Twitter suspended me again.

I stuck my nose into a discussion of Richard Levine, the “trans” assistant secretary of health who was ludicrously selected as “Woman of the Year”, by USA Today. My tweet simply said, “Levine is a man. It is an objective, verifiable fact.”

They suspended me for 12 hours and then offered me the option of deleting the tweet in return for release from Twitter jail. I have been giving it some thought for the last 4 days and today decided to appeal.

I was suspended three or four months ago. I went ahead and deleted that tweet, but it just did not feel right submitting to the demands of thought bullies. This time I will appeal and at least let them know what I think of their sad attempts to suppress my thought crimes.

Here is the appeal:

I appeal the suspension of my account and dispute the characterization of my tweet as “hateful conduct”. My tweet said, “Levine is a man. It is an objective, verifiable fact.” The tweet refers to Richard Levine, also known as Rachel Levine, a US assistant secretary of health.  The tweet is a factual statement based on information that can easily be obtained on the internet and basic knowledge of biology and genetics. Levine characterizes himself as a woman and that is his prerogative, however, the facts indicate otherwise and there is no compelling reason that any reasonable person should have to agree with him.

Given that my tweet was factual, does it constitute “hateful conduct”? I suppose that it could be in the context of “Twitter Rules” if that phrase “hateful conduct” is twisted beyond all coherence for the purpose of making the rule. In the real world, telling someone the truth is a useful service.  Disseminating factual information—truth, is beneficial and it is why pluralistic societies have long encouraged the open exchange of ideas and information.

If there is any “hateful conduct” here, it is the suppression of facts and ideas by Twitter for what is likely political reasons. Sadly, such malignant conduct does not benefit our society or the users of your service who provide you with the content you need to make money. I regret that I have to make the same ignorant judgment about your conduct and policies as you do about mine, but as the great philosopher Waylon Jennings said, “What goes around comes around.”