GOP GPS by Evan Siegfried

Author:Evan Siegfried
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Skyhorse Publishing
Published: 2016-06-14T16:00:00+00:00

Now, in the age of college students protesting the slightest thing that they feel is offensive, Twitter and other companies are establishing systems that hinder free speech. In February 2016, Twitter announced the creation of Twitter Trust & Safety Council, what effectively was a form of censorship.43 This council was to be composed of outside groups that were experts in their particular fields. They were being given the power to play umpire when it comes to each and every tweet. If a tweet were deemed to be offensive or even had the potential to hurt a person’s feelings, then the Twitter Trust & Safety Council could act to save the day or something.

Remember, Twitter announced this only a few months after college campuses erupted in protests over perceived slights or “microagressions” that saw students thinking the use of the terms “freshman” and “sophomore” were somehow offensive. The speech they are targeting is not speech that should actually be reviewed and dealt with like actual threats. If somebody threatens to harm, rape, or kill another or themselves, of course Twitter and its users should immediately act and report that to the authorities. The same applies if a person appears to be contemplating self-harm. This is the extent of which there should be banned speech.

What happens if somebody tweets about the New York Yankees? A simple and inoffensive tweet of “I can’t believe the Yanks lost to the Indians last night. Damn,” has at least two things that some might feel are microaggressions. First, referring to the Yanks as Yanks could very well be reported for being insulting to the heritage of Southerners who had relatives that fought for the Confederacy in the Civil War. Then, referring to the baseball team from Cleveland, the Indians, is going to upset people with Native American ancestry and people from India. So offensive is this tweet that it surely will send hundreds of thousands of people into therapy in order to recover from the mental trauma of its insensitivity.

This is but only the tip of the iceberg. In 2016, Twitter enabled its millions of users to report tweets and content that most likely do not meet the criteria of offensive remarks. Twitter users were permitted to report speech as offensive because it is in “disagreement with my opinion” and little more.44

Censorship is a dangerous tool, especially online. It goes against every single thing that the Internet stands for. The Internet is for the free exchange of ideas and knowledge (and yes, it’s also for the dissemination of cats that look pissed off). Restricting speech on digital platforms and the Internet is the wrong way to go about protecting yourself from material that a person deems objectionable. Users should know that there are many alternatives to the Twitter Trust & Safety Council. They include:

• Simply not being a part of Twitter.

• Not following potentially offensive accounts.

• Growing the hell up.

It is a safe bet that other digital platforms will follow Twitter’s lead and begin trying to provide “virtual safe spaces” for people.

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