The Problem with Twitter ...

I had this post sat waiting as a draft since September 2021

Quite simply, lies, misinformation, ignorance, and bigotry take less characters and time to spread than the truth.

While Twitter can have some positive impact as well as being a tool for being sociable, entertaining, and even informative, it also makes it easy for bigots to spread propaganda, for minorities to be attacked and targeted, all while making refutation of such garbage quite difficult.

A big problem with humans (ALL humans) is they like simple ideas and models which they can easily imagine.  I suppose, in fairness, if we all went around constantly considering the sheer complexity of every single facet of the world around us we'd at the very least likely have permanent headaches or be driven to distraction.  There are, aside from being super-humanly smart, only two main options

1) Simple, possibly incorrect, models that you cling to no matter what 

2) Admit that "don't know" is a perfectly good answer and pick the things you try and "know"

Option 2 is really the only rational approach.  Really, there is so much we don't know it's quite staggering so approaching things with "don't know" it more likely to work than not.

The problem is that people go for option 1) and sometimes end up with opinions and beliefs that a) they really should admit they "don't know" enough about, b) they hold in direct contradiction to available evidence.

And that is the BIG BIG BIG BIG (etc) problem: opinions/beliefs are meant, for these people, to be something that are worthy of respect.  I've had that conversation (on Twitter) and it seems to be used as an excuse to allow bigotry.

Opinions are absolutely NOT worthy of respect.  There is nothing at all special about "opinion" or "belief" that should in any way grant protection of either.

Obvious side note: someone holding an opinion is certainly entitled to a right to have that belief and not to suffer any loss of their human rights because of it (more about this in a few sentences).  In short, even if a belief it ridiculous or bigoted it doesn't justify abuse or sanction against the person holding it.  There is no excuse for immoral acts, e.g. physical violence or threats of same, just because someone is a bigot/ignorant/both.

However, and this is where the above paragraph gets complicated, if you hold a demonstrably bigoted opinion your freedom to do so also comes with consequences.  You should absolutely expect to be called out on your opinion, you can be characterised as a bigot, you should not expect a platform to propagate your views either.  You also face a dilemma: if you act on your bigoted opinion in any way you may also fall foul of of the law or, at the very least, of offensive, upsetting, and hateful behaviour.  If you see your actions have serious hurt another human being and you either do nothing or actively revel in their pain and suffering then your opinion no longer deserves any protection.

This is all "cancel culture" is: it's the consequences of people's ignorance/bigotry/actions.  Bigots complain about "free speech" (they really mean "I get to say and do anything I like with impunity") but the truth is they should rightly be called out, sanctioned, lose their job, or even liberty (due to criminal prosecution and punishment).  

Summary: act like an asshole to others, society is then right to condemn you for being such an asshole.

I originally wrote this post (well the bulk of it), way before Musk took over Twitter.  He, and many others like him, are unconcerned about lies, misinformation, or some minorities getting upset, hurt, abused, murdered, eradicated.  He only seems to care about profit, wealth, power, control, and his one, apparently fragile, ego.

We need a decent and inclusive society based on understanding, acceptance, compassion, and scientific evidence and inquiry.  Musk et al are significantly far from this and heading in the opposite direction.

Which is why I'm now leaving Twitter and am on Mastodon :D  You can find me as @fionasboots@tech.lgbt - I also have a few other accounts but I'm being selective of who I add given the above problems!