I’ve often pointed out that the hard left does not view racism as a societal ill to be fought, but as a political weapon to be wielded against those who don’t buy into their trash ideas. High-profile progressive influencers, politicians, media activists, and other members of the chattering class, in general, do not give a you-know-what about racial bigotry. This is why they view black Americans as a useful cudgel with which to smear folks they don’t like.
There are plenty of examples in which progressives demonstrate how little they think of black Americans, but the latest can be seen in the hoopla over Tesla CEO Elon Musk buying Twitter. They have shown a remarkable level of fear at the idea that someone like Musk would take over the company and create a level playing field for conservatives and leftists alike. They are currently using black folks to portray him as a virulent racist who will use the platform to target them.
In a piece for Bloomberg, author Kelsey Butler claimed black Twitter users were “very nervous” about Musk taking over the company. She wrote:
After billionaire Elon Musk announced a $44 billion deal to buy Twitter, many Black users debated whether they’d stay on the app.
They questioned whether Musk’s ownership would bring more harassment, the return of banned accounts and an uptick in misinformation. After all, Musk has said he’d prioritize free speech, be “very reluctant to delete things” and tread lightly with permanent bans. “Timeouts, I think, are better,” he said.
She continued, noting that some prominent black folks would be shutting down their accounts. “People like Ijeoma Oluo, author of ‘So You Want to Talk About Race’ have already deactivated their accounts. “Well, I’m out,” said New York Times columnist Charles Blow, who called Twitter a ‘cesspool of bots, screamers, conspiracists, and the perpetually angry,’” she wrote.
Writer Erika D. Smith penned an op-ed for The Los Angeles Times, claiming that Musk’s takeover would spell the end of Black Twitter, which is comprised of influential black users. She brought up the racial discrimination suit that 4,000 current and former employees have filed against Tesla, alleging racial discrimination. She wrote:
Some of those employees described their experiences to The Times. They alleged that they were often the targets of racist slurs by co-workers and supervisors and that Tesla segregated Black workers, gave them the hardest work at the Fremont, Calif., manufacturing plant and denied them promotions. And they say the company ignored their complaints about the treatment.
Predictably, the author also complained about Musk’s plan to allow free speech on the platform, claiming it would encourage white supremacists to return, which would result in black people logging off the app. “Prominent white supremacists who got kicked off the platform for good reason could return — among them former President Trump, who, through his account, helped incite the Jan. 6 insurrection at the U.S. Capitol,” she wrote.
Author Bruce C.T. Wright wrote a piece for NewsOne, in which he argued that black people would likely be censored on the platform:
Twitter is a major part of the political infrastructure now, but without any accountability for misinformation that has been proven effective, it could revert back to its former Wild Wild West-like environment that fostered the type of propaganda that helped hand Trump his presidency. Conversely, Black Twitter and its attempts to highlight political issues affecting people of color could be censored.
He also expressed fear that the Orange Man What Is Bad™ could be invited back to the platform, which would ostensibly cause even more trouble for black Americans. He obviously did not consider the fact that black folks did just fine on the platform before Trump was banned in the first place.
Let’s get down to brass tacks, shall we?
I do not buy the notion that any of these people actually believe the rubbish they wrote. They know full well that Musk’s takeover will not affect Black Twitter or stop African Americans from expressing their views on the platform. The best argument they have in this regard is the racial discrimination suit, which has not been adjudicated yet. But even then, none of these people even provide evidence showing that, if the allegations are true, Musk had anything to do with the behavior of people engaging in racist behavior.
To put it simply, none of these people have any proof that Elon Musk is a racist, no matter how desperately they wish it were true.
But remember, these people do not care about racism.
The white progressive elite and the black tap-dancers they push to the forefront to spew their garbage are not trying to address valid concerns of racial discrimination at Twitter; they are trying to smear Musk as a racist because he is not a member of the Church of Wokeism. He espouses free speech, which is an idea that makes progressives’ skin crawl upon the very mention of the term.
The truth is that black folks will do just fine on Twitter after Musk takes over. Even if I were to believe that there would be an uptick in white supremacist chatter (there won’t be), we can give as good as we get. It will take more than a few Richard Spencer types to drive black people off the platform, and every single one of these progressives knows that. But, as we know, they can’t help themselves when it comes to their addiction to race-baiting, right?
