Twitter Suspends Conservative Filmmaker Who Dared Imply Transgenderism Is a Mental Illness
Social media has greatly advanced our ability to freely exchange ideas … but what happens when it turns ugly?
Simply having an “unapproved” opinion is now enough for people to be silenced, at least if a troubling claim by conservative pundit Mark Dice is accurate.
Last week, the author, filmmaker and commentator stated a view that millions of Americans likely agree with, but found himself in a chilling situation that can only be compared to George Orwell’s “1984.”
“Right-wing commentator Mark Dice, famous for YouTube video interviews with random passers-by in public spaces, says that his Twitter account was suspended Thursday of last week after he implied that transgenderism is a mental illness,” explained Lifesite News.
The incident began when Dice voiced his opinion that Facebook letting users choose literally any description they wanted as their “gender” was a bit over the top.
58 different genders wasn’t “inclusive” enough for Facebook, so now instead of picking from a list of options, that section is a ‘fill in the blank.’ The company is embracing mental illness on a massive scale. #Zuckerberg
— Mark Dice (@MarkDice) April 10, 2018
“58 different genders wasn’t ‘inclusive’ enough for Facebook, so now instead of picking from a list of options, that section is a ‘fill in the blank.’ The company is embracing mental illness on a massive scale. #Zuckerberg,” Mark Dice posted.
It was a simple and not particularly outlandish opinion: People cannot invent new genders out of thin air. Whether or not you agree with Dice on gender identity is beside the point, however. What happened next should raise serious questions about free speech and platforms like Twitter.
An angry user responded to Dice, and demanded to know if he thought “fill in the blank” gender identity was a mental illness.
“All of them but two, yes,” Mark Dice replied.
That simple answer was apparently enough to put his Twitter on lockdown. “Soon after the exchange, Dice’s response disappeared from his Twitter feed, and Dice announced via Facebook that Twitter had suspended his account until he agreed to delete the tweet,” reported Lifesite.
The pundit included a screenshot of his Twitter account, which showed the social media platform literally demanding that he delete his last tweet if he wanted to continue using the service.
“This is the tweet Twitter is trying to force me to delete, for ‘violating’ their terms of service,” wrote Dice. “They locked me out of my account until I ‘agree’ that what I said was wrong!”
Remember, Mark Dice didn’t personally attack anyone. He didn’t hurl curse words. He didn’t threaten violence. What he did was answer another person’s question about unlimited genders, based on his own views on the issue.
Actually, it turns out that Dice is not the only one who sees some gender identity claims as a mental disorder. The American Psychiatric Association recognizes Gender Dysphoria — previously called Gender Identity Disorder — as a psychiatric condition.
“Gender dysphoria diagnosis involves … a marked incongruence between one’s experienced/expressed gender and primary and/or secondary sex characteristics,” states the APA’s “Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders.“
If somebody identified as a gender so obscure that they had to write it in on a profile by hand, it’s a reasonable conclusion that they might have gender identity disorder or “gender dysphoria.” Even if you disagree with this conclusion, the point is that Mark Dice was stating his opinion on the matter.
Keep in mind that liberal commentators constantly imply or openly state that President Trump is mentally unstable. That opinion is allowed without question, but if you happen to think that 58 genders are a bit much, it’s into Twitter jail for you.
After sharing a screenshot of the Orwellian demand that he delete his tweet and essentially change his views or be banned, Dice pointed out the absurdity of the situation.
“My reply was to a question someone tweeted to me asking if the countless gender expressions were a mental illness. It’s time Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey gets grilled by Congress about the censorship of Conservatives. Unbelievable,” he ranted.
“Peanut butter isn’t a gender, you lunatics! Neither are the dozens of others that Cultural Marxists have concocted, and that Twitter, Facebook and YouTube embrace. The Left needs to stop this mass-mental illness,” the pundit declared.
There is some speech that doesn’t belong online. Open threats of violence, pornography, and gore are all examples of content that platforms like Twitter might understandably ban. Stating a fairly common opinion, however, shouldn’t be on that blacklist.
There comes a point when trying to police the internet becomes an excuse to censor speech. Like a 17th Century witch-hunt, forcing people to recant their diverse views or burn at the proverbial stake is getting out of hand.
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