Have you seen “The Last King of Scotland” (2006)? For his you-cannot-make-this-dictator-up portrayal of Idi Amin, Forest Whitaker won an Oscar for Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role (2007). That’s how I found out about one of the most notorious Idi Amin’s quotes:
There is freedom of speech, but I cannot guarantee freedom after speech
“The King of Twitter” calls himself a free speech absolutist. So, absolute freedom equals absolute guarantees. Right?
In January, I wrote a story about one young and enthusiastic Twitter user who used to track Elon Musk's private jet with a bot using public data from the Federal Aviation Administration.
https://hackernoon.com/is-elon-musk-the-real-life-scrooge-mcduck?embedable=true
Here’s my free (dramatic) interpretation (reconstruction) of the “negotiations” that took place somewhere in cyberspace between Elon and the owner of the ElonJet Twitter account.
Elon Musk: “Stop tracking my private jet location on Twitter because it is a security risk.”
ElonJet: “Nope!”
Elon Musk: “I’ll give you $5K.”
ElonJet: “OK.”
Elon Musk: “Great!”
ElonJet: “Wait! How about a new Tesla Model 3 instead?”
Elon Musk: (Thinking. Processing. Deciding.) “Let’s say I’m considering it.”
ElonJet: “Wait!”
Elon Musk: “What now?”
ElonJet: “How about a new Tesla Model 3 plus $50K for my school?”
Elon Musk: (Silence)
ElonJet: “Mr. Musk are you there?”
Elon Musk: “It doesn't feel right to pay to shut this down.” (Disclaimer: Elon allegedly actually wrote that in one of his messages to Sweeney).
ElonJet: “Wait! What?”
Elon Musk: “Sorry, I’ve got a flight to catch.”
ElonJet: “But, Mr. Musk it’s your private jet. Mr. Musk! Elon…”
What A/n (Un)Lucky Coincidence
On December 13, I tweeted this:
Oh no, I should’ve known better. Wait! I just had a bad trip. My tweet wasn’t even a drop in the trending ocean of “twitterbots” hashtags that day.
Yet, the fact is that 24 or 48 hours after that tweet (I’m not quite sure) ElonJet was suspended.
More than one missed opportunity for some great business (Tesla) and personal (Elon) publicity with the whole negotiation thing, and now this - suspension.
In January, I wrote that I'm not Elon Musk, but if I were I’d offer a free ride on a private jet. Problem solved. Case closed. Instead, we heard this:
I do not have any suicidal thoughts. If I committed suicide, it’s not real.
And saw this a few months earlier:
Security Rhymes With Obscurity, For A Reason!
It goes without saying that Elon Musk has every right to ensure his personal security and the safety of his family. One thing just doesn’t add up, though. Was it really necessary for Twitter (Elon) to suspend Sweeney’s personal account too?
Talking about absolute free speech, Obi-Wan warned us all that…
Only a Sith deals in absolutes!
Think about it. I certainly do.