Thomas ZimmerJul 25, 2023
The latest Musk “rebranding” epitomizes the rightwing project to restore dominance: It oozes the aesthetics and sensibilities you will find in a toxic tech bro man cave and is designed to impose them on all of us by brute force - a stunt that is as ridiculous as it is disgusting.
Show threadThomas ZimmerJul 25, 2023

At its best, Twitter provided a way to access diverse voices and perspectives from outside the established institutions. I’ve written extensively about why it was a crucial instrument to democratize the political and cultural discourse - and why losing that would hurt:

https://thomaszimmer.substack.com/p/the-sabotage-of-twitter-is-a-disaster

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 threadThomas ZimmerJul 25, 2023
The virtual public square has been deliberately shattered, the political discourse (re-)fractured, with the intention of making it a lot harder for the perspective and criticism from people with no access to powerful institutional platforms to break through and shape the discussion.
Show threadPēteris KrišjānisJul 25, 2023
@tzimmer_history there was no public square there, it was merely a chatting place. Please, let's stop pretend that it was and overplay it's importance.
Show threadThomas Zimmer
@peteriskrisjanis Spoken like a person with zero stakes in whether or not a democratized public discourse exists - congratulations! Ever spent even a minute reflecting on the role Twitter played in the recent history of social justice movements? Or why people from traditionally marginalized groups have placed so much importance on having access to such a platform? I doubt it.
Jul 26, 2023 at 12:13amIvory for iOS
Show threadPēteris KrišjānisJul 27, 2023
@tzimmer_history I feel you understand "public discourse" differently than I. Twitter was not public discourse. No online really is. It provides false sense of the reach. And I know SJ movements want something to stick, but this is not the way. Never have been.