WE SHOULD ALL BOYCOTT FACEBOOK

Mark Zuckerberg is helping to plant the seeds for our country’s civil war. His continual refusal to make sure that Facebook is used responsibly allows extremists, foreign governments and American politicians to use this social platform to incite groups of people to violence. This is in direct contradiction to the company’s mission statement which says “… to give people the power to share and make the world more open and connected.”

Connections are one thing. Incitement to violence is another. And it’s about time that Mr. Zuckerberg understands and appreciates the difference. So how do we get his attention and help him understand the difference? I suggest a boycott. One that continues until Mr. Zuckerberg changes his attitude and makes the necessary changes to Facebook. I am not the first one to suggest a boycott. Many more are working to do so. But boycotting his company may be the only way to get our message through to him.

I know this will be difficult for all of us. We’ve become so used to posting any and all thoughts, pictures and ideas. One cute dog or cat, along with the grandchildren, is great. But Facebook has gone way beyond those simple connections.

Trump and his campaign have used this platform to incite people to violence. Witness Trump’s political ads to “STOP THE INVASION” of immigrants. What happened as a result? Such demands get people killed in El Paso, Texas, when the 21 year old gun man went on a rampage to stop the invasion that Trump says is happening. So what if the claim is false. So what if its xenophobic. So what if it’s racist. Facebook takes the money and lets the ad run.

There are too many instances of this happening. Words matter and riling up people to go after others is what this President is best at doing. He can then sit back and take no responsibility for the behavior he has unleashed. He denied that he had anything to do with the El Paso massacre. And he continues to deflect all responsibility for his words and actions. Let others take up the guns and do battle. He will sit back and watch.

As a country, though, we shouldn’t be expected to tolerate this from the person who gets to claim the presidency. And we shouldn’t be giving him the tools and megaphones to continue to do this.

Zuckerberg tries to duck his responsibilities by giving $10 million to racial justice organizations. And he may say “We all have the responsibility to create change,” as he wrote, and then went on to promise that Facebook will dole out $10 million to racial justice groups. This doesn’t let Zuckerberg off the hook. If he is serious that each and every one of us has a responsibility to be a change agent, then let him start with his own company.

Mr. Zuckerberg continues to confuse the concept of freedom of speech with a total “hands off” notion. Our First Amendment may provide freedom of speech from government actions, but it doesn’t require the same adherence from private enterprises. But even if Mr. Zuckerberg wants to liken his company to a government entity, free speech comes with conditions upon use.

Our courts and society have placed limits on speech. We have all heard that you can’t falsely scream “fire” in a crowded theater, simply to see the chaos and panic that can follow.

As Justice Oliver Wendell Holmes said in 1919, the act and the speech depend on the circumstance on which it is done. ”The question in every case is whether the words used are used in such circumstances and are of such a nature as to create a clear and present danger that they will bring about the substantive evils that Congress has a right to prevent. It is a question of proximity and degree.”

The actions of this President are creating a clear and present danger to us all. And as a result, Mr. Zuckerberg needs to understand the ramifications of his laissez-faire behavior.

We are facing one of the most dangerous times in our country. And it is not because people are protesting and taking to the streets to demand racial justice. It is because the person in the White House, bearing the title of President of the United States, is doing everything in his power to make us a divided nation. He is using the power of his office to command military police to fire upon civilians in Lafayette Park. And the police responded by firing tear gas and rubber bullets into a crowd of peaceful protesters. Why did this happen? To provide a pathway for white men to walk from the White House to the front of St. John’s Episcopal Church for a photo-op. People were callously injured to give Trump an opportunity to look tough. This is what we, as a country, are up against: countless people injured for the vanity of one man.

I am not sure where the checks to curb the vicious behavior and words from Trump are at this time. The Republican led Senate sits quietly by, not daring to raise their voices to stop the carnage from the White House. And if we are as silent, we are complicit.

It is left to us, the people, to do something. So let us continue to peacefully protest. But let’s send a message to Mr. Zuckerberg that platitudes and a sprinkling of money isn’t sufficient. His company has got to take responsibility and do what is needed to stop a civil war.

And let him know what you are doing: send him an email at zuck@fb.com. Don’t post on Facebook. Just tell him we are boycotting his invention.