Facebook

May 5, 2021

For the record, I am not on Facebook because I found it to be a colossal waste of time. I found that Facebook wasn’t a tool. I was Facebook’s tool. Regardless, I think that Facebook’s decision to not reinstate Donald Trump to be very Trumpian. Essentially what they said is that it is something they will continue to look at, and they will have an announcement in the future. Stay tuned. In true Trump style, I suspect nothing will happen, and they will continue to kick the can down the road. Think healthcare and infrastructure.

I cannot conceive of any scenario or philosophical argument that would justify giving him his platform back. Facebook is not a public utility. It is not a right enshrined in the Constitution. As someone once said, “It is what it is.” If his comments and actions don’t warrant permanent banning from the website, the question becomes, as it was during the impeachment hearings, what does? Hate speech, a torrent of lies and disinformation, and incitement to violence seems like a pretty clear case to me. The burden of proof should not be on Facebook to let him back. The burden of proof should be on Trump to demonstrate by word and deed that he deserves to be allowed back. He has to disavow white supremacy, and the “Big Lie.” He needs to be subject to the “Bobby Knight, zero tolerance” policy. The first time Trump throws a chair at the referees or attacks a student, he has to move to Texas. That should teach him.