No more political comments for me now that I’ve shot off both my feet.
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) April 9, 2013
Twitter is an extraordinary tool in so many ways. But, it’s a troll-lined black hole for civic dialogue. Last night, serial inventor Elon Musk dared to express a political opinion on Twitter and paid the price. “Always admired Margaret Thatcher — she was tough, but sensible & fair, much like my English Nana,” he tweeted.
@elonmusk god motherfucker, you just lost some serious cool points.
— Tice Estes (@ticeestes) April 9, 2013
While the reaction to Musk was relatively tame, compared to the usual firestorm of epithets and Hitler-themed accusations, the utter lack of informed dialogue does not spell good things for the future of democracy and social media.
For instance, when former Ms. teen heartthrob Melissa Joan Hart expressed an ounce of positivity towards Republican candidate, Mitt Romney, she was inundated with vicious insults:
Which, was in response to this thoughtful response to a thoughtful reply:
And, it isn’t that Twitter is incapable of being a forum for informative debate. Just last week, former White House speechwriter Jon Lovett and Brietbart columnist Ben Shapiro held a sarcasm fest over gay marriage.
.@jonlovett Please define qualifying characteristics for marriage. Male? Female? Love? Commitment? What is basis for marriage, and why?
— Ben Shapiro (@benshapiro) April 5, 2013
.@jonlovett If your standard is “two people who want to spend their lives together,” I repeat: why not two brothers aboard a submarine?
— Ben Shapiro (@benshapiro) April 5, 2013
.@benshapiro You’re so protective of ‘traditional marriage’ but you need me to explain the rational basis for laws against incest/bigamy?
— Jon Lovett (@jonlovett) April 5, 2013
The debate wasn’t a candidate for Plato’s Symposium; it was fierce and snarky, yet insightful in an entertaining way that invited a broad audience to participate. But, for those who can’t dish out one-liners like professional pundits, Twitter is a political minefield. As one of the great 21st-century innovators, Musk probably has some valuable ideas politics to get off his chest.
Certainly, when former Alaskan Governor, Sarah Palin, went after Tesla, he could handle himself:
Sarah Palin calls Tesla a loser. Am deeply wounded. rawstory.com/rs/2013/04/07/…Btw, Model S warranty does cover “bricking”.
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) April 8, 2013
But after dipping his toes in the general political water and getting bitten, I suspect Musk, and many like him, won’t bother speaking up again.