Friends, today Facebook decided to uphold the "indefinite suspension" of Donald Trump that it instituted back in January in response, supposedly, to the Capitol Riot and Trump's complicity therein. Probably many of you are completely unsurprised that Facebook decided to keep the suspension in place. I'm a little surprised, and I'm extremely disappointed. Facebook's lack of respect for free speech and open dialogue, and for views that conflict with leftist orthodoxy, is upsetting and deeply worrying, given the pervasive influence of social media and Big Tech. It's a very bad sign for the health of our democracy and for the future of liberty. I'm in such a black mood, in fact, that I posted a long rant on Facebook -- my last political declaration ever on that platform, as I solemnly avowed. See what you make of it.
"Here's the bad news: I'm about to go on a political rant.
Here's the good news: it's the last one you'll ever see from me on Facebook.
Today the Facebook "Oversight Board" announced that it was upholding, for now, the "indefinite suspension" of Donald Trump's Facebook and Instagram accounts imposed in the wake of the Capitol Riot on January 6th. It did challenge the "indeterminate and standardless penalty" of "indefinite suspension" and require Facebook to clarify its position regarding Trump within six months. Facebook could, in the end, decide simply to ban Trump permanently. It probably will.
Progressives and Democrats will cheer this decision. They will cheer it because they hate Trump, and anything that hurts Trump fills them with joy. That is a short-sighted position to take.
Trump was "suspended" in the first place because he is supposed to have encouraged or condoned the Capitol Riot, and because he violated Facebook's (and Twitter's, and YouTube's, and...you get the idea) policy on "civic integrity". The policies designed to suppress violent and hateful content, and "misinformation", are, however, moving targets, and the response to Trump's tweets and posts certainly did not accurately reflect the objective meaning of the words he shared. Trump NEVER called on anyone to use violence. At the rally before the riot, he asked his supporters to remain peaceful. He later called on the rioters to respect and obey the Capitol Police, and to go home. He sympathized with their cause, undoubtedly, but he did not endorse their methods. In the days after the riot, Trump posted innocuous tweets like, "I will not be attending the inauguration." As leftists are wont to do, they applied the most tortured reasoning to conclude that, "I will not be attending the inauguration" actually means "I won't be present on January 20th. Kill them all! Kill them all!" Needless to say, Facebook and other social media companies never applied the same "logic" to Democrats and progressives who voiced support for BLM, despite the fact that BLM demonstrations often become violent and lead to illegality. Facebook's "indefinite suspension" of Donald Trump was not, therefore, based on the fair application of an objective standard. It was based on animus towards Trump, and towards the movement that he represents. Facebook and other social media companies espied, in the days following the Capitol Riot, an opportunity -- a chance to rid themselves permanently of a man they despised, and to cleanse American political life of Trumpism. They jumped at the chance. That's what happened in January of this year. Since then, Facebook, and other social media companies, have simply dug in their heels and refused to admit that they were wrong.
We should reflect on what this "policy" means. It means that, whether you like Trump or not, a man who is respected by and represents a large fraction of the electorate is excluded from political debate on some of the most important platforms in our democracy. It means that, going forward, Facebook and other social media companies will claim total discretion in deciding what information is "misinformation", what transparently non-violent tweets and posts are, in fact "violent", and which voices are admissible in public life, and which are not. Conservatives are worried, because seemingly no conservative is safe in the universe of social media, now that it has become a safe space for progressives. Progressives themselves ought to be worried, however, because, if they think that the arbitrary power of social media companies, which is now used against Trump, can't and won't be used against them, they're very naive.
The sad part is that we had another choice, another path that we could have followed. We could have upheld the principle of free speech and freedom of conscience. We could have declared that the domain of social media is and should be, like the internet as a whole, open and unfettered, and that anyone would be free to share whatever ideas they pleased, the only rule being "caveat emptor". We could have treated the American people like adults, challenging them to "moderate" their own content, and regulate their own consumption of information and opinions. Instead, we chose to demand of "the authorities" that they remove, disable, censor, suspend, or cancel whomever says things we don't like, regardless of the consequences to quality discourse and to diversity of opinion, which is, for some strange reason, the only form of "diversity" we can't abide. In short, we took the easy way out. We'll surely regret it, in time, but apparently not yet.
So...does this mean I'm leaving Facebook? Not at all. Facebook is a wonderful thing. Half the planet is on it for a reason. It's a great platform through which to connect with new people, cultivate friendships, bond with family, and record one's accomplishments, hopes, and dreams. I will use it for all those purposes.
What it isn't is a free and open space for dialogue and debate. Instead, it's a place where political discourse is rigged, and where, in essence, progressive views are welcome, and conservative views are not. What Facebook appears to want from conservatives like me is that we should post vacation photos and cat memes all we like, but on matters political we should...shut up. I plan to oblige.
What I won't do, of course, is retreat from political life, stop voting, or silence myself in platforms where debate and discussion remains open and vital. Neither should anyone else. The stakes are much too high.
I hasten to add that this has NOT been a post about Donald Trump. It's been a post about the kind of democracy and society we want to live in, and whether we can tolerate views and opinions that differ from our own, or whether we insist they they be banished from our sight. It saddens me immensely that Facebook, and America and the West more generally, have chosen to go down this dark path of intolerance. We will rue the day! But, apparently, as I said, we're not there yet."
-- Nicholas Waddy, Facebook Post, 5 May 2021
Your thoughts???
In other news, Trump himself is reacting to Facebook's decision...and not happily, as you might expect:
He's finding workarounds to his eviction from social media, but if you ask me these Plan Bs don't really cut it. The audience for social media is HUGE. No conservative politician or thought leader can truly prosper in modern society unless he can leverage social media. The Trump phenomenon seems to defy most laws of gravity, but I doubt it can defy this one.
You may also want to check out this excerpt from a book on climate change. This scientist is very brave to defy the doom-and-gloom orthodoxy of climate catastrophe. The least we can do is listen to what he has to say:
Here's an intriguing tidbit: the Biden administration is considering subsidizing the nuclear power industry. On one level, this comes as no surprise, since Biden is throwing money in all directions anyway -- why not chuck a few wads of cash into the reactor chamber too? On another level, though, it's counterintuitive, because lefties have been blocking the expansion of nuclear power for decades. One of the main reasons we're so dependent on fossil fuels, in fact, is because the progressives drove a stake through the heart of the nuclear power industry back in the 80s. Will the green fascists grow irate over this move, therefore? Will Biden be hoisted on his own petard? We shall see.
Finally, the U.S. trade deficit reached another record high! Hooray! What this means is that our primary export -- money -- is in greater demand than ever. For the moment, in other words, the Chinese are sending us loads of crap, and all they want in return is U.S. dollars -- you know, those silly little green things we print by the trillions? What a deal! Make it rain, Uncle Joe... Surely, this gravy train will never end. Right? RIGHT? RIGHT???
Dr.Waddy from Jack: Your denunciation of Facebook bigotry is well expressed and well taken. By "the authorities" I assume you were referring to the Facebook Oversight Board and to those who established Facebook's policies on content - organs of private entities. As a conservative I am inclined to say, "well that's free enterprise; if we don't like it we must compete". But then I remember a concept I first heard in Library School 45 years ago: information is going to become a utility. Utilities are highly regulated by government because of their comprehensive importance for our well being. They can be avoided but after having done that for several years I know the heavy price one pays without them, despite the atavistic romance of such living. I recoil from advocating most forms of increased government control but perhaps it may be needed to stymie those who would transform the most free medium of expression of opinion and transmission of information yet at hand in this miraculously advanced technology we enjoy.
ReplyDeleteTotally agree Jack! I already said what I needed to say on FB in regards to this topic. Waving to my friend Ray. P.S. Signs of life on FB are -will be getting few and far in between now too. It's all good, I'll check when I can. smiles
ReplyDeleteTrump got tossed from Twitter and Facebook because he perpetuated a lie that he won the election when he clearly didn't. That lie fueled a deadly insurrection against the U.S. Capitol Building and its occupants. Being tossed for violating the rules of two private companies is very least that the mendacious, racist, homophobic, misogynistic, petty, incompetent Trump deserves!
ReplyDeleteRod,
DeleteOh hypocrite! May God have mercy on you and may you repent of your sins before it is too late! How many cities burned to the lies of the racial grifters? How many died in the flames of their pride and hatred? And yet they remain in their high seats, eating figs with all the surety of an effendi at his leisure, barred not from the company of men, for it is the vanity of men they serve, rather than the justice of God. The Justice of God, increasing each day, held back by the meager prayers of the few Faithful left! What will they do when the cup of His wrath pours forth?
What can the vanity of men do against the justice of God?
Justice, means to render to each what is owed, what is deserved. I cannot help but remind you, we all deserve death, for the wages of sin are death and it is but by availing ourselves of the mercy of God that we may hope. You say the president, in your estimation, deserves to be silenced, well, the Progressives, Socialists, Marxists, and their self-serving Collaborators deserve something as well, but it is impolite to say aloud.
Let us see how much rope Nature and Nature's God will give us, before we hang. For in the words of Benjamin Franklin, "We hang together, or we must surely hang separately."
A new meaning from an old saying.
-Lee
Hey there ROD,
DeleteI didn't realize you were such a genius. You need to start your own social media empire. It will be a smash hit! Go get 'em Rod Man! Eat 'em alive!
Dr.Waddy et al fromJack: But Iremember the Phil Donahue days, when that presumptuously smirking and sneering snob was the casual exemplar of the leftist monopoly of mass media commentary. But then came Rush, who inspired the legions of us who thought we hadno voice! That makes me think we CAN succeed in online opinion expression free of leftist bigotry. We are as ready for it as we were for Rush; bring it on, you with the means to do so and we will give you the support we have given to Rush, his avatars and Fox!
ReplyDeleten
Dr.Waddy from Jack: The very objectively argued and supported article on perceived climate change will be reflexively and emotionally spurned by the woke and their undiscerning followers for its unforgivable rejection of "feelings" in this regard!
ReplyDeleteJack, I agree that private companies should have wide latitude in deciding how to do business, and with whom to do business. BUT...I believe there's also a good case to be made that Facebook has become a "utility" no less valuable to most people than landline phone service (and actually much more valuable), and we don't allow phone companies to deny service to anyone, so... It's time to force Facebook to perform its core function without discrimination: facilitate communication and connection.
ReplyDeleteAnd by "the authorities" I simply meant that, when we don't like any form of speech, we invariably run to the people operating the platform in question and demand that it be removed. That's the sort of tattletale small-mindedness that's become nearly universal in the modern age.
Linda, keep your head above water, if you can! Roll tide, etc etc. :)
Rod, so anyone who "lies" should be tossed from social media (if their "lies" then lead to illegality)? I'm sure you're too dense to realize that you just condemned every BLM leader and most leftists in general to social media death...but you surely did.
Also, Rod, it's pretty clear to me that, had the votes in 2020 been counted the same way they were in 2018, or 2016, or 2014, or...you get the idea...Trump would have won. Ergo, Trump can SAY he "won" all he likes, just as Stacey Abrams can, and does! Since when are we prohibited from saying things that are, or seem to some, untrue?
Lee is mortified by your arrogance and unknowing hypocrisy, as he should be. Anyway, enjoy your thought bubble/safe space, a.k.a. Facebook. It's just become an irrelevancy in political discourse, since REAL discourse is no longer allowed there.
I tend to agree with Lee that this country, and this world, deserve what they get, and far worse. Of course, nothing that happens in this life matters anyway, since it's eternity that counts.
Jack, the Left has tried to silence us countless times, as you point out, and when they haven't been silencing us they've been mocking and maligning us. And look what they have to show for it: a "win" in the 2020 presidential election in the critical states by a margin of 40,000 votes. They're hanging on to power by a thread, despite their herculean/diabolical efforts, and they know it.
And you nailed it on climate change: it's not the numbers, per se, to which the Left clings, but the assumption of moral superiority and the certainty of universal doom if their advice is not followed. They'll NEVER surrender on those fronts -- not even if global temps started to plummet tomorrow. They'd just revise their arguments.
"Also, Rod, it's pretty clear to me that, had the votes in 2020 been counted the same way they were in 2018, or 2016, or 2014, or...you get the idea...Trump would have won."
ReplyDeleteThat's a lie. And you know it's a lie!
Also, Abrams not conceding the GA race did not lead to an insurrection at the Capitol, resulting in multiple deaths.
I think anyone, including BLM supporters, whose rhetoric on social media is designed to spur violence, should be sanctioned by that platform. The point is that Facebook is not attacking conservatives. It is keeping a dangerous and continuous violator of their rules off their platform.
Dr.Waddy from Jack: You also hit right on the head; if God were to return the entire earth to theGarden of Eden, the left would seek yet another pretense for a totalitarian power grab. With havinging been catastrophically discredited in economics, justice, politics and military matters, they now fancy climate their road to power, to be exercised once secured at their discretion, as per any impulsewhich captures their fancy. Their superior wisdom is held by them to be self evident and irrefutable. Why?Well... because they "feel it so". "Just leave the driving to us" is their dictation although they would be loath to couch it in such capitalist screed!
ReplyDeleteJack, it will be interesting to see how much luck the Left has with climate catastrophism. So far I don't detect much sense of menace among the general public, despite all the hue and cry, but then right now we're knee-deep in a (largely contrived) pandemic. The worst is undoubtedly yet to come, climate-wise.
ReplyDelete