Alright, I am done with X and with Elon Musk. I hung in there for a while after the inauguration because I have 730 Followers on X. Sure, I started a BlueSky account but, as yet, have only 187 Followers there. That happened over a very short period, however, and I am confident that my account will rebuild fairly quickly.
That means I will no longer be promoting The Next Phase Blog on X but you can find it easily enough on BlueSky. My handle is @alineboucher.bsky.social. Look me up and follow me there.
Why Move Off X Now?
Why did I make this decision? I guess Elon Musk’s Nazi salute constituted the last straw. Also, my daughter urged me strongly to move to BlueSky.
Those who know me know that I despise the current president and his entire administration. (If you support #47 and decide not to Follow me on social media, I understand.) Like many Americans I have moved from respecting Elon Musk as a successful and ambitious businessman to looking askance at his decisions and behavior, to shunning him for his Nazi wannabe actions.
Related Post: “How Elon Musk Wrecked Twitter’s Brand”
Elon Musk’s Behavior
Now, what I see is a man who has exacerbated his Asperger’s Syndrome and his place on the Autism Spectrum with infusions of ketamine. He claims to use the powerful drug under a doctor’s supervision but his behavior seems to indicate the opposite.
Elon Musk giving Nazi salute
While ketamine has long been perceived to be a safe drug, Das said there are risks, including — albeit rarely — paranoia and suicidal ideation.
In MedPage Today, Smita Das, MD, PhD, MPH, of Stanford University in California and a spokesperson for the APA, states that, “The real risk is a bad trip. It can also sometimes lead to worsening of psychiatric conditions.”
Think of the jumping up and down like a child, manic waving of arms, the infamous Nazi salute. These are not the behaviors of someone who is in control of his actions. Yet, he has the ear of this president and an office in the West Wing.
Staying on X, meant supporting his social media platform and the advertising revenue that comes with it. The time had come to cut the cord.
The Invasion of Supporters
Along with this came an invasion of messages from supporters of the current president and ads for merchandise that promotes him. No, thank you. Don’t want it. Don’t even want to see it.
BTW: I’m receiving similar emails to all my email accounts. I block them and send them to junk but they keep right on coming.
Just to be clear, I don’t want to buy anything that supports this president or his administration in any way. I don’t want to hear from him, members of his administration, or his supporters. And I resent having this all shoved in my social media accounts.
I also canceled my Washington Post account when Owner Jeff Bezos refused to allow them to endorse Kamala Harris. Congratulations to political cartoonist Ann Telnaes for resigning when Mr. Bezos dictated what she could and could not show.
So, that’s the story.
The Next Phase Blog and X
I have no doubt that page views on The Next Phase Blog will drop when I cancel my X account and that saddens me. Given the choice between supporting anyone in this administration and keeping my dignity, I choose dignity. I only wish more Senators and Members of Congress would do the same.
Readers may also notice another change in the blog: I am writing more about politics. When I started The Next Phase Blog in 2013, I chose not to write about a number of topics simply because I didn’t want to receive vile messages from haters, misogynists, bigots, racists, and insurrectionists.
Sadly, that time has passed. America has reached the point where, as Albert Einstein said, silence is complicity. The Washington Post’s editors were right when they said “Democracy dies in darkness.” Then the newspaper’s editors went over to the Dark Side at the behest of their owner, who was sucking up to the White House’s current occupant.
I have created another category for Politics. So be it.
Not Changing for the Better
As Bob Dylan said, “The times they are a-changin.” From what I can see, they are not changing for the better. We have to listen up, keep up, and man up. Or, for me, woman up. And that is why I have left X for BlueSky. Elon Musk no longer has my support, my account, or my input.
He won’t notice. I don’t care.
