Ricochet is the best place on the internet to discuss the issues of the day, either through commenting on posts or writing your own for our active and dynamic community in a fully moderated environment. In addition, the Ricochet Audio Network offers over 50 original podcasts with new episodes released every day.
Free Speech and Elon Musk
I have long argued that we should focus more on ideas than on the people who endorse them. I still believe that. Ideas are enduring; people too often are not. But when a man or woman makes a significant stand for an idea that’s praiseworthy, that in itself is praiseworthy. Without losing sight of what matters — of the idea — it’s appropriate to praise those who champion it.
Elon Musk claims to be championing an idea that I hold dear, one that is, as I’ve written many times, of paramount importance today, the idea of free and unfettered speech. Indeed, I think it is the single most important challenge faced by those of us who would preserve our country and its values.
Nothing in Musk’s history or conduct has led me to doubt his sincerity, and so I am optimistic that he will follow through on his promise to open Twitter to a diversity of viewpoints, and in doing so will restore an essential balance to America’s cultural and political landscape.
I’m very pleased.
You can now find me on Twitter as @HankRacette. Assuming the deal goes through and Musk keeps his word, I’ll remain there.
Published in Technology
I wrote this elsewhere but I’ll repeat it here.
People have been guessing at what motivated Musk to buy twitter, and Must says it’s to preserve civilization. Good. But then why now? What was the immediate cause?
When I read that Twitter had reversed itself and was selling to Musk, I thought, So, the CIA gave its permission. The ultimate authority, not the SEC, approved the sale.
Now I wonder who does this help? Maybe the American people. But we don’t know yet.
Who does this hurt? Trump and his Truth Social.
They’ve always been saying, If you don’t like our censorship, build your own platform. And now that Trump’s built his and is about to go mainstream, twitter now changes course to drain his customer base.
Most of the reason for changing over to Truth Social has been wiped out.
Then when and if Truth Social closes down, twitter can start censoring again.
Henry: I reject the category of “hate speech” as meaningful.
Yep. I’m not sure even what “illegal speech” is either these days unless there is some internet platform equivalent of “screaming fire in a crowded theatre” which I am not aware of. Perhaps some coded speech from terrorists somehow?
Free Speech is absolutely necessary in a free society and is the paramount key to innovation and progress in any society. Banning it like Hilary, Obama, the Human Rights Organization and many, many other leftists now want to do only exposes them as enemies of all humanity which I hope many Americans will now recognize.
Saying, “Let’s all meet at my house to go out kill some [derogatory term] tonight,” might very well be illegal. Even more so if you offered weapons for those don’t have them. Such speech poses an imminent danger. It might not even have to be that explicit to be illegal, but I’m sure that somewhere there are grey areas, too.
On MeWe I once flagged someone who kept saying, in response to some issue, that some politician, maybe Hillary, needed to be dead. He said it repeatedly, and never had a single argument to make against what s/he had done or said, or had anything substantive to say, so I figured it might be real, and it might more likely be an FBI provocateur. So I reported it, and we never heard from him again.
Lefty media creation types could be in for a windfall. I predict a bull market for creating fake crypto-Nazi identities so that CNN/MSNBC and “expose” them and say that Twitter is now under the control of the Aryan Brotherhood. The usual rich suspects will write big checks to support the effort to prove that Free Speech is dangerous to “democracy” (whatever that word means in WokeSpeak).
Those leaving Twitter could always sign up for Truth Social.
That may well be attempted. For now, though, I’m optimistic that a Musk-run Twitter will know how to effectively punch back. Musk’s own Twitter responses to the allegations could rival Babylon Bee content. Heck, he might be smart to hire Bee writers to draft defenses to the allegations.
I think you’re probably over-thinking it. What if Musk actually is a bit obsessed with the idea of free speech? I find that perfectly plausible, and suspect it has nothing to do with the CIA, nor with Truth Social.
There are a few types of speech which are illegal in the United States, mostly having to do with making false and defamatory claims about someone or inciting specific acts of violence. There’s also copyright infringement and the publishing of classified or proprietary information, medical records, things like that.
Other countries impose all kinds of restrictions, including prohibitions against blasphemy and insults against specific ethnicities, religions, or groups, and heterodox views on certain issues such as climate and public health. In the United States such illiberal restrictions are pretty much confined to social media, which has come to resemble the mullahs more than the Founders in its tolerance for dissent.
And that is what I think is about to change.
The extent to which people are openly opposing free speech is truly amazing…and troubling.
I’d add a few more categories.
No Brigade Harassment – if someone blocks you, take the hint, and leave them alone. No making 50 disposable accounts to stalk people or asking people to go after them. Trashing someone for blocking you or even asking your followers to block them in return is fine.
Heavily restrict bots and automated tweets. They devalue the platform.
No Doxxing – Exposing someone’s identity or private information. Note that even a public figure can be doxxed to an extent (like their personal home address or personal phone number) unless they have openly disclosed it.
Follow US legal precedent on true threats / incitement.
The EU is now getting into the act, demanding that Twitter continue to engage in censorship.
I was a little concerned that Musk would not be able to handle all the attacks he was bound to receive, but then I remembered he dated Amber Heard for a year and came out unscathed.
The Babylon Bee was suspended from Twitter. After the announcement yesterday, The Bee’s account was restored. No explanation as to why.
I’m glad you included the term unfettered. That’s really what we’re after. We should want to hear everyone’s ideas unfettered by anything. But we fetter people’s speech all day long every day of our lives.
Face to face, we can unfetter by just listening and letting the other people know we’re listening. It’s tougher to do in this format. Here it’s easy to accidentally shut down a commenter. Some people never comment because they are fettered before they get to the keyboard.
Although, I think I can say that you, @henryracette are fairly good about not fettering a conversation.
Kid brother made this for me this morning. ;)
I felt a great disturbance in the Force… as if millions of voices suddenly cried out in terror [because others were not] suddenly silenced. –Obi Whine CNNobi
Have they been unbanned, yet?
Okay now I see the answer.
Did you type Musk and Ricochet changed it? I think I’ve had that happen too.
What about posting publicly-available information such as campaian contributions?
I wonder if there’s any chance that he’s the one who basically made her the way she appears to be now…
Hahahahaha
I’ll drop these here too, in case you missed them:
For the record, I have never had a problem with billionaires owning things. I have a problem with billionaires – or anyone – telling me what I can and cannot say, and with whom I may associate.
Overthinking it, perhaps. Underthinking it, perhaps. But in my view to a priori dismiss all outside thinking is to ignore a lot of rational possibilities.
Perhaps Musk is genuine, and I tend to think he is, but I didn’t invent the question of why Musk is doing this, and why now. Others on mainline conservative sites have asked this question. I just came up with an alternative (and I think more inclusive) answer than “to protect free speech”.
On the other hand, the overnight 10x increase in followers of people like Mollie Hemingway is a good thing.
No, I think my fingers just rebelled.
I wonder how the terms of service will change. How is Twitter going to handle the inevitable nuisance Lawfare lawsuits? Every lefty troll is going to sue and say Twitter is aiding and abetting defamation or physical threats or “hate” or whatever is the -ism of the day. Not the lawsuits will have merit, but the process is the punishment. How does a big privately owned company avoid Lawfare?
Say what? Tell us more. Which night was that?
Well, it’s still early maybe my counting is off and it’s 20 times. 4/26, up 7,769 followers.
Oh, I see. I meant daily increase in followers.