Jack Dorsey responds to his tone deaf Myanmar vacation tweets
Add Jack Dorsey's name to the running list of white men who have issued non-apologies in 2018.
On December 8, the Twitter CEO shared reflections on his recent meditation retreat to Myanmar, a country whose army is killing and raping Rohingya Muslims "with genocidal intent."
Some criticized the blind-eyed and tone deaf seeming thread in the days that followed. Now, Dorsey has issued what he called "more color" on his trip to Myanmar "given the resulting conversation."
Tweet may have been deleted
Dorsey took a 10-day silent meditation retreat to Myanmar to practice Vipassana meditation, which Dorsey described as a way to "hack the deepest layer of the mind and reprogram it" through pain and deprivation. He visited Myanmar because the practice originated in the country.
Tweet may have been deleted
Putting aside the grossness of a billionaire visiting a third world country specifically in order to deprive himself of the worldly goods he so easily comes by, people criticized Dorsey specifically for the way he described Myanmar, and his unique position as a tech CEO.
See, the Rohingya genocide isn't just any ethnically targeted mass-murder. In August, the United Nations found that Facebook had played a significant role in spreading the hate and disinformation that led to the expulsion, murder, and rape of Rohingya Muslims. The New York Timeshas gone so far to describe it as a "tool for ethnic cleansing." From the UN's final report, issued in September:
The role of social media is significant. Facebook has been a useful instrument for those seeking to spread hate, in a context where, for most users, Facebook is the Internet. Although improved in recent months, the response of Facebook has been slow and ineffective. The extent to which Facebook posts and messages have led to real-world discrimination and violence must be independently and thoroughly examined.
Facebook was the primary social media vehicle for fueling the Myanmar atrocities. But Twitter has also come under fire for enabling the hate speech that contributes to real-world violence in other instances. Twitter has taken steps to curb hate speech, but critics have specifically taken Dorsey to task for not acting more decisively to stamp out hate speech on his platform.
Now, for Dorsey to visit a country currently wracked by the consequences of hate and violence in the social media age, and to not even acknowledge it, smacked of insensitive privilege, and at least some deep irony about the Silicon Valley bubble.
Tweet may have been deleted
So Dorsey apologized, sort of. He said it was a "purely personal" trip for him, only focused on meditation. He shared his perspective that Twitter is a place for people to "bear witness" to the Rohingya murders. And that he wants to continue working with NGOs and others for "feedback on how to best improve."
Tweet may have been deleted
Sorry, but how Twitter can improve is just not the point. Dorsey is able to shut out the turmoil and violence of the world he helped create by taking part in á la carte tourism and spirituality. Meanwhile, those less fortunate are reaping the consequences in the same country in which a tech CEO chooses to vacation. A non-apology that, most generously read, focuses on what Twitter can do now, subsumes social media founders' complicity in creating our tumultuous reality, which they have the luxury to escape.
Should Jack be allowed to take a vacation? Sure, it's been a tough year, to say the least. But, in Myanmar, he happened to do so in spectacularly tone deaf fashion. So maybe a little "feedback on how to best improve" is sorely needed.
Featured Video For You
'Lifejacket graveyards' are stark reminders of deadly refugee crisis
TopicsTwitterPolitics
(责任编辑:关于我们)
- Yes, big spiders are spreading in the U.S. No, they're not flying.
- A lawmaker asked a scientist if there was ever a civilization on Mars
- US eases export controls on chip equipment for Samsung, SK factories in China
- Is your Pixel phone acting weird? Android 14 may be to blame
- A Barbie flip phone is here from HMD
- Garmin Fenix 8 vs. Apple Watch Ultra: The Fenix wins big on battery life
- Apple is reportedly working on 2 new AR headsets
- 充电蓄能 练好审查调查“基本功”
- Pennsylvania Senate primary: Will Dr. Oz or David McCormick face John Fetterman in the midterm?
- 21 Caves That Offer Otherworldly Experiences
- A lawmaker asked a scientist if there was ever a civilization on Mars
- What NASA Should Do Instead Of An Asteroid Retrieval Mission
- Google and Mystery Science teamed up to give schools eclipse glasses
-
US to oppose North Korean worker dispatch to occupied Ukrainian territory: State Dept.
Spokeperson for the State Department Matthew Miller speaks during a press briefing in Washington, D. ...[详细] -
中国福利彩票:凝聚爱与善的力量_南方+_南方plus坚守公益初心,汇聚爱心力量,中国福利彩票由国家特许发行,以筹集社会公益金为目的,为社会福利和社会公益事业而生。自1987年发行以来,爱心队伍日益壮大 ...[详细]
-
Two Comics that Teach You About the Wide World of Bugs
This past weekend, I was in Philadelphia and had a chance to check out the Locust Moon Comic Festiva ...[详细] -
Mercedes adds ChatGPT to its cars for improved voice control
In the latest installment of ChatGPT-ifying everything, Mercedes-Benz is taking the AI chatbot for a ...[详细] -
25 Years Later: A Brief Analysis of GPU Processing Efficiency
The first 3D graphics cards appeared 25 years ago and since then their power and complexity have gro ...[详细] -
MIT Students Claim Astronauts Will Starve On 'Mars One' Mission
PhD students at MIT published a study this week that seems to debunk Mars One’s plan to land h ...[详细] -
Throwback Thursday: 11 Amazing Costume Ideas From The PopSci Archives
Forget disco chic, or flower power-era costumes. Here are 11 truly retro Halloween costume ideas fro ...[详细] -
Eisenhower's Meeting with a Missile Nose Cone
Seeing a missile nose cone isn’t exactly a big deal these days. We have more impressive things that ...[详细] -
North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, right, attends a ceremony alongside his daughter, Ju-ae, to mark th ...[详细]
-
Mercedes adds ChatGPT to its cars for improved voice control
In the latest installment of ChatGPT-ifying everything, Mercedes-Benz is taking the AI chatbot for a ...[详细]