THE WORST PERSON IN THE WORLD
(apologies to Keith Olbermann)
Milo Yiannopoulos
People should be able to express diverse opinions and beliefs on Twitter. But no one deserves to be subjected to targeted abuse online, and our rules prohibit inciting or engaging in the targeted abuse or harassment of others. Over the past 48 hours in particular, we’ve seen an uptick in the number of accounts violating these policies and have taken enforcement actions against these accounts, ranging from warnings that also require the deletion of Tweets violating our policies to permanent suspension. We know many people believe we have not done enough to curb this type of behavior on Twitter. We agree. We are continuing to invest heavily in improving our tools and enforcement systems to better allow us to identify and take faster action on abuse as it’s happening and prevent repeat offenders. We have been in the process of reviewing our hateful conduct policy to prohibit additional types of abusive behavior and allow more types of reporting, with the goal of reducing the burden on the person being targeted. We’ll provide more details on those changes in the coming weeks.
I love Twitter for the wide-opne, undisciplined forum it provides. The 140 character limitation provides a unique medium to express thoughts and ideas. That these thoughts and ideas run the gamut from productive and positive to ugly and disrespectful should surprise no one. Turns out Twitter is where trolls who love the power of anonymity and cheap personal insults direct their special brand of “tough love” at those they despise.
For too long, Twitter has rather impotently pursued ways to reign in trolls, with the result that it’s become something of a sewer, a free-for-all allowing haters, bigots, and knuckle-draggers of all stripes to ply their trade. Like any other forum, free speech can be and very often is objectionable and obnoxious speech. Twitter’s very nature lends itself to those who traffic in hatred, bigotry, and generally mean-spirited disrespect.
Milo Yiannopoulos, it’s no stretch to opine, is among the worst of the worst- an intolerant Conservative know-it-all who revels in pot-stirring…and anything else that will draw attention his way. Beneath the bravado and the disdain for those who fall short of his lofty standards is a small mind and, I suspect, a desperately insecure personality who has no idea how to be kind, generous, and giving. Being an asshole may be one way to draw attention to yourself, but it seems a damned poor way to make friends and influence enemies…which in Yiannopoulos’ case are legion.
After allowing him to spread his unique brand of disrespect, hatred, and bigotry virtually unchecked, Twitter has finally banned Yiannopoulos permanently. Not that there aren’t myriad ways around such a ban, of course, but I think it’s a good thing that Twitter has finally drawn a line in the sand and made it clear they won’t tolerate the targeted abuse and harassment of other users.
Milo just entered, wearing a bulletproof vest. "I just got banned from Twitter!" pic.twitter.com/qyDi9MFMyH
— Rosie Gray (@RosieGray) July 20, 2016
According to the company, Yiannopoulos’s permanent suspension isn’t a matter of speech as much as a matter of behavior — specifically, a violation of Twitter’s rules regarding the targeted abuse of specific users.
At a party Tuesday night at the GOP convention in Cleveland, Yiannopoulos told BuzzFeed News he had received an email from Twitter in advance of the action, warning him his account was about to be suspended….
“They made a very dumb decision right before I had the eyes of the world media on me. I think they’re going to come to regret it,” he said. “Anyone who believes in free speech was sent a very powerful message today, which is that you’re not welcome on Twitter.”
Like most any bully, Yiannopoulos is prone to accentuating his self-ascribed victimhood when he’s held to account for his execrable behavior. He seems too blind (or willfully ignorant) and lacking in self-awareness to understand the reason why Twitter felt it necessary to ban him. Any community needs rules of conduct to ensure that everyone plays nice. Yiannopoulos long ago made it clear that he feels no need to follow ANYONE’S rules. Governed only by his own outsized ego and inflated sense of self-importance, Yiannopoulos isn’t nearly as important or relevant as he believes himself to be.
The Twitter community in particular (and the world in general) will be a better place without Milo Yiannapoulos regularly defecating upon it. Not that there won’t be plenty of trolls rushing into fill the vacuum he leaves behind, and he may well sneak back onto Twitter under false pretenses…but his stench in unmistakable. Even if he slithers back and begins tweeting again, it will only be a matter of time before he’s found out and cut off again.
“With the cowardly suspension of my account, Twitter has confirmed itself as a safe space for Muslim terrorists and Black Lives Matter extremists, but a no-go zone for conservatives.
“Twitter is holding me responsible for the actions of fans and trolls using the special pretzel logic of the left. Where are the Twitter police when Justin Bieber’s fans cut themselves on his behalf?
Uh…no; Twitter is holding Yiannopoulos responsible for his own hateful, mean-spirited, disrespectful behavior. He either can’t recognize his responsibility to interact kindly with other community members…or he simply believes mere rules can’t be applied to a superior moral being such as himself.
I’m going to go with door #2, Alex.
“Like all acts of the totalitarian regressive left, this will blow up in their faces, netting me more adoring fans. We’re winning the culture war, and Twitter just shot themselves in the foot.
“We’re winning the culture war?” I have to wonder how even on Planet Milo assholes are winning the culture war? I don’t know if he’s looked around lately…or if his hermetically-sealed, reality-free bubble filters out truth and reality? Conservatives are losing the culture wars, inexorably and inevitably. Yiannopoulos can choose to portray defeat as victory, but, despite his dishonesty, losing still isn’t winning- not in this or any other world.
“This is the end for Twitter. Anyone who cares about free speech has been sent a clear message: you’re not welcome on Twitter.”
The end for Twitter? That seems unlikely, seeing as how Twitter isn’t engaging in censorship…and is more than just one hateful, self-important troll with a penchant for dickishness. It’s merely enforcing a minimum standard of conduct designed to ensure that everyone plays nice…something clearly beyond Yiannopoulos’ meager capabilities.
Bottom line: A Twitter account isn’t a license to be an asshole.
There’s wisdom to be found in the Golden Rule. As trite as it may seem to Yiannopoulos, treating others as you would wish to be treated yourself is a good and worthwhile thing. Even if you disagree with someone, how is being kind and respectful a sign of weakness? How does treating people with a bare minimum of dignity reveal you to be a lesser person?
Be nice, be respectful, treat others as you would wish for them to treat you…or GTFO.
