Though you probably weren’t even aware because you have better things to focus on, multitudes of rich and famous people gathered in New York City on Monday evening for the annual Met Gala. In one of the more obscene cultural spectacles, those with way too much money and ego do their best to look absurd and flaunt their arrogance.
Last year, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez showed up in a dress that read “Tax the Rich” while having her own team of servants. That clocked in as one of the more ironic and nonsensical moments in recent political history.
Regardless, Elon Musk was at this year’s event, and he was asked about where he sees Twitter going after his purchase.
Those all seem like perfectly reasonable things to strive for. Right now, Twitter is not inclusive in the sense that the rules are highly subjective and are selectively enforced. If you are a liberal, you can say all sorts of vile things and rarely elicit any punishment. But if you are a conservative who says a man can’t be a woman, that’s an automatic ban if you are popular enough to draw the attention of the censors.
The biggest change that could be made to Twitter would simply be applying the rules equally. That seems to be what Musk wants to do, and it’s a good thing. It will also lead to fulfilling his second hope, which is to make the platform entertaining, interesting, and funny.
Still, there’s one thing he said that should cause serious concern. If you watch the video, he qualifies his comments by noting that he wants to do those things “assuming everything gets done.” That pretty clearly indicates that this thing isn’t actually finalized yet. Perhaps financing could fall through, but more worrisome is the possibility that the Twitter board could back out somehow. We know that on Musk’s end, he can back out for the cost of $1 billion. You’d think that applies the other way as well.
Hopefully, he’s just being overly cautious. If you aren’t on Twitter, you’ve missed out on a wild last few weeks. Lots of old accounts have returned, people are speaking more freely, and the site as a whole is just better. To see the rug pulled out from under everyone would be terrible, not just because we might see fewer choice memes, but because social media plays a vital role in our political battles. Musk taking over Twitter is going to be a boon for conservative politics and the dissemination of information.
It’d be a big letdown to have come this far only to see the far-left return to its position of power. In the meantime, though, I’m going to remain optimistic. Musk always seems like a man with a plan, and I don’t think he’s looking to flush money down the toilet here. The deal is still likely to go through.