The meltdown over Musk

Billionaire Elon Musk has fired thousands of Twitter contractors responsible for battling misinformation on the site — a week after sacking half of its permanent staff. About 4,400 of 5,500 contractors have been fired so far.

Numerous public figures and celebrities have expressed their displeasure at Musk’s takeover. For instance, in just one example, American author Stephen King said he preferred the platform before Musk bought the company. Whether it’s his politics, his odd tweets, or the fee for the special blue tic, detractors have voiced numerous concerns over the future of Twitter.

According to the Austin-American Statesmen, “technology industry analysts say there also could be a wider impact on Musk’s other companies, which include automaker Tesla and tunneling infrastructure company the Boring Company, both based in the Austin metro area, and aerospace company SpaceX, which has significant operations in Texas and is building a $43 million facility in Bastrop County, and Neuralink, which is building an eight-building lab and office space in Del Valle, for the neurotechnology company.”

But what is the controversy really about? Has Twitter changed to such an extent that people find they cannot bear to post their tweets on the platform? Are they afraid of the response or the management? Do these people who have announced their displeasure or even their exodus from the platform have a personal issue with Musk? If so, why? Do any of them drive a Tesla?

These are important questions because the public deserves to know what exactly the controversy is about. Sure, Musk has Tweeted a number of eyebrow raising things in the past, but somehow no one seems to mind when Iran’s Ayatollah Khamenei tweets about annihilating another country. Isn’t that exponentially worse? And so the world remains silent over Khamenei but gets in a huff over Musk. Something is amiss.

It’s called politics.

No one cares about Khamenei or what he has to say, even if it is abhorrent and wrong. But these same people do claim to care when Musk says he wants to fix Twitter because they fear he will eliminate freedom of speech on the platform. But was there freedom of speech before Musk? It is easy to recall the numerous instances Twitter took down or blocked the accounts of those who said something it did not like. That is not free speech. Newsflash: There was no free speech under Jack Dorsey. There was only selected speech. And if you were a Democrat, you stood a much better chance of saying what you wanted on the platform without repercussions or consequences. The same cannot be said of conservative-leaning Twitter users.

It seems the blowout over Musk’s takeover is one-sided. Only Democrats seem concerned. This observation should raise questions? Do only Democrats care about free speech? Do Conservatives not care at all? The answer sits with the facts. And the facts are that the Democrats interpret free speech differently. You are free to say what you want — as long as they are okay with it. If they don’t like what you have to say, you cannot say it.

And that, my friends, is why the Left is in a huff over Musk. They don’t like what he has to say and they don’t like that Twitter will now allow Conservatives the constitutional right of freedom of speech. Because it is not the Democrat view of freedom of speech.

As a Democrat, I am embarrassed by my fellow Democrats. The hatred that has long existed on Twitter will now only get worse — aimed at the Right.