Of course. Obama got a shiny new POTUS Twitter account, and he tweeted a tweet to see if it worked. Ten minutes later, the Twitter scummerati were calling him “nigger.” Of course they were.
Here at [New Civil Rights Movement], announcing the news about 45 minutes later, we joked, “Someone’s going to have to break it to him that he doesn’t get to keep the account when he leaves office…”
But back on Twitter, it took conservatives all of ten minutes to start engaging in despicable acts, by calling President Obama “nigger.”
@POTUS get cancer nigger
— Doxful (@DoxfulTheGod) May 18, 2015
That was the first, but hardly the last. A quick search this morning found 60 tweets that included @POTUS and nigger…
Twitter means never having to filter what you say.
Jonathan Capehart at the Washington Post has some thoughts.
There are moments when I come this close to quitting Twitter. The amount of hatred squeezed into 140 characters or less by lunatics usually cloaked in anonymity is enough to make you question your support for the First Amendment and your faith in the decency of other people. To the uninitiated, the torrent of bigotry can leave you feeling violated. Even the most seasoned, battle-scarred, seen-it-all, can’t-nuthin’-shock-me individual will be left O-o by the filth in his or her Twitter feed.
Especially her.
If you follow me on the beast that is Twitter, you have seen me do battle with racists, homophobes and the willfully uninformed and ignorant. I strongly believe those folks need to be exposed[,] for sunlight is the best disinfectant, as the saying goes. And I strongly believe those folks need to endure the public censure and ridicule that comes with being revealed as a hate-filled bigot. It is then that whatever sliver of hope I have in humanity is restored.
A pretty thought, but since most of them are anonymous, they can’t be exposed, can they.
Welcome to Twitter, Mr Obama.
Just as the GOOG could never ever ever do anything about their search results or maps or anything because algorithms, suddenly managed to fuzz out Cheney’s house when he told them too,
just so I suspect Twitter too will suddenly find itself able to filter trolls and identify users. For this one person. Who I doubt has enough human feeling to realize that people without Chiefs of Staff and personnel and pull have to deal with that level of garbage and much much much much much more.
Or maybe I’ll be pleasantly surprised and this will make him start a movement to clean up the sewage on social media.
Quixote – if Obama started a movement to clean up the sewage on social media, I can see it now:
“Obama is trying to take our Twitter away!”
“Nanny state!”
I think that sewage needs industrial strength cleaning products, maybe stronger than any that have ever been invented. And somehow, those cleaning tools often seem to work against the wrong target – they might clean off the SJWs, the feminists, and the LGBT community, while leaving the scum behind. Accidentally, of course.
iknklast, yeah. There is that.
The fact remains, it *is* sewage. By being helpless about it because we’re so terrified of losing free speech — not without reason! I’m not saying we’re wrong to be terrified — we are, in fact, right now, losing free speech.
Think of all the voices silenced, Kathy Sierra as just one talented example (h ttp://seriouspony.com/trouble-at-the-koolaid-point/), and count on through the thousands and millions who never even started. They, we, all lost that free speech. That’s not nothing. The price of sewage and hate speech is high. Higher by now than any shouts of “Fire” in the famous old theater. We have got to stop being slippery-sloped into allowing so many people to be silenced by obvious hate speech.
And even if they can, it is apparently carved in stone somewhere in the foundation blocks of the Internet that DOXXING IS THE WORST POSSIBLE CRIME IMAGINABLE.
Exactly why the victim has an obligation to protect the identity of the bully has, as far as I know, yet to be explained.
calling President Obama “nigger.”
Gah!!!! So fucking unoriginal. Call him “criminal for sheltering CIA torture!” or “constitutional scholar who went around the constitution to overthrow Libya” or “close Gitmo yet?” or even “the glibber” but .. Ugh.
If I worked for the WH press office, I’d have the Twit-in-chief’s account reply to those shitheels* with:
“welcome to the TSA no-fly list.”
(long pause)
“just kidding. enjoy the IRS audit.”
(long pause)
“NSA knows who you are…”
(long pause)
“just kidding. you racists are so easy to troll.”
I always wonder why our freeze peach friends don’t show up here to praise Twitter for its stellar role in preserving free speech?
but since most of them are anonymous, they can’t be exposed, can they.
Heh. All speech must be free! except doxxing(or naming accused)
quixote – I wasn’t suggesting we shouldn’t try; I was just being sarcastic. I myself do not have a Twitter account, or Facebook, and the sewage is part of the reason. So you’re right, it is stifling speech. I have also put aside an idea that I once had for creating a blog, because I do not have a thick enough skin to deal with the sort of crap that goes with it. I could probably go at least 10 minutes without saying something feminist, but that would be about my limit.
So yes, you’re right, the sewage does stifle free speech. But I do remain in despair that any actions taken to clean it up will hit the wrong target, mostly because the normalization of “enlightened” sexism, racism, and a few other nasty isms will obscure the proper target.
https://www.facebook.com/144310995587370/photos/a.271728576178944.71555.144310995587370/984884964863298/?l=4fe5404a43