Read on Twitter
Quick thread: I've seen a lot of folks defending Twitter banning Trump to conservatives with the comparison of Christian bakers refusing to sell same-sex couples wedding cakes.
While I appreciate the intended spite, this is an inapt comparison that may be counterproductive. 1/x
While I appreciate the intended spite, this is an inapt comparison that may be counterproductive. 1/x
At the bottom line, we DO want publishers to be able to decide whose content they publish, and we DON'T want public businesses to discriminate against people because of their identities. We don't want to suggest supporting one is supporting another. They're different! 2/x
Businesses are public accommodations. What groups like ADF fight for is the right to not serve the public equally based solely on the identity of the customers. That issue is not about viewpoint or artistry; that's the nonsense conservatives argue. 3/x
But publishers win on the free speech front. Twitter is a private company and it doesn't have to elevate voices and viewpoints it doesn't want to. While the ubiquity of social media is a new phenomenon, the reality is Twitter is still a publisher just like a newspaper. 4/x
That said, a better comparison might be a Baptist newspaper being forced to run @fakedansavage columns every day. Or Newsmax being forced to give @maddow a show. There are easy ways to demonstrate why this isn't "Orwellian" and why conservatives are wrong to object. 5/x
I definitely share the concern that Twitter feels like a public space. But even a public space shouldn't tolerate incitements to violence. Whether it was run by a private company or not, we'd want controls over how calls to violence are spread. This is what we have for now. 6/x
The other quick point is that anti-LGBTQ conservatives try to define queer people according to behaviors and choices, not inherent aspects of our identity. We definitely do not want to suggest treating us differently is a response to our "viewpoint." 7/x
At any rate, conservatives are of course exhibiting all kinds of hypocrisy and double standards as they attempt to preserve white, male, Christian, straight, cis, nondisabled power. It's totally right to call that shit out. Let's just be smarter about how we do it. Thanks! 8/8
