I hate that this whole week has been filled with political posts, but I mean that’s the way the cookie crumbles sometimes, this blog was never meant to be about “me” exclusively, it was always meant to be a platform for bigger things. For things that I feel the need to address on a larger scale than I have in past years of blogging.
Donald Trump was banned from Twitter for life, on all three accounts that he had access to, when the head of his digital campaign offered up his account, that account was also blocked and banned from Twitter.
Putting aside that a man whose not allowed to use a platform that was originally designed for thirteen year old kids to have fun and make memes on, has access to the nuclear launch codes, the question must be asked, at what point do we stop allowing people to spread their hateful rhetoric?
It took an assault on the United States of America Capitol Building, supposedly the second most secure building in North America, before Twitter finally ponied up and decided to stop Trump from spreading his lies and disinformation.
It took hundreds of thousands of people distracting the United States Capitol police, it took people sitting in Nancy Pelosi’s office, it took them smearing feces around one of the most sacred buildings, it took them murdering a cop before the social media networks of the world decided to finally do something.
This is not the end – I have said that before and I will continue to say it until I am blue in the face, this was a test for something much bigger, and far more dangerous.
So at what point do we say that “free speech” isn’t actually “free”? At what point do we start to acknowledge that those of us who use platforms like Twitter, Instagram, Facebook and the thousands of others out there have a responsibility to the followers and fans who look up to us?
At what point do we start to pay attention to the fact that when we present ourselves on social media, people will listen and pay attention, and there for we owe them for their time by being as honest and open as possible?
For centuries we as a human race have had our version of celebrities, those people who are powerful, beautiful, and have the ability to affect change for the rest of us. For centuries we have worshipped them like the false idols we were warned not to, and for the first time in history we have the ability to interact with them in ways that we never have before.
Donald Trump promised his people that if they stormed the capitol he would be with them, but of course he lied. Instead of marching with them in an attempt to destroy American democracy, he decided to hide out in the White House where it was safe, far away from the people who murdered a cop and destroyed the Capitol building.
I know that it might seem like it’s unfair that Donald Trump lost his twitter account, but let’s be honest here. The man has used that account – and others – to spread lies, disinformation, and outright conspiracy theories for four years, he has broken every Twitter rule there has ever been, incited his followers to attack people he doesn’t like, harassed women, abused the powers of the White House to get away with doing it and even threatened Twitter with legal action if they don’t return his account.
At a certain point, we the people, need to say enough is enough. When we talk about cutting off toxic people from our lives, this absolutely includes from social media. Social Media though built by the coders, designed by the technicians, lives and dies by the power of the users.
The thought of waking up to find out that Donald Trump has not been able to threaten North Korea or Canada, the fact that I will wake up knowing that for the first time in four years, people might be talking about Trump, but I won’t have to see any of his direct nastiness brings a warmth to my heart that I don’t know I can fully understand myself.
It’s like a dark cloud has been lifted from the world of Twitter, people are celebrating and joking again, they’re having fun and posting memes and it feels like we’ve won something, but have we really?
If we continue to push these people aside, if we continue to force them to find other platforms for their hatred and evil, they are going to continue to build steam and do things like attack the capitol building but the only difference is that we the people will not have access to the whens and wheres of their planned attacks.
When Donald Trump was on Twitter we knew what to watch for, we knew what to look for, and while I am not saying – at all – that his accounts should be reinstated, what I am saying is that we need to be very clear about our objective moving forward.
It’s not enough to depend on Government trained armed soldiers anymore to protect us, the time for that is over. There was a time when the wars that we faced as a society were fought on foreign soil, when we didn’t have to worry about our people being hurt by the hatred of the world because the days of the Nazi were over.
Those days of being free in America – or Canada for that matter are over. The Nazi’s are back and they have regalvanized themselves into an organized machine of stupidity designed specifically to destroy democracy at all costs. Even at the cost of one of their own, AND a cop.
We the people – around the world, have to decide that we’re really willing to fight for our freedom, that we the people are going to continue to write, blog, protest, and fight against the very institutions that are clearly designed to protect the very people they are sworn to fight against.
If you want the Avengers to show up, it’s time for you the person, to suit the fuck up and do what you have to do to protect the next generation. It’s time for you to be the Avenger.
Men and women in tights who can fly through the air and protect us from the bombs of our own making are not going to show up any time soon.
Free Speech isn’t free. Men, women, and children, died so that we can say the things we want to say on social media and through our other internet based platforms. Men, women, and children, sacrificed everything about themselves so that we could be free. So that we could exist in a world where our words have actual merit and where our words can affect change for the communities that we live in.
We have absolutely no right to forget that. Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook are companies whose most important responsibility is to it’s share holders, but without the users who use these platforms they would be absolutely nothing, so it is up to us to decide what we’re willing to put up with.
At a certain point Donald Trump you’re going to have to look in the mirror and recognize the fact that you are not what’s best for America, you will never be what’s best for America, and your kind are not welcome in polite society.
We can do better, we can be better, we can decide where we’re going to put your energy. I know where I am going to be putting mine in 2021, where are you going to put yours?
Sending all my love,
Devon J Hall
Loud Mouth Brown Girl 