Well, that was news I never thought I would wake up to read, but here we are.
This morning, as I sat on the couch lazily scrolling through my news feed with Uncle Tony’s Parts Unknown providing an auditory backdrop to my ritual latte, I stumbled across an article in Al Jazeera that nearly produced a spit take. It seems that as of today, X, formally known as Twitter, has officially supported adult content. There are rules, such as the need for consent and that models must be over the age of consent etc, but outside of the same set of boundaries that, say, Pornhub adheres to, users are free to post all of the naughty things.
I have a unique perspective on this. Back in the old days, Cartel Incorporated was known for being a place where one could speak their mind, post titillating pics, and generally enjoy the free speech they were entitled to without policing. The thing is, back then, racists, homophobes and other fringe hate groups had far less acceptance than they seem to now, and a platform that promises not to police that either, seems… Like it’s promoting going in the wrong direction. Don’t get me wrong here – I’m a big fan of self expression and I believe you should be able to speak your mind unhindered, but with the caveat that what you say doesn’t invite violence or hate towards anyone. Elon Musk seems to feel differently, so I find myself in a weird spot.
When I was a kid, the rebel in popular culture was a deserving hero for the most part. Fighting for freedom against an oppressive regime like Dee Snider and John Denver did against the PMRC when presidential trophy wives came for our rock and roll. When I look at who the rebels in today’s culture are though, their ranks seem to be filled with uneducated morons who parrot hate just so they can feel like part of some larger whole. It’s like the dark side has somehow managed to flip the script on those of us who actually value freedom.
While I applaud X’s move towards less censorship, I can’t escape this prickly feeling on the back of my neck that with Elon at the helm, things will go horribly wrong and end up sending us backwards. I hope I’m wrong.
