And now, the news that Elon Musk’s bid to buy Twitter has been successful has caused a predictable meltdown of volcanic proportions. In the unbridled mania among identitarian leftists, we are seeing evidence that they have not learned the lessons of Brexit or the election of Donald Trump, which they similarly treated as portents of the apocalypse. It takes an infantile mind not to accept that democracy works on the basis of the loser’s consent, the principle that – as Roger Scruton put it – ‘We respect our fellow citizens even when they do not vote our way, because the government is not “mine” or “yours” but “ours”’.
Even the deranged reactions to the Brexit and Trump votes were but tepid premonitions of the responses to Musk’s takeover of Twitter. Comedian Kathy Griffin tweeted that Musk is a ‘media-thirsty, vindictive, white supremacist who is looking to convince you he is an innovative disruptor’. Activist Shaun King wrote that Musk’s move is ‘about white power’. Apparently, Musk is ‘upset that Twitter won’t allow white nationalists to target / harass people. That’s his definition of free speech.’ No evidence for these claims has been forthcoming, of course. Like all his fellow activists, King has the kind of access to his political opponents’ private thoughts that Uri Geller could only dream about.
King has since deleted his Twitter account, and many others have threatened to do so, too. Actor Jameela Jamil’s statement that she is leaving Twitter has been clocking up the retweets and likes, so it’s understandable that her account still remains active. The broadcaster India Willoughby has said that ‘if Elon gets Twitter, I think that’s it for me’. Activist Tim Wise has gone straight for the trash talk: ‘Fuck Elon Musk. Apartheid Baby. You, your company, and everyone who Stans for you. I’m saying this on your platform now and will keep saying it. Let’s see how committed you are to free speech when we start roasting your ass.’ Twitter has not been this entertaining for years.
King has since returned, playing out this classic Seinfeld scene in real life (or what passes for real life on Twitter):