I Know Why the Caged Twit Sings
Love it or hate it, Twitter is here to stay. It’s become a staple in the worlds of politics, journalism, and beyond. The future of the company has never before looked so unsure. Following Elon Musk’s massive $44 billion deal to buy Twitter, he’s already fired some of its top executives and has hinted at major structural change coming soon. Years of animosity between Musk and Twitter ends with and Elon living out his fantasy of exacting revenge on everyone there who wronged him.
Ask yourself whether this is the man you want steering the ship of public discourse on one of the biggest platforms in the world, especially pertaining to politics and journalism. Keep in mind Elon is more concerned about a conscious A.I. taking over the world in our lifetimes than he is about the damage Donald Trump would do if allowed back on Twitter’s platform. Yes, that’s right. He thinks Trump should given his bullhorn back. Is that the kind of world you want to live in again? Waking up to all the fresh throat garbage which spewed forth overnight from Trump’s fat, leathery mouth? A world of fake news and “alternative facts”?
Now, Musk is undeniably a smart businessman, engineer, and visionary. That’s clear. He’s also, however, a loose fucking canon. Media blunders and reportedly strange workplace behavior aside, Elon has become known his blatant disregard of SEC regulations and often takes to platforms like Twitter to not only violate the rules, but publicly broadcast he’s doing so. He’s shown himself to be petty and immature, compared Trudeau to Hitler, to be unremorseful about racist or misognist statements he’s made, to make hyperbolic accusations about foreign leaders, committing blatant securities fraud, to threaten and bully his own employees, to maintain hellish working conditions, personally and openly attacks whistleblowers at his company, to question the Coronvirus’s legitimacy, and to buck the law when it comes to Coronavirus regulations themselves. Oh yeah… that factory he reopened in spite of State COVID-19 laws? 450 outbreaks subsquently recorded there.
Did you happen to know Elon counts himself as a proud Libertarian? Despite what you might read online about standing for personal freedom and fighting goverment encroahment, in my personal experience Libertarians are just Assholes who like using a fancy title. Think of it as a more modern/politically correct way of saying “I don’t care about anyone else: it’s all about numero uno, baby!” Sometimes it also means, “I don’t know about or follow politics but I like pretending I’m part of something cool.” They espouse the virtues of personal freedom, but it’s only their own they’re interested in protecting.
Musk has already hinted at what his plans are to liquidate most of the company, firing as much as 75% of its staff and reducing the entire company to less than 2,000 people. Twitter employees have been reportedly very fearful about the leadership change and how their futures may be impacted.
Don’t get me wrong, I’d love to see Twitter innovate and create cooler experiences in the future, and Mr. Musk is the kind of guy who can make that happen. But when Elon says he wants to promote free speech and public discoure, he’s almost certainly talking about his free speech and his public discourse. Don’t be surprised if some of his critics’ tweets start getting less and less visibility. He will happily use Twitter as his own, personal bludgeoning instrument. I wouldn’t put that past him at. all.
