Asserting the right to exist in public online spaces

To this end, the damage to our communities by a twitter exodus isn’t simply going to be in the mode of losing the networks we’ve cultivated, but losing the ability to circulate cultural products that are INTENTIONALLY SUPPRESSED through institutionalized oppression.

— Dr. Johnathan Flowers is also @shengokai@zirk.us (@shengokai) November 8, 2022

Whether or not twitter was a “public square” is irrelevant: in the eyes of culture, of the affective and libidinal economies of culture, twitter IS a public square.

Because it has been culturally positioned as a public square, ceding it to fascists and racists is unacceptable. https://t.co/N4juO3fobx

— Dr. Johnathan Flowers is also @shengokai@zirk.us (@shengokai) November 7, 2022

But also, the unique nature of this bird app and how it allows communities to form is why we need to fight for it. I’m dead fucking serious about this. To surrender twitter to the trolls teaches them that they can drive people out of any space they want.

— Dr. Johnathan Flowers is also @shengokai@zirk.us (@shengokai) November 5, 2022

I appreciate these arguments. The right to exist in a public space hits home with me personally as I have struggled with taking up space in the world, and have worked to feel more comfortable existing in public and asserting my needs. Ceding a platform to the racists and fascists and sexists amplifies their voices while diminishing mine, and skews the perception that there are more of them than there are.

Seeing Elon take an axe to Twitter has made me think more about what I want out of online spaces and my online experience, and grapple with the good in Twitter.

I’m still not sure *I* want to spend time on Twitter given its impact on my brain, considering I had already pulled back from using it several years ago. I also am reading The Shallows and it’s prompting a rethinking of how I read online. I’m still mulling over what serves me best: feeding my curiosity and delight with a wide array of topics that nevertheless hold little practical value and are fed to me by others, or prioritizing being more active in seeking out what to read with an emphasis on longform material that supports development of patience and deeper thought?