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7 tweets,
2 min read
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People are acting like Twitter's refusal to ban white supremacists because then they would end up banning some Republicans is Twitter being hapless or apathetic, rather than intentionally complicit with normalization.
But if you had one of these reactions:
--*snerk* if the shoe fits
--holy shit, what the fuck is even happening to the Republican Party
congrats, you're probably someone who's already horrified by white supremacy. But:
--*snerk* if the shoe fits
--holy shit, what the fuck is even happening to the Republican Party
congrats, you're probably someone who's already horrified by white supremacy. But:
America isn't divided into card-carrying white nationalists and people horrified to their marrow by white supremacy. There's a whole group of white Americans not in either of those groups.
And I'm very worried that those people hear "Republican" and think "ah, yes, of course: one of America's normal, legitimate political parties." And not what you'd necessarily think, which is, "ah yes, Trump Republicans: actual Nazis in trucker hats and/or polo shirts."
And that the math that goes on in their brain is:
-Republicans are a normal, legitimate half of the American political landscape
-Banning white supremacists would ban many Republicans
therefore:
-Maybe something is wrong with banning white supremacists.
-Republicans are a normal, legitimate half of the American political landscape
-Banning white supremacists would ban many Republicans
therefore:
-Maybe something is wrong with banning white supremacists.
And while our reaction to that statement may have been, "wow, Twitter, way to speak the truth the press won't acknowledge and then miss the whole point..."
I'm very worried that for a lot of people, hearing "white supremacists" associated with "Republicans" actually just legitimizes white supremacists for them rather than de-legitimizing Republicans, and Jack knows this, and that's why he said it.
