billion of his investors' money to boot. Now what? How does he rationalize that away and why aren't investors quitting him because of it?
Show threadJennifer Moore 😷Jun 8, 2023

@lorq

Because his investors are happy for him to continue doing what he's doing. They didn't like Twitter as it was, and they didn't particularly mind whether he changed it or broke it.

Show threadRed FasterJun 8, 2023
@tzimmer_history also tired of hearing this boring take a thousand times from exTwits whose world ended
Show threadRabbi Jill ZimmermanJun 8, 2023
@tzimmer_history great analysis. Thank you
Show threadTom SpettigueJun 8, 2023
@tzimmer_history I mean, unfortunately, Twitter is lost - and that was pretty much guaranteed from day one, when it was setup as a for-profit, centralized corporate entity. As time stretches out to infinity, the likelihood of a corporation being taken over by malicious actors is basically guaranteed - the users, the PEOPLE, had no teeth. This is why Mastodon is a superior model, and why people on the left must make a conscious effort ot utilize services that coincide with our values.
Show threadTom SpettigueJun 8, 2023
@tzimmer_history The same fate awaits everyone who uses Chrome instead of Brave or Firefox, who use Google Workspace or Microsoft 365 instead of OnlyOffice or the Proton alternatives, etc. I understand the convenience factor, but the alternatives are just NOT that hard to switch to, and we continue to only have ourselves to blame for our continued utilization of services which add power to the elite power structure we aim to challenge.
Show threadTom SpettigueJun 8, 2023
@tzimmer_history The Twitter loss is instructive. Fool me once, etc. Leftists and left-adjacent groups, like liberals and progressives, should start migrating to more open, private, and decentralized solutions. #Leftech stands ready to assist anyone - the stakes here are really, really high. They want to know everything about you, and that is a PROFOUND amount of power to be in the hands of profit-seeking corporations and executives.
Show threadannie grayJun 9, 2023
@tzimmer_history I spent too much time blocking creepy, aggressive accounts on twitter just to make it livable. Got worse in the musk era. Glad to say goodbye to all that.
Show threadLee 🌏Jun 11, 2023
@tzimmer_history
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