Scott Tibbs
Elon Musk, Twitter and co-belligerents
By Scott Tibbs, April 29, 2022
Elon Musk donated $5,000 to Hillary Clinton in 2015 - the maximum amount allowed by law. Elon Musk donated $5,000 to Barack Obama in 2011 - the maximum amount allowed by law. Today, Musk is a "hero" to conservatives all over these United States because he purchased Twitter and is allegedly going to loosen moderation standards on the social network. But Musk is not and never was on our side.
Conservatives need to understand the difference between a co-belligerent and an ally. Right now, Musk is a co-belligerent against the "woke" Left and their demands for censorship of social media. That does not make him an ally. Conservatives need to stop making heroes of everyone who irritates the Left, especially people who are not ideologically conservative. How many times have we done this and been disappointed? Conservatives are Charlie Brown with the football. It will be good to have a less restrictive moderation policy on Twitter, but conservatives should not pretend that Musk is one of us.
However, it is hilarious to see some on the Left have meltdowns over Musk taking over. No, Twitter is not going to be overrun by Nazis. That is absurd. It shows how meaningless the word "Nazi" has become when it is applied in this way. Someone who says a person born with a penis and testicles is a man is not a Nazi. It diminishes the power of the word and provides cover to the tiny number of real Nazis to over-apply that word. It also trivializes the crimes of Nazi Germany. My advice: Get a grip, because you are beclowning yourself.
But this is not only about free speech. This is about class, and keeping the lower class in its place. Journalists, celebrities, politicians and others are heavy users of Twitter, and Twitter has the effect of leveling the influence of the elite and regular users. The elitist Blue Checks do not want the Great Unwashed Masses to be able to say whatever we want, and they certainly do not want the masses to be seen as equal with them. We are not worthy of being on the same level as the Elite.
While Musk's promise of looser moderation standards is good, I would not count on Twitter becoming a free speech paradise just yet. There is an enormous amount of pro-censorship inertia there. No policies have been changed and no unfairly banned users have been restored to the platform. I will not believe it until I see it. Even if Twitter becomes more friendly to free speech, I suspect Musk will cave before the 2024 election. The excuse will be that he needs to ensure the "safety" of users.
In the meantime, the only true home of free speech is Gab.
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