10 November, 2021

I Won’t Accuse Twitter of Bias on This One, Merely Stupidity

Twitter Suspension of Quin Hillyer is Absurd | National Review

On Twitter, people often have fun with random nostalgia games. Somebody named Jon B. Wolfsthal posted this : “Tell me you watched SNL in the 1970s without saying you watched SNL in the 1970s.” To which, almost immediately, playing off the phonetic similarity of his first name with that of onetime SNL star Jane Curtin, I wrote: “Jon, you ignorant slut.” As my reply was directly responsive to what Wolfsthal had requested, he quickly both “liked” and retweeted it.

After all, for some 20 years or more, for those of a certain broad age range, the saying “Jane, you ignorant slut” was a catchphrase, a way for people (at parties, or while watching ballgames with friends, or whatever) to laugh while feigning mutual displeasure.

Within 24 hours, Quin received a note from Twitter flagging the tweet and informing him that his account had been suspended, “for violating the Twitter rules. Specifically for: Violating our rules against hateful conduct. You may not promote violence against, threaten, or harass other people on the basis of race, ethnicity, national origin, sexual orientation, gender, gender identity, religious affiliation, age, disability, or serious disease.”

So, according to Twitter, playfully tweeting out an old SNL joke to somebody who was amused now represents “hateful conduct.”

Twitter, you ignorant slut.

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