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/
Show threadThomas ZimmerJun 8, 2023
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/
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 threadannie gray
@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.
Jun 9, 2023 at 6:59amWeb