Chris Taylor 🖋️

Why I'm outta here, a.k.a. the final straw. See you in the future on the cerulean sky app, where I am also futureboy! mashable.com/article/twitte…

@mkieval @magi_jay Hi Michael! I'm Chris. I'm not "them." I have no desire to sound peeved either. I'm trying to engage constructively, and hoping Magdi can make her argument more persuasive.

@magi_jay Sorry if I sound a bit peeved -- I'm just a bit tired of the slightly-less-bright adherents of the political orthodoxy thinking that maybe we are misunderstanding the assignment, rather than engaging substantively.

Thx for following me for "years." My moral radar is pure. Yours is not. How do I know? You don't engage with the issue itself. You don't just say, "I disagree." Instead: you denigrate. You try to put me in my place. An intellectually honest person would engage w/ the premises.

@magi_jay Wait, what way do you think I use AIPAC?

Jews are being murdered and attacked around the world. That's a fact. Their children live in fear. You treat that seriously. You want to argue that the way you use "AIPAC" is separate from that? Make the argument. Don't engage in fallacious condescending BS.

@magi_jay The threading seems to have hidden my reply, but once again I was complimenting you. Asking for clarity, as a journalist, is never a reason for shame.

@FutureBoy You just questioned *my* morality. Why? You questioned my integrity. Why? There was no reason to do that. You should be ashamed of yourself.

@magi_jay I "invoked" your moral radar to say I think it's *strong* -- I was complimenting you! I know that's rare on Twitter these days ... Let's turn the temperature down a notch? I was also seconding a suggested solution: please provide examples of the two uses of AIPAC you mean.

@FutureBoy No. You're the one who invoked a moral radar. You're gaslighting me in real time. Everyone with logic can see it. *You* called *my* morality into question. And second to that: Demonstrate your argument. What "ambiguous" use of language? Show me your work.

@joshuapbrink @magi_jay This. Magdi, I've followed you for years, and always thought you had a strong moral radar & journalistic sense. Use it here, please. Unpick your own assumptions.

@magi_jay The weaponized ambiguity of your post is the very fog you spent 7 paragraphs discussing. A real defense of clarity would name what you find legitimate AIPAC criticism looks like and distinguish it from the antisemitic kind.

Do you ever feel strangled by the discourse? Like you can't say what you believe to be true? That's intentional. "AIPAC" is a genius semantic strategy for attacking Jews as a group. Why? Because most of the people who would stand up for Jews also don't like AIPAC, just as they don't like many PACs, or money in politics in general. Then, you have the fact that most people who would stand up for Jews also dislike the current Israeli government, just as they don't like right-wing authoritarian governments in general. So, people use "AIPAC" enough, while invoking centuries-old tropes of shadowy Jewish power--and it begins to just signal "Jews." This is happening on a linguistic level. "AIPAC" stands for something, in this usage, apart from the actions of a political action committee. Then those who might otherwise defend Jews get "stuck." Because, if you're going to stand up against the nefarious linguistic use of "AIPAC," don't you risk also standing up for AIPAC itself? It's a trap. And it's designed to be so. To defeat fascism and all the other harmful forces around us, we need clarity and truth. You should be suspicious of *anyone* who seeks to create a fog. Who makes you feel "strangled," rather than free to speak. Especially when your speech could be used to stand up for others. You should resent this strangulation. You should reject it. Regardless of your feelings re: the political action committee itself, "AIPAC" is now a stand-in. A way to smuggle in age-old tropes about Jews and ostensible Jewish power. And if someone has made you confused about how to juggle this? You should be suspicious of that person. You should be suspicious of *anyone* who stands in the way of clarity and truth.

Related: happy one year since the AP made my “May the 4th Grinch” title official apnews.com/article/star-w…

It wouldn’t be George if he could do the dumb pun first time around

Nice place to visit, not sure I'd want to live here

Moltbook debate in a nutshell

There is something deeply broken in this country when the Department of Justice is arresting journalists but letting pedophiles run free.

When you post for the first time in 6 months

And the word went out to all the Twitter refugees

For those about to Grok, we salute you

Why I'm outta here, a.k.a. the final straw. See you in the future on the cerulean sky app, where I am also futureboy! mashable.com/article/twitte…

The one thing giving me hope is remembering that it felt like this in 2020 and then a week later I regretted trusting the website where all of the most depressed and anxious people share their feelings.

pretty clear at this point we're seeing a concerted push of (fake) bomb threats targeted at key states and they're coming from Russia.

Data is going to be all over the place during this hour. Lots of people jumping to conclusions with little information. Really good hour to go for a walk and breathe.

Be advised that this entire hellsite will become a rancid cesspool of lies and disinformation tonight and through the next several days. It was purchased and restructured for this precise purpose. Expect nothing less than a projectile vomiting of hype, falsehoods and petulant rage. And, of course, keep moving forward and toward the light. We can do this.