Thread by @ZachWLambert

I woke up this morning to hundreds of notifications from this tweet, which is literally just a quote from a book I am giving away tonight.

The level of vitriol in the replies is a new experience for me on here. I love Twitter, but this is the dark side of it.

Thread...

https://twitter.com/zachwlambert/status/1359671838389977090

First, this quote is from a book which examines castes and slavery throughout history. Obviously Wilkerson isn’t claiming slavery was invented by America.

She says, “Slavery IN THIS LAND...” wasn’t happenstance. American chattel slavery was purposefully crafted and carried out.

That’s not a “hot take” or a fringe opinion. It’s a fact with which any reputable historian or scholar agrees.

Second, this is a perfect example of how nefarious folks operate here on Twitter...

J*mes Linds*y, P*ter Bogh*ssian and others like them purposefully misrepresent something (or just outright ignore what it actually says as they do in this case) and then feed it to their large, angry following so they will attack.

The attacks are rarely about ideas or beliefs, because purposefully misrepresenting someone’s argument prevents that from happening. Instead, the attacks are directed at the person.

They use whatever they can find about you, in your profile or through an online search, to formulate their attacks.

They go after things like your profession...

And your appearance...

And your intelligence.

There is a really disturbing amount of ableism (the discrimination against and degradation of people with intellectual disabilities) in here...

The goal is to berate and attack those they consider “woke” or basically anyone concerned with social justice until we get so hurt and afraid that we stop speaking. This is how they maintain power.

They came at me for 1 day. They will quickly move, but they won’t stop.

I’ve seen people I look up to on here experience the exact same thing. People like @BethMooreLPM, @JemarTisby, @lisasharper, @richvillodas, @LatashaMorrison, @philvischer, @mika_edmondson, @kkdumez, @esaumccaulley, @stewartdantec, @AlsoACarpenter, and many more.

I used to sympathize with them. Now, though it’s on a much smaller scale, I can empathize with them.

This morning I spent time praying for them and everyone else courageously speaking out against injustice, but I also found myself praying for the people blowing up my mentions.

There is so much anger, bitterness, and fear in their words. I can’t imagine what it’s like to live that way.

If you are one of the angry folks in my mentions reading this right now, my DMs are open. I’m a real person and I‘d love to have a real conversation.

One thing I forgot to mention: I am especially grieved at how many of the people attacking me have something about being a Christian in their bio.

For a group who is supposed to be known by our love (John 13:35), we sure are quick to spew hate.