I woke up today feeling the weight of the world, and while I usually thrive on natural light, today’s gloomy weather forced me into the harsh glare of artificial lighting, which only added to my irritation. Despite my mood, I felt compelled to address a topic that’s been gnawing at me: the ongoing drama at Twitter and the broader implications it has for our society.
Let’s rewind a bit and discuss the recent chaos surrounding Twitter, specifically the trans debate. It’s become a catalyst for upheaval, causing people to lose their minds and relationships to fracture. The issue itself is often secondary to the way it’s used as a wedge to divide and conquer. This isn’t about activism; it’s about content and clicks. The debate has become an emotional trigger, detached from the actual issue, a tool for various interests to silence opposition and manipulate public sentiment.
The left, once the champions of questioning corporate power, have now become the polite police, focusing on respectability rather than substance. I was reminded of this shift while watching an old episode of Michael Moore’s “The Awful Truth.” Moore was a formative influence on me, a hero who confronted corporate giants like Big Tobacco and exposed their deceitful practices. His confrontational style, making people uncomfortable in a funny way, was a powerful tool for activism.
Today, questioning corporate power, like the safety of puberty blockers for minors, is often dismissed as fear-mongering. But history shows us that skepticism is warranted. The same tactics used by Big Tobacco to downplay the dangers of smoking are now being employed by pharmaceutical companies. It’s not about the issue itself but about the methods used to suppress dissent and manipulate public opinion.
The Daily Wire has cleverly adopted these tactics, positioning themselves as the new champions of free speech and dissent, albeit from a right-wing perspective. They’ve filled a void left by the mainstream left, which has been co-opted and gentrified, focusing more on silencing dissent than fostering debate. The result is a fractured society where valid concerns are dismissed, and those raising them are attacked.
Michael Moore’s confrontations with corporate power were about exposing the harm these entities cause. Today, similar efforts would be met with accusations of harassment, sexism, or racism. The shift is stark. The left has lost its way, allowing corporate interests to dominate the narrative. The right, meanwhile, has seized the opportunity to position themselves as the defenders of free speech, even if their motives are questionable.
The “What is a Woman?” documentary by Matt Walsh exemplifies this. While I don’t support its conclusions, it raises valid questions that deserve discussion. The left should be engaging with these questions, not silencing them. The tactics used by the right are effective because they tap into genuine concerns that the left has ignored or dismissed.
We need to remember our roots, the days when questioning corporate power was a badge of honour. The left has been nudged into a corner, focusing on respectability politics while ignoring the real issues. We’ve allowed ourselves to be manipulated by corporate interests, losing sight of the harm they cause.
It’s time to recalibrate. We need to reclaim our role as the questioners of power, the challengers of corporate deceit. We must remember the lessons of Michael Moore and others who dared to make people uncomfortable in the pursuit of truth. The tactics used to silence dissent are the same, whether it’s Big Tobacco or Big Pharma. We must resist the urge to conform to respectability politics and instead focus on the real issues, the real harm being caused.
In the end, it’s not about being polite; it’s about being right. It’s about standing up for those who have been harmed, whether by tobacco, pharmaceuticals, or any other corporate interest. We need to remember which side we’re on and stay true to our principles. Only then can we hope to make a real difference.