Leftists are decrying free speech as a threat to democracy after Tesla CEO Elon Musk announced Thurs

His father, Ellor Musk is from South Africa. and his name suggests a Boer heritage. His mother is from Canada. Technically, Elon Musk was born in Pretoria in a time of apartheid. So even in a liberal sense, Elon Musk is not the connotation you are trying to claim here.

 

It was already on a long uptick and you have not proof that any valuation of it had anything to do with Trump. And I will be most pleased to sell a lot of Twitter stock today for $77 how many shares do you want?

 

And Pretoria is in ... South Africa. Why are you trying to deny that Elon Musk is African American? If a black person was born in Dublin and subsequently came to America, would you dispute if someone said they were "Irish Americans"? In other words, is it the skin tone that matters to you?

 

The definition of African American is that he is Black American. And that is what you are trying to convey, is it not? A minority?

I will agree he is from the country of South Africa, but not African American, the connotation that Elon Musk is black.

 

Why?

I don't see what this has anything to do with credibility. Twitter is essentially just another version of tik Tok.

if he thinks he can earn some money buy it and I don't doubt that he can, more power to him.

 

No, you would be thinking of African-American,
not African American. Again, in the most literal sense, he is that. You know who else is? Charlize Theron.

Look, I understand that black people that never set foot in Africa are called African-American. I’m a white guy that’s never set foot in Europe, and I don’t think I’ve ever been called a European-American, so it is what it is. Musk is an African that is now an American and while you might not like it, at it’s very literal meaning, it is true.

 

So what's the connotation when I say someone is "Irish"? If they're not pale-skinned and red-haired would you say they're not really Irish? Can we say that people are not really Swedish if they're not tall, blonde-haired and blue-eyed?

 

People are allowed to use their private property as they see fit and shouldn't be forced to promulgate views they despise just because they have created a webpage everyone else finds attractive. Should I be able to coerce you into putting my essay "The Human Zygote Is A Wart" on your Web page just because your amazing cat pictures have 10 million hits?

I don't know what Musk would limit. I have real doubts he would let on a lot of stuff I have seen on Twitter just recently, at least I hope so.

 

Can we talk about Colorado bakeries now?

 

Calling black Americans "African" does not change the fact the man is from Africa. Really from Africa not some sociological concept. So of course he is African American. Why are you putting race qualifiers on this? You would not hesitate to call a black Nigerian African-American.

You people are really sick about these things.

If black folks want to go there to live I think our government should assist them.

 

Something deep down sick and pathetic about the way these people think about race.

 

Also that food shortages aren't real, inflation will go away in a few weeks, and you ain't black.

 

Do you guys really not get it, or do you just pretend not to get it because you think it'll benefit your side? Russia infiltrated our social media platforms with trolls to influence the election. This misinformation gets amplified by hacks. When voters are voting based upon misinformation, democracy is threatened. Democracy based upon lies is even worse than a democracy of idiots.

Furthermore, Twitter is private. Free speech is about government interference, not corporate interference. I thought conservatives wanted corporations to do whatever they want. If Twitter is closed to misinformation, you can always get it from Fox News, or truthsocial, lol.

 

So let's get some clarity on this. First you decide that grown adults are too special and sensitive to have their feelings hurt, so you develop laws like 'hate speech' to ensure no mean Tweets. Then you realise you can use those laws to bolster and protect your ideology, so you expand them into private sector business practice to the point where looking at someone funny will get you silenced and/or punished. Then when someone (ie Musk) suggests that this level of regression and degeneration is precisely why the West is doomed, you remain clinging to that 'theological authoritarianism'. Is that about right?

I mean ........ 'cleaner' free speech? You'll happily sexualise children, but god forbid anyone hurt the feelings of an adult. No wonder we're ****ed.

 

No, "free speech" is a broader principle. One manifestation of the principle is found in the First Amendment, which limits government interference of speech, but that's not the limit of the principle of "free speech". And we should encourage our corporations and other organizations to honor the principle of free speech, even if they're not coerced into doing so by the government. A decade ago Twitter used to regularly describe itself as "the free speech wing of the free speech party". They weren't talking about government interference. They had a culture of being largely content-neutral: letting people post what they wanted to post. They've moved away from that position dramatically in recent years, and there are lots of us that would like to see Twitter get back to honoring the principle of free speech more fully on the platform.

 

There's nothing LESS democratic than a biased platform.

 

It's because many of those on the Left worship government, see government as the solution to all problems, and seem incapable of imagining how any extra additional powers they give to government could ever be used for anything wrong.

Combine that with tons of mental laziness - the inability or unwillingness to think about things if they require too much thought.

You have plenty of them in this very thread who practically admit they're not too enthusiastic about the protections in the Bill of Rights.

If they ran society it would be like how Twitter is being run right now.

 

No.

 

What protections are those?

 

I don't worship government but I don't worship anything else (beyond my personal goddesses) either. Not the flying spaghetti sky fairy or the free market, none of those bad boys

 

Did you even see the examples Twitter and the media et al showed of those accounts that they claimed were Russian? All of it was of talking points BOTH sides were already spewing long before 2016.

And if you really believe that our politicians are not lying to people then you are naive. But somehow its different if Russia does the same exact thing? Pfft.

I'm not conservative. And Free Speech is about far more than government interference. Ever hear the phrase "I'll fight for your right to say whatever you want, even if I disagree with it."? Free speech is about allowing speech that you disagree with.

Furthermore, Twitter has more influence on Speech than our own government. Indeed amount of followers on twitter reaches more people than lives in the entire US. You complain about Russian disinformation and Democracy based on lies .... what about Twitter disinformation? Or do you think that they are completely neutral and never does anything to benefit one side or the other and always allows only the Truth? If all that is true...then why are all these still allowed on Twitter?

 

Then FOUND YOUR OWN ****** PLATFORM. What in the bloody FRACK?? I don't know diddly squat about computers but even I know it's NOT that difficult or expensive. If there's so ****** many people just pining to hear about how government is taking away your sacred right to to watch your grandpa die alone under a bridge while the Koch's spend all the Social Security Trust Fund on a Cocaine and Hookers bash for CPAC then WHERE ARE THEY? Why can't even the Bronze Deity seem to keep his very own network barely functional even with the many millions his loving toadies send him every day? Could it be that conservatism is not really that popular? Could the whole "movement" be nothing but a gigantic lie, the kind of thing that should have died a quick death in 2016 due to the gigantic mistake of the Founding Fathers in allowing our President to be occasionally chosen by statistical flukes instead of the real will of the people??...Naaah...must be the Jewish Mind Control Lasers. Send all your money to Elon, he'll shoot them down.

 

Yeap that Hunter Biden laptop was a lie alright and man were all the lefties right about Trump colluding with Russia. Twitter has a problem the definition of a lie.

 

Why you saying musk shouldn't be allowed to buy it's stock? Tyranny much?

 

Twitter is a public company not a private company.