Tenchu's Thoughts - Jimmy Kimmel, the FCC, and This Thread
The assault on the 1st amendment has just been escalated. Because you know, iT's wHaT cHaRlIe wOuLd hAvE wAnTeD.
ABC, Mickey Mouse (Disney), and other corporate big wigs discussed what to do about Jimmy Kimmel after he associated Charlie Kirk's assassin with MAGA:
Insiders Spill Chilling Reason Jimmy Kimmel’s TV Bosses Caved to MAGA (The Daily Beast via MSN)
Ultimately, while they thought Kimmel "had not actually said anything over the line," they feared retaliation from King Orange himself, which is why they pulled the show.
This was confirmed by the chairman of the FCC, who was interviewed by the paid RuZZian propagandist Benny Johnson. The FCC chairman threatened to withdraw ABC's broadcasting license if they didn't cancel Kimmel.
His Royal Highness, of course, celebrated the news and called on other late night talk shows to get "cancelled" as well.
The debate over the first amendment is obvious. I won't cover that here.
What I will cover is how this may affect Silicon Investor, especially this thread.
Because I already see a handful of MAGA zealots who are trying to "cancel" anyone that they think is "defaming" or "slandering" the president.
And although I don't think they're smart enough to know what they are doing, I believe the use of those words, especially "slander," is no accident.
Because the word invokes the specter of lawsuits.
Because SLAPP is a thing, and that asshole Trump has escalated their use to ridiculous proportions:
Strategic lawsuit against public participation (Wikipedia)
And although big sites like Reddit, YouTube, Facebook, TikTok, and others have the resources to defend against SLAPP, smaller sites like Silicon Investor don't.
My assertions:
#1: The E-Peen Factor
MAGA cultists LOVE it when they see anyone who isn't MAGA spend some time in "SI jail." They see it as a badge of honor to get people banned. They oddly treat it like an act of dominance.
They are also obsessed with the size of their e-peens I see it pop up (no pun intended) every now and then. How many "recommendations" one has. How many "ignores" one has drawn.
They don't want to engage in debate. All they want is affirmation. All they want is for others to "recommend" their posts so that they feel significant. That's the e-peen factor.
#2: The Fuzz Factor
I remember when one of the SI mods told me that he had to deal with the authorities investigating some posters who have apparently "crossed the line." I don't know specifically what line was crossed, and of course, the mod would never tell me what the post was even if I asked (which I didn't, of course).
But that's the environment that our overreaching government has created. Instead of protecting the right to express any views, no matter how unpopular or obscene they may be, the government instead has been trying to force Internet discussion forums to self-police ... or else.
And here's the thing. This happened well before Trump 2.0. It happened under Brandon, it happened under Trump 1.0, and to an extent it also happened under Obama.
In other words, it's not unprecedented. But it IS being escalated.
#3: The Charlie Factor
Like it or not, Charlie Kirk was assassinated while he was exercising his right to free speech. He was also engaging in peaceful dialogue. While I don't like the format of his public forums, which are designed more for "gotchas" and spreading logical fallacies than for real debate, it's his God-given right to hold these forums.
The antidote to bad free speech is MORE and BETTER free speech. Not a bullet with homophobic shell casings fired by a self-loathing closeted gay guy from a MAGA household.
However, this is absolutely NOT what the Trump regime wants. Instead, they are ramping up their war on free speech.
My prediction: More and more people on this thread will be "free speeched" away
Just like on X, where the so-called "champion of free speech" has turned that platform into an absolute shitshow.
It all depends on several factors, including SI's ability to stay underneath the radar of the Feds.
But all it takes is one person to report "un-American activities," and one authority figure to notice.
Then you will see a bunch of anti-Trump posts "disappear" along with the people who posted them.
And rather than bemoan the death of free speech and the free exchange of ideas, the regulars on this thread will celebrate and pop champagne bottles.
"Freedom for me, cancellation for thee."
I hope I'm wrong. I hope this thread can survive. Few other threads on SI enjoy minimal moderation like this one.
And don't get me started on other discussion forums like Reddit, Facebook, or the YouTube comment sections, where the "moderation" is erratic and often WAY overdone, even on political forums where all views are supposedly welcome.
In conclusion, if this thread gets "free speeched" by agents of the Trump regime, let me just say that it's been a wonderful run, and that America had a good 250 years of existence as a free nation.
Tenchusatsu |
