A lot us, like me, took the majority of Thanksgiving weekend off of social media and away from the news. It shocked me to wake up Monday morning to discover that Twitter banned Jesse Kelly and no one seems to know why.
In response to the latest attack on conservatives, popular blogger Instapundit deactivated his account.
Twitter kicked off Laura Loomer. Then the company banned Meghan Murphy. Now they have silenced Jesse Kelly.
Twitter never gave Kelly an explanation even though the website clearly states that when the company permanently suspends an account, they “notify people that they have been suspended for abuse violations, and explain which policy or policies they have violated and which content was in violation.”
Kelly wrote about the banishment at The Federalist:
Censorship is a horrible thing, but it has one fatal flaw: It doesn’t work. Voices break out. They cannot be contained. Twitter banning me from their platform only hurts them in the long run. They’ll continue to marginalize themselves, and I will continue to grow.I enjoy talking politics, and I enjoy entertaining people. I don’t need Twitter to do it. I’ve a got a successful radio show. I’m blessed to have a network of friends who share and promote each other’s ideas.But the bigger questions are: Where does it end? How do we accommodate dissent? Is silencing the voices we don’t like likely to lead to a better society? What happens to the voices that are silenced? Are we doing ourselves a favor by forcing conformity to doctrines that are antithetical to the core values of many Americans?We’ll figure out the answers to these questions. We’ll solve these problems. We’ll learn to disagree agreeably, and to give voice to those with whom we vehemently disagree. Twitter won’t. But America is better than Twitter. Always has been.
Thing is, Twitter is a private company. They can do what they want, but my best friend Michelle Ray (@GaltsGirl) provided this valuable point:
The banning of Jesse Kelly has turned me into a true believer that there is an anti-conservative bias at Twitter. I have found myself biting my tongue before I tweet something because who knows what would happen. I love to spar with my brother @GayPatriot, but we have to take it easy in case the right person takes our jokes seriously and reports us.
Ricochet editor Jon Gabriel described Twitter as “mostly dumb people yelling at each other and self-appointed hall monitors trying to shut down accounts they don’t follow.”
The more accounts like Jesse that Twitter shuts down, Gabriel said “Twitter gets a little less interesting.” Considering the fact that Twitter has been in a downward spiral since 2012, “that’s something CEO Jack Dorsey can little afford.”
Kelly wrote about Twitter’s banning of Alex Jones, which warned people it’s a slippery slope:
Many on the left and the right gave a loud cheer last week when Alex Jones was banished from Facebook. Twitter later suspended him. While it is not surprising to see the jackals on the left cheer at the burning of books, one would hope folks on the right would look in the mirror and realize their time is coming soon. The leftists will not stop (and did not stop) at nutty Alex Jones, because they do not think you are much different from him. You rightly think your belief in immigration enforcement is much different than his disgusting conspiracy theory about Sandy Hook. But you must understand the left thinks you are both equally vile. They just knew Jones was the weak member of the herd. They could pick him off as a test run. Next they’re coming for you.But we didn’t get a unified message of support from the pinky-out people on the right. We were scolded for defending Jones. They sang so sweetly into the left’s ears: “Alex Jones is icky. And there is no slippery slope. And you should frankly be censored anyway, if you don’t at least have a Master’s degree.”
This isn’t the first time Twitter has gone after conservatives while allowing crazy leftists like Louis Farrakhan to stay put to spew his hatred and racism. Twitter banned @GayPatriot and only recently gave him back his account.
But this is the final straw for popular blogger Glenn Reynolds, who went by @instapundit. He wrote:
TWITTER’S GONE CRAZY BANNING PEOPLE ON THE RIGHT, so I’ve deactivated my Twitter account.Flashback: Despite Twitter’s Protests, The Stifling of Conservative Speech On The Platform Is Real.UPDATE: People seem to want more, and although there’s nothing duller than posting a screed on why you’re quitting a platform, here’s the gist: I’ve never liked Twitter even though I’ve used it. I was a late adopter, and with good reason. It’s the crystal meth of social media — addictive and destructive, yet simultaneously unsatisfying. When I’m off it I’m happier than when I’m on it. That it’s also being run by crappy SJW types who break their promises, to users, shareholders, and the government, of free speech is just the final reason. Why should I provide free content to people I don’t like, who hate me? I’m currently working on a book on social media, and I keep coming back to the point that Twitter is far and away the most socially destructive of the various platforms. So I decided to suspend them, as they are suspending others. At least I’m giving my reasons, which is more than they’ve done usually.
Conservative consultant Chris Barron is correct:
[Featured image via YouTube]
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