Elon Musk has banned Kanye West's Twitter page again after an anti-Semitic post.
Kanye West has been banned from Twitter again following anti-Semitic comments he made in an interview with Alex Jones.
Damien Henderson, Getty Images
"A man still hears what he wants to hear...and ignores the rest" (Paul Simon, "The Boxer").
So why would anyone say or write anything? This concept that took over the word "communication" may have started with a sign, then progressed to the squeals of a few animals, then to pictures painted on a cave stone, then to an intricate network of words and symbols called language. . .
After all, Shakespeare, along with poets and philosophers, came up with the idea of exploiting all the differences of sight, sound and symbol. Then go back to simple images. This year's emojis are welcome.
Unlike hearts, smiles and kisses, it's political, a statement of solidarity that has gained popularity among Twitter workers under threat of layoffs. Maybe in a thousand years it will adorn a cave wall if we go back and start over.
Why do people communicate? Informing, persuading, expressing feelings and emotions or, more and more clearly, emphasizing virtue.
Of course, most of our interactions take place in the private realm. We've all said the wrong thing at the wrong time. When the support speech was given, we didn't say anything. The same is true of public discourse. Most of us play it cool and say nothing when asked for an alternative idea.
Participatory democracy is the flow of ideas in the public sphere, based on the belief that the best will survive and thrive, while the worst will eventually fall by the wayside.
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There is always a tension between the comfort of a deeply shared belief system and the mental suffocation of the closure of alternatives. The government is the main controller, but peer pressure and decisions through intermediary platforms do the dirty work. After all, none of them are limited by the Bill of Rights.
A recent New York Times poll found that more than half of American adults keep quiet because they fear harsh criticism or retaliation. More than 6 in 10 participants aged 18-34 felt this. Young people were also more likely to report retaliation or harsh criticism of those they disagreed with.
Does it bother people? Almost all respondents considered this a problem, 40% considered the problem to be "very serious". In this case, perception is reality. Three in 10 agreed: "While I support free speech, sometimes you stifle rhetoric that is anti-democratic, bigoted or wrong."
Ah, shut up fake, fake. The free flow of ideas creates a real problem when someone has to play the role of referee. Not all calls are clear. Some do not support instant restart. Or an immediate repeat of the embarrassing cancellation and delay of the New York Post's resumption of laptop history.
Despite the mistakes, everything is not so simple. It's not all nonsense and lies. Demagogues, tyrants and fools always exaggerate and/or lie. The problem is direct amplification, often uncontrolled. Elon Musk is basically right when he wants to make Twitter a truly open platform for free speech. But he knows that the platform can turn into a sewer, and he doesn't seem to know how to avoid it. Yee's removal was mandatory for overtly anti-Semitic messages, but the line is blurred.
The First Amendment protects political communication from government interference. The question is again complicated by the unique position of Internet companies. The government cannot ban speeches. But can it precisely regulate what is done to strengthen speech? Should government or party officials ask Internet companies to delete "disinformation"?
Political communication has always been tough, unfair and full of facts. Today is no exception, except that lies travel at the speed of electrons. Once I had to look for a little guide. The message is sent to the screen we're looking at now, and as Mr. Simon said, "we ignore the rest." The problem is serious and it is not going away anytime soon.
William Lyons for Public Policy Howard Baker Jr. He is the Center's director of collaborative policy and professor emeritus of political science at the University of Tennessee. He also served as political director for Knoxville mayors Bill Haslam, Daniel Brown and Madeleine Ruggiero.
The opinions expressed are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Howard Baker, Jr. Official policy or position of the Center for Public Policy or the University of Tennessee.
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