Lesley Carhart 
Not me seeing "I sold my Tesla" and "I quit Twitter" posts in January 2026.
Sorry, but no. You had at least a year, generously. We know where you stand.
While you were waffling on deleting a free social media account numerous innocent people were shot, beaten and sent to concentration camps.
I managed to leave a whole damn country by losing half my income and most of my belongings. FFS. -This- is the threshold to DELETE A HANDLE?
mer@hacks4pancakes Not disagreeing with your point, though. Its rather late to leave, but they are now obviously breaking the law.
@mer Its just... so little, so late.
@hacks4pancakes Totally agree. But even late is preferred to never.
Ponder Stibbons 🇧🇷🇩🇪@hacks4pancakes
I was actually thinking about your "journey" when I wrote this and how many people were "aren't you overreacting"? No... They were closing their eyes...
https://social.saarland/@blackcoffeerider/115895424492547537
I am incapacitated, upset and raging at the same time...
Ponder Stibbons 🇧🇷🇩🇪 (@[email protected])
Dear #US citizens please send this to anyone you know in your government, Senate, law enforcement lawyers or whomever it may concern: https://www.servat.unibe.ch/jurisprudentia/lit/Footprints_of_the_Evil_19_05_2011_SSRN.pdf On March 21st of 1933 in Nazi Germany we saw exactly that what is just happening on the 14th of January in USA. With the general amnesty of #ICE there is no more checks & balances. Don't think for a second that this will play out any other way unless stopped now! https://mastodon.social/@peterjelinek/115892644943868309 Via [email protected] #USPol
Cosmic Excursionist@hacks4pancakes I get that it's a problem. But, I want people to have an off ramp to deradicalize, rather than fearing backlash over deradicalizing. I'm reminded of how I feared outsiders would treat me when I left a cult a decade ago. Lots of people in cults don't leave because the world outside the cult is hostile.
LWH@hacks4pancakes in my opinion, this narrative is not productive and turns the focus towards yourself and not the cause
Back To AnalogIn honor of MLK birthday: In the end, we will remember not the words of our enemies, but the silence of our friends.
Comfortably Numb@hacks4pancakes There is a push in non-US countries to get people off X due to it producing abusive images and CSAM and breaking the law. So less due to Elons politics and more due to other things.
epicdemiologist@hacks4pancakes Any time is the right time to stop giving money and oxygen to Nazis.
@epicdemiologist It helps, but it is incredibly little, incredibly late to brag about it publicly.
@hacks4pancakes It's still counterproductive to punish people for doing the right thing. Haven't you ever met one of those folks who give a sarcastic "so glad you decided to join us!" when you're late? Did it make you respect their point of view?
Kayla Eilhart (en)@hacks4pancakes I had to check and it's now 1 year an 2 months since I deleted everything I posted on twitter via script and left only directions to fediverse for stragglers. Fortunately, I never owned Tesla, I like cars being cars and not dysfunctional gimmicks (I hate not having physical buttons and other physical controls for most of the stuff in the car).
Dave Ackley@hacks4pancakes
or... when a situation is deteriorating at
an accelerating rate, then: Whenever
You Left Was A Great Time To Go.
or... when a situation is deteriorating at
an accelerating rate, then: Whenever
You Left Was A Great Time To Go.
Cattz 
@hacks4pancakes in the UK you have the year of the car in most the licence plates so seeing Teslas after 2022 are straight red flags for me. Before that you could be really into the clouds, maybe. After? No way.
Ray McCarthy@hacks4pancakes
Both bad before Trump's 1st term.
Both bad before Trump's 1st term.
Botolo@hacks4pancakes This is the extreme position that made the Republicans win in 2024. I bought a Tesla before Musk went crazy and I’m still paying for it. I believe in science and I don’t want to go back to a gas car but I can’t afford buying a new EV. I reduced my use of Twitter, but there are still communities that are very active there and I engage with them. If that means you think I stand to the right or close to the crazies that are governing our country, well, you’re completely wrong.
@botolo86 @hacks4pancakes In many countries including Europe viewing CSAM accidentally is illegal and they are posting a lot of it on X. I would encourage you to delete your X account and leave. I get you will leave some communities but those communities are likely reforming on sites that respect the law.
@mer @hacks4pancakes I have been using Twitter from Day 1 and never a single time I was exposed to graphic videos or child abuse/pornography videos. Having said this, I’m using Twitter sporadically at this point. My critique is on this extreme idea that if someone continues to use Twitter today, that means they stand with fascism, nazism, republicans, etc. Just FYI, Obama keeps using Twitter. I doubt he is a nazi or Republican.
@botolo86 @hacks4pancakes Its a recent problem from Grok. Its reasonable your not aware of it. Unfortunately it would just take one timeline refresh to break the law. So the recommendation for your wellbeing is to leave. Regardless of what anyone else does. For your own benefit don't stay and don't leave data there to be abused.
derptron@botolo86 @mer @hacks4pancakes I'm with you, but invoking Obama doesn't exactly make your case. It's completely unsurprising that he'd continue to participate on a Nazi platform if it remained popular. How can he pretend to everyone that he has a spine unless he does?
@crazyeddie @mer @hacks4pancakes unfortunately at the end of the day there is nothing like Twitter if you want to keep up with some communities, the news, etc. The two alternatives to Twitter are Threads and Mastodon. Threads has the same moral issues of Twitter (maybe a little bit less), so if no Twitter, then no Threads. Mastodon is just not there yet as size of the community, breadth of topics, and the way it can highlight interesting or urgent topics (because of no algo).
@crazyeddie @mer @hacks4pancakes there is also a resistance fight reason to stay on Twitter. My original account has tons of years and I don’t want someone else to take my username (it’s very personal to me). I’m not using that account anymore but I’m logging in once in a while to make sure it’s still active. And I am very vocal against the current administration on my alternative account, making sure that my voice is heard.
@botolo86 Some links on what is happening.
https://www.rte.ie/news/ireland/2026/0107/1551973-grok-concerns-minister/
https://www.businessinsider.com/indonesia-bans-grok-generating-sexual-deepfakes-women-children-ai-2026-1
https://www.wired.com/story/x-grok-app-store-nudify-csam-apple-google-content-moderation/
https://www.wired.com/story/grok-is-generating-sexual-content-far-more-graphic-than-whats-on-x/
https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2026/jan/05/elon-musk-grok-ai-digitally-undress-images-of-women-children
https://www.irishtimes.com/ireland/2026/01/05/watchdog-raises-concerns-with-eu-over-x-sexually-explicit-images-created-by-grok-ai/
@mer thank you for sharing this. Yes I have been following this and it’s affecting Grok, a tool I don’t use. Also, if someone is using an AI tool to make child pornography, it doesn’t mean all the people using that same AI tool will see those photos or are criminally liable. It’s like saying that people using Photoshop are liable because some users use that software to make porn or illegal content.
@botolo86 Anyone who can see them is liable in this case. Retweeting or embedding would be distribution. The law is very broad. It makes the risk of the platform very high. Since you are aware, I will say no more. Have a good day.
@botolo86 @mer @hacks4pancakes Yeah. Nazis have some cool shit.
We all have our choices to make.
I don't care what you do--got my own sins to deal with. I'm just saying that invoking Obama doesn't help your case.
@crazyeddie @mer @hacks4pancakes that’s fine. My whole argument is just to say that the extreme position of saying “if you own a Tesla and use Twitter you’re a fascist, a nazi, you support the current administration” is the BS that made Trump President in 2024. Unfortunately.
@botolo86 @mer @hacks4pancakes It really does no good to blame those who decided to be more moral than you for the problems caused by so many deciding to go ahead and be immoral because it's convenient.
You lost me. I'm all for the Tesla owners continuing to drive their Teslas. It's the right thing to do. I'm even understanding of those who decide morality is just too hard. I'm not down with those who do that and then blame those who decide to keep their convictions intact.
@crazyeddie @mer @hacks4pancakes It’s anedoctal but many democrats I know did not vote in 2024 and many moderate republicans I know voted for Trump because they were all alienated by extreme positions such as the one I criticized at the beginning of this thread. I’m not blaming Trump on the specific user I criticized, it’s more of an observation on how a party that moves too much to one side may trigger, as a a response, a move to the completely opposite side. It’s a rubber band effect.
@botolo86 @mer @hacks4pancakes Yeah. You're being pretty standard stupid and rather made everyone's point for them. I'm out.
Cassandrich@botolo86 @hacks4pancakes You absolutely did not "buy a Tesla before Musk went crazy" (let's say nazi not crazy, ok? cos that's what you mean and it's not cool equating that with a mental health problem) because he's always been this. Folks who didn't see that were purposefully looking the other direction. And Teslas have always been the most technically shit EVs out there. The only reason to buy one was being in the Elon fan club.
@dalias @hacks4pancakes show me an EV in the U.S. that has the same performance and features of a Tesla Model 3 and same price, back 3 to 4 years ago and I’ll agree with you.
@botolo86 @hacks4pancakes Same features like lack of door handles so you can die a fiery death?
@botolo86 @hacks4pancakes Teslas weren't technically shit because other EVs had "better performance or features".
They were shit because they intentionally broke all kinds of quality and safety norms and regulations in the "move fast and break things" mentality.
Everyone who wasn't fawning on Elon's masturbatory techno-futurist narrative knew this.
@dalias @hacks4pancakes oh you mean like the Model 3 being one of the safest cars according to the Euro NCAP? https://www.euroncap.com/en/press-media/press-releases/euro-ncap-names-best-in-class-cars-tested-in-2025/
@botolo86 @hacks4pancakes I'm not going to research for you why whatever sources you cherry-pick are wrong. The rate of fire deaths in Teslas is something like 10x higher than cars in general. That alone is inexcusable especially when explained by an intentional choice not to follow an obvious norm. Your angle is becoming increasingly obvious.
@dalias @hacks4pancakes that’s fine. I guess we need to agree to disagree.
Eggs now in different baskets.@dalias @botolo86 @hacks4pancakes
I will post this link again.
Not for those of nervous disposition.
The Dangerous Feature in Tesla's Doors
G@botolo86 @hacks4pancakes I keep hearing people saying they can't drop Twitter because it's essential to reach certain communities but I've never heard anyone say what these communities are. Everyone I know who has tried dropping it for mastodon hasn't missed it and loads of influencer types have said that even though the follower counts are lower they get more engagement from the smaller number of real people than the hordes of bots.
@stark @hacks4pancakes In my case it’s 3d printing and retrogaming folks. Most of the companies and top users I follow don’t have an account here on Mastodon.
@botolo86 @hacks4pancakes not enough retrogaming on mastodon?? That's like one of its key demographics :) there are whole servers dedicated to the topic.
@stark @hacks4pancakes unfortunately most of the top players in the retrogaming market are not on mastodon: commodore, 8bitdo, retro games ltd, Modretro, analogue, etc.
Ria Price@hacks4pancakes never had a twitter or a tesla, and honestly, never saw the appeal of either :/ (except perhaps a really early model, but only for an aesthetic reason, and that it was an EV sports car, that could go zoom zoom- past that, buy one? nah)
Emmavetch@hacks4pancakes better late than never. I’m glad that folks are waking up, no matter how long it took them to do so.
RLFP@hacks4pancakes I have a whole lotta feels about when people declare that … like they never were directly supportive of inhumanizing people they did not know or cared about.
But I am still kinda happy that they realized they were in the wrong. Little win and in no way enough, but every small extra ember can stoke a fire.
But I am still kinda happy that they realized they were in the wrong. Little win and in no way enough, but every small extra ember can stoke a fire.
Ferret@Lesley Carhart :unverified: Most people are still very much in the dark. You talk about Grok being a nazi, calling itself MECHAHITLER, creating child porn, and so forth, and most of the time regular people will reply with, "Really? Are you sure? I didn't hear anything about that."
People don't pay attention because they're stuck in this social media and they don't know how to pay attention. It's a vicious cycle. So anytime someone escapes it, it should be welcomed. And trust me, we aren't even close to the endgame yet.
This is also a dangerously individualistic sentiment. The point of people ending support for MAGA isn't so that they can personally become morally acceptable.
People don't pay attention because they're stuck in this social media and they don't know how to pay attention. It's a vicious cycle. So anytime someone escapes it, it should be welcomed. And trust me, we aren't even close to the endgame yet.
This is also a dangerously individualistic sentiment. The point of people ending support for MAGA isn't so that they can personally become morally acceptable.
Lesley Carhart :unverified: (@[email protected])
22.5K Posts, 2.36K Following, 50.3K Followers · I am eminently qualified to speak from experience about a variety of dumpster fires. Director of Incident Response at Dragos, ICS cybersecurity person, @PancakesCon organizer, martial artist, marksman, humanist, level 14 Neutral Good rogue, USAF retired. Speaker available for gigs. Gin connoisseur. Rodent parent. Some dipshit from Chicago. Now an immigrant in Melbourne. I post *very serious* things about infosec. Thoughts are entirely my own. 'they/them' 🏳️🌈 :nonbinary_flag: :asexual_flag:
@hacks4pancakes do you not want people to stop supporting facists? I would welcome my trump supporting aunts and uncles with open arms if they had a change of heart
atraidez@hacks4pancakes Keep cooking
mndnau@atraidez @hacks4pancakes second this. please DO keep cooking <3
Todd Heberlein (social)@hacks4pancakes Quitting Paramount+/CBS is this year's quitting horrible organizations.
@hacks4pancakes can't actually believe how many liberal takes i'm seeing here. if you've bought and sold privately a now-second-hand Tesla, you've directly funded bad people doing bad things, and that's something you've got to sit with and come to terms with yourself. if you've funded bad people - or if you've done nothing to prevent bad people from doing bad things - then oppressed people have every right to be angry with you. performatively posting 'look! i've sold my Tesla!' is not praxis. it doesn't earn you a 'well done'. you've done nothing to help anyone other than yourself financially. also, moral deeds are not transactional, and if you think that you should be rewarded for actions, then you need to deconstruct your capitalism or risk pissing a lot of people off with your niave takes. (1/)
@hacks4pancakes addressing some of the arguments i've seen dropped here:
'we can't be mean to ex-Tesla owners because they won't join our team!'
... then they're not good people and you should focus on other things. moral deeds are not transactional. we shouldn't be rewarding virtue signaling to prevent losing support. you think these people are going to vote any way other than what works best for them? you can't count on vapid support to do shit. you also can't extrapolate this argument & apply it elsewhere; this is the same thought process i'm unlearning as a result of domestic abuse: 'i can't fight back in case i lose material resources'. (2/)
@hacks4pancakes 'don't be mean to the ex-Tesla owners because they were misinformed! it wasn't their fault!'
ignorance isn't a valid defense for shitty behavior. 'i didn't mean to' doesn't mean that you didn't and shouldn't be held responsible for your actions. own that you made a mistake, apologize, and do material things to help others. where are all these Tesla owners posting 'i'm sorry i bought a Tesla. what can i do to organize?'??? (3/)
@hacks4pancakes 'this is individualistic / every little helps / being a good person isn't the aim of the game' / 'i'm going to keep using Twitter & my Tesla because i know i'm rational'
... i'm glad you've got the privilege to abandon morals so easily. this gives 'you've just got to put up with the persecution & genocide of you & your community and vote the "lesser of two evils" Dems'. intersectional community is the foundation of progress. people who give a shit about you and your groups will stick around when you firmly call them out for their flaws, and we shouldn't be doing emotion work by softening our feelings to save others' face. that's the whiteness talking, honey.
'better late than never!'
... did you help convince Tesla owners to ditch their cars? have you been directly affected by the things that Musk has been doing? if not, then why are you even commenting this? stop defending hypothetical people you don't know doing shitty things that you haven't experienced the consequences of. (4/)
@hacks4pancakes 'you're being too extreme! you're making people vote right!' (looking at you, @botolo86 - do you not think you should have apologized after being called out for using 'crazies', which is very ableist?)
... you don't know your political theory. the 'radical flank effect' posits that while the extreme left is unappealing to the general public for their radical ideas, they make the moderate appealing to voters by being so extreme. there's history of this happening in social movements. are you really saying you want a society where conflict & confrontation are buried to keep the peace? because that's describing the state of things now & makes you sound like what you really want is to uphold the status quo.
get me off this middle-class white app istg yall are talking like youve never experienced persecution in your lives. (5/5)