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The last four years of the Trump administration has created a massive divide in the United States. Extremism has taken afoot, and now it’s time for the next four years to focus on fixing America’s issues.
Friday marked another historical day in 2021, as Donald Trump officially conceded the results of election and will ensure a smooth transition of power come January 20th. He also condemned the actions of those who took to violence by assaulting Capitol Hill.
“To those who engaged in acts of violence and destruction, you do not represent our country. And to those who broke the law, you will pay.”
Hours later, following the steps of other major platforms, Twitter decided to permanently ban Trump’s account citing the Capitol Hill coup as a major motivator.
“After close review of recent Tweets from the @realDonaldTrump account and the context around them — specifically how they are being received and interpreted on and off Twitter — we have permanently suspended the account due to the risk of further incitement of violence.”
With these developments, the end of Trump’s leadership is now in sight. So, what’s next?
While many are rejoicing at the removal of Trump from office and social media, these actions don’t mark the end of the white supremacy. A record breaking 70 million people voted to re-elect president Trump. While some have changed their minds about Trump, there are still some who have dug deeper in their support.
The last four years of Trump’s administration has created a massive divide in the United States. Extremism has taken afoot, and I know first hand the discourse online have been disgusting.
I’ve seen how vile racists have been when discussing the unlawful murders of African Americans in the states, and while there has been some joy in watching the right lose their minds when receiving the same lack of compassion with the recent Capitol Hill events, eventually we’ll have to focus on what’s truly important.
With the win of Jon Ossoff in Georgia, the democrats have the power and it’s up to the United States citizens to hold them accountable for the next four years. There are zero excuses for them not to abide by their promises and the will of the people.
The wealth gap continues to grow larger and larger in the world, and many of the world’s richest people have amassed billions of dollars during the pandemic, while citizens have yet to receive a second stimulus.
Student debt is at an all time high, and many can’t afford to live while escaping their looming debt. Health care is crippling citizens at an alarming rate as well.
Social media networks, like Facebook’s recent terms of service, are more invasive than ever stealing more information than necessary and likely to be sold to third parties. Changes must be implemented against corporations in these unprecedented times.
Rather than seeking revenge on all the wrong doings of the Trump administration, the United States citizens must focus on repairing the political divide. It’s easy to make fun of the other side for all they’ve done in the past four years, and despite how childish the riot of Capitol Hill was, there was one common denominator: the United States government.
Both sides are fed up with the state and that is what the next four years should be about. Holding the state accountable for their actions.
This discussion has become the face of the internet ever since Twitter made their decision to ban Trump. A lot of people believe that this attack on Trump’s account means the first amendment is now in jeopardy.
This is not the case. What these people fail to understand is that Twitter and other social media platforms are corporations. They do not fall under the jurisdiction of the constitution when it comes to free speech.
When you create an account and log into these platforms you abide by their terms of services and their policies. At that point, they set the rules and you determine how comfortable you are in revoking some of your “rights” to use the platform. The same way a store, restaurant, or club set the rules of entry: “No shoes, no shirt, no service”.
While there does need to be some regulation of social media, the best form of action would be to hit these corporations’ bottom lines.
If you are uncomfortable with Twitter’s services, choose another platform. But people these days have a major fear of missing out (FOMO), which is often greater than their desire to make a stand.
The reason Trump was removed was due to his speech inciting the violence that took place on Capitol Hill. Now, is this move towards Trump fair across the board?
I would argue it isn’t. Across the Twitter platform Iran’s leader Ali Khamenei has been tweeting violent rhetoric for months now, which according to twitter is a violation of their policies, but with no repercussions until they removed Trump.
I’m not sure as to what level Khamenei’s tweets have actually led to real life violence, but Twitter can absolutely be criticized for their hypocritical stance. Over the past few years I don’t think Twitter has made it very clear as to what is appropriate and what is not.
Since their decision, Twitter stock has had a low of a 4% drop. The biggest way to incur change is to affect the bottom line so if you’re truly disappointed in the actions of Twitter and other platforms, don’t use them.
Featured Image Via: Jacquelyn Martin (AP)
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