Are You Truly So Blind?

This is my question for those of you who really don't have any concerns about the actions of Facebook, Twitter, Google, Amazon and Apple over recent days. I am referring of course to the mass censorship of an entire Social media platform, Parler, in the wake of Trumps deranged call to arms. For the uninformed, Parler is a platform used predominantly by those who have a more right leaning political disposition. It's a haven for conspiracy theorists, Trump loyalists, and those whom would self define as conservative. I do not have a lot in common with these folks. I do not have a lot in common with the far Left either, who are more than capable of weaponised stupidity. It's fair to say that I find more extreme voices tedious irrespective of the direction they hail from, yet today I find myself defending freedom of speech yet again. I know, we've been here before. Only we haven't ever seen such a coordinated effort to silence an entire demographic. To those of you who claim that a private company can choose whom they offer a platform to I say you are in some respect correct. You are also staggering ill informed if you think that silencing voices of dissent ends well. It doesn't. How could it? And what a time to pull such a blanket move. Tensions are just below the boiling point, and society is more fractured than it has ever been. If ever we needed to reconcile it is now, yet we're awfully close to destroying any hope of this. Let's use a hypothetical example, and I conceed an imperfect one. Let's imaging that Jack Dorsey, owner of Twitter, finally decides to sell up and offloads the business to Trump Media. Indulge me, I know this isn't a likely example. Upon assuming control, the new owners decide that, as a private company, they no longer wish to allow a platform for the trans community. Men are men and women are women, and if you don't like it then go find another platform. Only then just as Twitter sells up, all the other platforms do likewise and again find themselves under the ownership of right leaning management. They too decide that the trans community are not welcome and also refuse to host voices of this kind. If it helps, substitute trans with Muslim, or Jew, or African American. Suddenly from having a platform to air your position you have none. How is that likely to leave you feeling? OK, so an absurd and unlikely example perhaps, but let's be under no illusion that millions of people have just been put in this position. Now you may find their views repugnant. They may be an example of everything you stand against. But how can we as fair minded people afford ourselves a voice yet deny it to others? And are not our existing laws around hate speech sufficient? I recognise that the owners of Parler were particularly lax and enforcing violations, but what in God's name do you expect to achieve by silencing an entire demographic? And how is that going to heal anything? It's a classic I win you lose. We've crushed the opposition. This may sit well with you but it stinks to high heaven to me. Again, are you truly ignorant of the risks here? You increase the chances of extreme behaviour because you've validated every grievance these people ever held. They suspect you wanted to shut them up and now you have. This does not feel like a victory to me. This feels knee jerk. Now there is no question that Trump by his actions deserves to be dispatched, but to extend this to all whom hold a candle for him is naivety of the most self evident kind. It cannot end well. It can only worsen an already awful situation. We live alongside people who hold views we find ghastly. That's the way the world is. But the way to defeat bad ideas is through engagement and the deployment of better one's. This takes time. And my word it takes patience. And there's never any certainty of success. But when we stop talking what does that leave? What are the other options? Spoiler alert, history has answered this many times over. In the name of reason I implore these large tech companies to weigh and measure what they are in the process of doing here. It is every bit as dangerous as what took place at the Capitol building, and over time the collateral damage will be higher. . .