by Dina-Perla Portnaar
Nancy Pelosi wouldn’t have asked the head of military to make sure that Donald Trump would not be able to launch a nuclear strike during his final days in office, if the national and international threat wouldn’t be as realistic as that. Trump remains commander-in-chief of the US armed forces. In fact, the world does not realise the severity of what happened at the Capitol and the role of Trump in these events. I may only hope that everyone who downplayed the risks of the presidency of Donald Trump will feel a lot of regret, if not now then someday.
I find the assault at the Capitol worse than other historic events. It can be seen as the most awful terroristic attack in the United States and can be viewed as in the same category as the Second World War. Usually, I would be the last person on earth to compare historic events and figures to each other, but let me explain why we need to in this specific case.
Power structures, narcissistic displays and utter lack of morality
The Trump family is threatening the democracy by faking election fraud and holding a (mental) grip on their followers. They told them to ‘fight like hell’, that they will continue ‘to represent their voices in America, no matter what it takes’ – by which they could indicate the formation of a new party in the future and they said that in these sorts of situations ‘other rules apply’. They have bent the truth in many ways throughout the years and they won’t be held back by anything or anyone, nor will they be held accountable for whatever national and international damage occurred. I sure hope that the events at the Capitol will change. Remember the days when impeachment took place ‘just’ because of adultery and a lack of strong leadership and credibility?
The Trump family will not stop, which is all part of the traits that occur in cases of such power structures, narcissistic displays and utter lack of morality. The Trump family believes that they can do whatever they want; something that has been built up with care throughout the course of many, many years, through elite lobbying, favouritism and a lot of intrigues. Trump’s supporters can’t see clearly that the power will never be given to the people by such figures – period. They can’t see that it is not about representing the people, uniting them and leading a country at all, no matter what positive actions were taken for some during the Trump administration. A part of those supporters will not acknowledge diversity, inclusivity and human rights; the fact that the country is of all its inhabitants and not of some.
People were about to create more damage than most of us are truly aware of and are willing to admit
An assault on democracy causing five deaths all happened while the Trump family and closed ones were watching the storming of the Capitol and partying as if they were about to take over the United States of America by force. Never will I be able to listen to the song ‘Gloria’ of Laura Branigan without remembering this horrific scene, which symbolises how dangerous these power mechanisms truly are – as can be seen in the video shared by Donald Trump Jr. via social media.
Before the storming of the Capitol, all ten former defense secretaries had called for the military to stay out of the transition of power. Also, during the storm, the Trump family turned their back on Mike Pence. They couldn’t care less about his safety. Now, it is Mike Pence reaching out to the family of the police agent who died at the Capitol and not Trump. Moreover, Trump tried to pressure different senators in order to sabotage Joe Biden’s victory, all while people had explosives at the Capitol and were about to create even more damage than most of us are truly aware of and are willing to admit.
Protect the nation for coercion, wars and disasters not to occur
The gap between the real intention of not the storming of the Capitol, but the battle at the Capitol and the outcome as we know it at this point is something that hasn’t sunk in with most people yet. The displays of fascism of all sorts cannot and should not be toned down. It reminded Arnold Schwarzenegger of the Kristallnacht. He shared his valuable experiences in a video. The Kristallnacht was different and much worse. However, looking at the history and learning from it is definitely the way to go.
No matter what severe discontentment some people may feel in the US causing them to worship the Trump family, every single person will always be responsible for his or her actions, as it should be. If radical and terroristic groups are mentally so far off that they are willing to risk their own lives and the existence of others, actions need to be taken in order to protect the just, civilised and peaceful people in the country and on the planet.
The triggers of those people are of secondary importance. They all share the fact that they only believe in one single path instead of many paths and cooperation. Whether they feel that they are on a mission to finish God’s work, or they believe in Q / QAnon or other conspiracies, or that they believe a revolution should take place, or anything else, when it reaches the level of such terroristic invasion, it is all the same in order to protect the nation for coercion, wars and disasters not to occur. People who don’t comprehend the level of severity, may have been more privileged for centuries and may have less of a notion of what oppression does for individuals and for the collective.
Side note: then we wonder why God has a bad rep when looking at the things people are willing to do in the name of God, which isn’t God at all. It is painful because in essence, there is nothing wrong with searching for God and living a spiritual life. Similarly, then we wonder why child abuse is not solved appropriately on a global scale when being misused in all sorts of mental and conspiracy theories, even if in reality, it is definitely an existing issue.
I could only have wished for Hitler to have been banned
All of the above is why Twitter made the right decision to ban Donald Trump. I am the last person on earth to support censorship and I do agree that there is a lot to be said about big tech these days. However, in this specific case, I wholeheartedly believe that Twitter made the right call. I also agree that there are other dictators or figures on Twitter that shouldn’t be using such platform either and that this is a complicated matter. Yet again, in this specific case, Twitter was spot-on.
The book ‘Mein Kampf’ was also ‘just’ another book that could have been categorised as freedom of speech. However, see what that content, the looking away of some and the (mental) grip on a collective level led to. More than six million people were killed, just because they ‘wore the wrong label’. Not only were they killed, they were slaughtered in the most gruesome ways, while the majority of the collective mental state was trying to straighten out what was crooked, using the biggest lies that history has ever faced. I could only have wished for Hitler to have been banned. Such kind of disempowerment could have saved the world.
Every single person who does not agree and views Twitter banning Trump as censorship has absolutely no idea what such genocide and destruction does to people, not just during one generation, but generation after generation after generation after generation. Or they don’t really care, or worse. In general, I can understand that it is hard to grasp, because if you’re not living this every single day, or not actively educating yourself by connecting with others and asking to hear more about those life experiences, you will never be able to comprehend and grow in consciousness. Besides, do you know that people such as Lauren Boebert proclaim that it is totally OK to carry a gun and bring it to Congress? Now, with that in mind, go back to the decision that Twitter has made.
Influencer marketing and monetising connections has nothing to do with integrity
The Trump family does not need Twitter or whatever big tech offer to interact with their followers. As Donald Trump Jr. puts it in his video, people can visit their website to keep up with the Trump family. Whether that content platform will be categorised as the dark web remains to be seen. That is another reason why I can truly support Twitter in this specific case. I would only advise the Trump followers – to the best of my abilities and with the best possible intentions, as funny as it may sound to them – to not leave their e-mail addresses and contact details, as the Trump family is known for exploiting commerce.
The trend of well-known people leaving social media platforms is already happening for a while now. Well-known people don’t necessarily need big tech. Many criticise the influence of algorithms on people and for example their world views. They criticise the misuse of data, the money made on the back of those well-known people and the lack of transparency. I even know a couple of well-known people using an owned content platform and not regular social media, because they believe that influencer marketing and monetising connections has nothing to do with integrity at all. Gosh, do I love these bold and noble people who have impeccable integrity.
Intelligence and the ability to judge information on an individual level
The influence of big tech and the principle of ‘winner takes all’ will push a lot of discussions in the public debate that were going on for a while now in private and that were long overdue on a massive scale. Regulations will follow. New issues with fake news and deep fake are just around the corner. All of this will require intelligence and the ability to judge information on an individual level like never before, similar to the information provided by the traditional media with the representation of certain interests of people. The difference is that information provided via big tech and social media can be tricked or falsified even more in some regards than the information provided via traditional media.
The domain of big tech and data is being developed. Current knowhow in the field of journalism, communications and regulations does not provide all answers for what’s next. As always, it will depend on the people who will have a say in this field and on the amount of integrity. Will humanity be put first? What will this humanity look like? In that sense, Twitter banning Trump has a great side effect on people, opening them up to other digital possibilities and choices.
That said, I also console myself with the knowledge that social media of today can be completely outdated by tomorrow. That landscape changes constantly, especially with virtual and augmented reality becoming common. Theoretically speaking, I can imagine a scenario in which individuals and organisations will solely use an owned content platform at some point, enabling all social media to disappear. For now, who knows what awaits us in the coming period? It is evident that the Biden administration will have the toughest task in the entire history of America. I am rooting for the rise, connection and healing of all.
Photo: Hannah Snijders
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