When Is Enough, Enough?
By D. S. Mitchell
Hello, Jack Dorsey
I understand that Twitter is a private company. I presume that you are afraid of Donald Trump. He has a lot of people quivering and quaking in fear. You need not look any further than the Republicans in the Senate and the House of Representatives. He is after all, a man with enormous power. Being the president of the United States however, does not mean that he is above the law, or above basic restraints.
Rules For Everybody
Twitter has posted community rules that clearly describe unacceptable behaviors. Those rules are designed to apply to everyone that uses the Twitter platform. Trump has been misusing Twitter for many years, and sadly Twitter has been complicit. Until yesterday’s institution of “fact check alerts” on some of Trump’s tweets, Twitter has done nothing. Trump and several other politicians, have been allowed to get away with reprehensible and abhorrent behavior, and Twitter has taken no disciplinary action.
@Windsor Mann
Windsor Mann reminded us, “So far today, the president has accused someone of murder, accused Democrats of rigging the election, bragged about 100,000+ deaths, called a congressman a fraud, called the Speaker of the House crazy, and misspelled “too.” And that’s just on Twitter.”
Misuse Of His Office
Trump has demonized his perceived enemies from behind the Resolute Desk. The Oval Office has become the center of false grievances and smear campaigns. Donald Trump has slandered families of veterans and war heroes from the Rose Garden. But his platform of choice is Twitter, where he lies, smears, insults and bullies people everyday. He is an out of control bully. He has been a bully since childhood. His conduct is shameful, and at some point his conduct must be censured.
Times Past
Bad behavior is nothing new for Donald Trump. In 1989, he spent nearly a $100,000 to purchase full page ads in four New York newspapers calling for the execution of the “Central Park 5.” He demanded the state of New York kill five young black men. The Central Park 5 were later exonerated and released from prison. Thank God, they weren’t executed. Trump has never apologized for his conduct. There is no area that Trump will not misuse to spread his excrement.
An Expensive Reform School
When he was a youngster, Donald would always find the smallest, or the most vulnerable person to attack. He apparently threw rocks at a baby. He is said to have punched one teacher in the face, and tossed an eraser in the face of another teacher. Bullying schoolmates was common place. Breaking rules at home eventually became intolerable for his parents. He was reportedly so out of control his parents had to remove him from the house. The Donald was 12 or 13 when he was sent to a “military school” for discipline. Some have called it a “private reform school.” Whatever you call it, he was removed from the home. I’m sure it was a last resort. His parents, I presume, were desperate to return sanity to the house.
Twitter Police
We all realize that Twitter does not have a police force. Although I doubt that would matter. However, I know Twitter policies are not just window dressing, because the company brings down the hammer on other people every hour, of every day. Lying politicians using Twitter to smear their opponents is unacceptable, it is way past time they were stopped.
Trump Is In A League Of His Own
Trump’s outright racism is unprecedented in modern history. His rhetoric of hate has divided the country unlike any time since the Civil War. Since Twitter instituted “fact checking” yesterday the site has been the subject of the president’s wrath. Threats to shut down the platform began immediately. Claims of “stifling” free speech are in my view a menacing threat for all of us, not just Twitter. Trump is currently threatening to shut down social media with an Executive Order.
Pushing Against The Rules
One thing we have learned about Donald Trump is that no matter what the rules; he will sidestep them, he will push against them, he will disregard them, he will barrel through them. He knows no moral restraint. That is why he must be restrained. He is mean-spirited and in my opinion, demented. I understand that he is the president of the United States, and what he says has some news worthiness. However, if it is “real news”, he can hold a press conference. He has the biggest platform in the world. He doesn’t need to use Twitter to publish true news making events. Currently, Trump is using Twitter to vent delusional thinking and unsubstantiated conspiracy theories. Quite frankly, Trump is looking crazier by the minute, and proving himself every day to be incompetent and unfit to hold the office of the presidency.
A Letter From A Widower
It was only after a letter from Timothy T. Klausutis went viral that Twitter promised to take action. In his letter, Mr. Klausutis begged for peace for his family and his deceased wife, Lori Klausutis. Outraged Twitter subscribers demanded Twitter removed Trump from Twitter. Twitter, I admit, did take some small action. Placing blue fact check alerts on some of Trump’s tweets, is a small start, but not sufficient to meet the problem. Whether the submitter is the president of the United States, or my foul-mouthed, bigoted, white supremacist neighbor, Twitter has an obligation to the public to stop his mental abuse of the country. Trump’s behavior is hurting people.
