I am wondering what the fallout will be for Twitter. As I speak (and I am sure that most of you are already aware of this) there is a Twitter feed going with the tag "KillZimmerman." Apparently there must be nothing in the Twitter terms of service to prevent a member(s) from using it to threaten the life of a person and advocate for the killing of a person.
This is beyond shameful.
It is, should something happen to Mr. Zimmerman, as much like being an accessory to a crime as anything I can think of. Twitter is at the very least allowing its platform to be used to facilitate a crime. If Twitter were a person it could probably be charged with conspiracy.
Sure, I understand the freedom of speech but certainly this has to be one of those circumstances where the speech in question is not Constitutionally protected. What is different in a person advocating for and organizing others for the murder of another person and a software platform being harnessed (with the tacit approval of its owners and operators) for the same purpose?
Is there a "Kill Zimmerman" Facebook page yet? No? There is a
"f**k Zimmerman" Facebook page. There is an
"Arrest George Zimmerman" Facebook page. These pages (from a brief scan of the oh so intelligent comments contained therein) are also being used as an incitement to violence and, at the very least, an encouragement toward inter-racial hatred.
Now let me see...
So-called conservative "hate speech" (which should be banned) directly led to the shooting of Rep. Gabriel Giffords and the killing of several others. In fact, the "hate speech" of Rush Limbaugh was so incredibly bad that it was somehow necessary to shut him up, destroy his livelihood by driving him from the airwaves. Glenn Beck had already been driven off of FNC because his "hate speech" was so horrible that he just had to go.
And yet, when we see real, documented-in-writing hate speech...speech that is suggesting, demanding and perhaps facilitating a felonious act, well, this speech is okay. It's protected. It's even cool and hip.
Meanwhile, President Zero says nothing. Does nothing.
We live in interesting times that are almost undoubtedly going to become much more interesting very, very soon.