In what is supposed to be a robust defense of democratic principles, progressives have launched an all-out attack on an immigrant and free speech as they apoplectically meltdown over Elon Musk’s successful bid to buy Twitter.
On Monday, Twitter accepted Musk’s $44 billion bid to buy the company and take it private. With Twitter’s new owner comes a new dedication to free speech on the site.
“Free speech is the bedrock of a functioning democracy, and Twitter is the digital town square where matters vital to the future of humanity are debated,” Musk said in a statement on Monday.
CNN’s resident arbiter of truth and justice, Brian Stelter, was one of the first to sound the alarms over the dangers that free speech poses to the American form of government.
“If you get invited to something where there are no rules, where there is total freedom for everybody, do you actually want to go to that party or are you going to decide to stay home?” Stelter pondered.
Stelter on Elon Musk buying Twitter: "If you get invited to something where there are no rules, where there is total freedom for everybody, do you actually want to go to that party or are you going to decide to stay home?" pic.twitter.com/rhSmF04OUk
— Washington Free Beacon (@FreeBeacon) April 25, 2022
The NAACP’s president was more direct in his request. He wants Musk to keep a former President of the United States off the site.
“Mr. Musk: Do not allow 45 to return to the platform. Do not allow Twitter to become a petri dish for hate speech, misinformation or disinformation,” tweeted NAACP President Derrick Johnson. “Protecting our democracy is of utmost importance.”
Mr. Musk: Do not allow 45 to return to the platform. Do not allow Twitter to become a petri dish for hate speech, misinformation or disinformation. Protecting our democracy is of utmost importance.
Mr. Musk: Lives are at risk, and so is American democracy.#Twitter #ElonMusk
— Derrick Johnson (@DerrickNAACP) April 25, 2022
“Mr. Musk: Lives are at risk, and so is American democracy,” he added.
To a leftist, in order to protect democracy, democratically-elected presidents must not be allowed to speak in the new public square.
Prior to the deal going through, The Washington Post — the Jeff Bezos owned-newspaper whose tagline is “Democracy Dies in Darkness” — published a Bloomberg opinion column that warned that “it’s not ideal to have a free speech absolutist who isn’t absolutely in favor of free speech at the helm of — or even close to — a media company.”
Indeed, the Post’s columnist Max Boot even tweeted, “I am frightened by the impact on society and politics if Elon Musk acquires Twitter. He seems to believe that on social media anything goes. For democracy to survive, we need more content moderation, not less.”
In other words, Boot is essentially saying that we must limit free speech for the sake of democracy, silence voices for the sake of freedom, and censor wrong-think to promote liberty.
Does any of that make sense to you?
Musk, of course, was born in South Africa. He is now a U.S. citizen. Critics like Matt Cortland, a progressive attorney, aren’t praising the man for his contributions to our multi-cultural society — as leftists see America. Instead, Cortland is warning that “We are losing. Fascism is winning.”
Of course, as The Daily Wire has previously reported, the Left has a strange definition of being “anti-fascist” these days.
To a progressive, if you are anti-fascist, you must express your solidarity with the government and big corporations on the social justice issue du jour. Anyone who fails to do so — according to their logic — must be subjected to browbeating, cancelation, and intimidation.
Those who don’t fall in line must be doxxed and have their employers contacted, and anybody sponsoring their business or paying for their product is to be skewered as a bigot worthy of societal banishment — all in the name of tolerance, freedom, and justice.
Well, it would appear that Musk now falls into that category. Despite Musk claiming to support trans in the past, in December 2020 he tweeted that was not a fan of the different use of pro-nouns.
“I absolutely support trans, but all these pronouns are an esthetic nightmare,” he claimed.
Regardless of his support, that slight variation from the progressive movement was part of the reason they now seem to hate him. Agree with them on everything or get out of their way.
Well, now progressives are threatening to get out his way by leaving the platform. One user stated, “As a trans woman I cannot use this platform without detriment to my mental health due to all the hate speech and personal attacks. It is quite possibly the case for many, if not most trans people here. Is calling trans people ‘groomers,’ ‘pedos,’ ‘perverts’ etc. ‘free speech’?”
As a trans woman I cannot use this platform without detriment to my mental health due to all the hate speech and personal attacks. It is quite possibly the case for many, if not most trans people here. Is calling trans people "groomers", "pedos", "perverts" etc. "free spech"?
— Maja Heban (@HebanMaja) April 25, 2022
Whether or not individuals like that actually leave the platform remains to be seen.
Whatever the case, the important thing to remember is that those speaking out against free speech, immigrants, and America’s former president having the right to express his thoughts on Twitter are the true defenders of American democracy. Or at least that’s what they would like you to believe.
The views expressed in this piece are the author’s own and do not necessarily represent those of The Daily Wire.