Where We Are This Week 05/19/23
Bruce Springsteen, Twitter censorship, Turkey elections, and Miller Lite.
So, this week, unfortunately, my intro doesn’t tie into all three of my topics. The luck and coordination it takes for that to happen is of an extraordinary level. So much so in fact, that I have neither sufficient luck nor coordination to execute that on a weekly basis.
C’est la vie.
A quick word on censorship.
It doesn’t work. I mean, it might work in the immediate future, but ultimately, if the censored are strong-willed and adamant enough, the will of the people will win out. At least that’s what I hope. In the meantime, the suppressed will likely redouble their convictions, making them that much harder to stamp out.
Take for instance this very personal example. My wife hates Bruce Springsteen. To be clear, this is not a reprimand of her music taste, it’s impeccable save for this one regrettable opinion.
If I play the boss around her it’s met with an eye roll and (playful) derision. So much so that I’ve taken to leaving my Springsteen records unplayed and stored on the shelf. Is this egregious? Is this censorship in its truest form? Yes!
Okay, it’s not. But it hasn’t stopped me from listening to the man. In fact, basically, the entirety of this week’s piece was written to the soundtrack of The River, Born in the USA, and Darkness on the Edge of Town all played back to back in the middle of the night - away from her sleeping and disapproving ears. Thus, the fire is stoked.
Light finds its way through the cracks. Thanks to the incredible work of
and , we now know of the litany of American organizations committed to suppressing free thought. So, while this week I focus on Turkey and its efforts to censor its people, you can rest assured, we aren’t the exception, no, we’re under the same rule.With the invention of AI and the constant creep of governmental imposition, I’m sure things will only get worse before they get better.
And if that’s the case, don’t get too down, we’ll always have Springsteen in the middle of the night.
Now with their hands held high, they reached out for the open skies
And in one last breath they built the roads they'd ride to their death
Driving on through the night, unable to break away
From the restless pull of the price you pay
The Price You Pay - Bruce SpringsteenPresidential Elections In Turkey
Over the weekend, Turkey held its presidential election. The country has been under the stewardship of former Prime Minister then President Recep Tayyip Erdogan for two decades; a successful election for the incumbent would begin his third decade at the helm.
One day before the election, a referendum that was poised to be one of the closest races in recent memory, Twitter revealed that it had complied with the Turkish government in its censorship requests. The social media company did not reveal exactly who in the government made the requests nor what content was being targeted.
Recent reports suggested that the Erdogan government was seeking to suppress certain journalistic accounts that were running stories critical of the top brass. Under Erdogan, inflation in Turkey is running rampant and poor codes and infrastructure regulations may have led to the recent earthquake being more devastating than it should have been.
Erdogan, who has been a sort of populist governor, has enjoyed the overwhelming support of his nation for years, but in the latter half of his reign, his popularity started to wane. The Erdogan administration became increasingly authoritarian by restricting internet access, placing temporary bans on social media, jailing journalists - just to name a few - and lamenting the fall of the Ottoman Empire. Nevertheless, Erdogan has been able to retain the backing of the majority of the Turkish people.
But the far-right leader must’ve felt more than a little insecure about his position of power as his opposition was able to cobble together a coalition of ethnic minorities - the Kurds - and more liberal-leaning groups. So, ahead of this crucial election, Elon Musk and Twitter were faced with an ideological choice.
Musk has long described himself as a free-speech absolutist, but for an absolutist, Twitter’s acquiescence to the Turkish government seems unprincipled at best. Musk, always one for a good online quibble, defended his decision against his detractors by saying the choice was simple. Would you rather have no Twitter or a slightly censored version of Twitter?
I understand his argument and could even see myself agreeing with Musk on this issue. However, if it were my country, and it was journalists representing my opinions, I think I would have a very different outlook. If you’re struggling to put yourself in that position, just recall how you felt about the Biden laptop story censorship of 2020.
To be fair, Twitter is challenging the demands in the Turkish court system. Wikipedia embarked on a similar legal battle a few years ago and managed to win. But it’s difficult to tell whether Musk is being a pragmatist in his ‘free speech absolutism’ or if he’s preserving financial interests in the region.
I don’t find the former particularly persuasive in the face of authoritarianism. It’s doubtful that private companies and citizens will continue to succeed in their claims against the government if it continues its dictatorial trajectory. After all, what good can limited free speech be under a regime that suppresses its direct opposition?
The latter argument is slightly more compelling. One of the core pieces of Musk’s mission since he took over as ‘Chief Twit’ has been to make the social media giant actually profitable. Calling Turkey on its bluff and having them block access to the site isn’t a windfall financially speaking. Additionally, Musk’s SpaceX has a burgeoning relationship with the nation that he’d likely be looking to protect as they have collaborated on satellite launches in the past few years.
Do you think we could avoid these conflicts if billionaires didn’t have their hands in virtually everything of consequence? Looking at you, Murdoch, Gates, Bezos.
I don’t know. I might be wrong; maybe all you can do is play by the rules of the governing body of the nation you’re in and the will of the people will work itself out in due course. Maybe the best-case scenario for free expression in places with a predilection for one-party rule is to play the long game and hope the winds blow your direction down the line, but I’m not convinced. What would you do?
Wait but what happened in the election and why does it matter?
A two-parter! Twitter’s involvement in the Turkish election is likely only a small footnote on this moment in the Anatolian country’s history.
Okay, folks. Pull out your maps, your globes, and your geopolitical thinking caps. It’s time for my favorite subject - global affairs as interpreted by me, your degree-less, uncredentialed but endearing tour-guide. Let’s go!
Turkey has long played the role of Near Eastern ambassador of the West to the East. Now, just a fraction of the Ottoman Empire that once dominated the region, Turkey still plays an incredibly important role in regional and global politics
Turkey, or Türkiye as Erdogan would now like it to be called, is the only non-European Muslim-majority country that retains membership status in NATO. Coincidentally, the only other Muslim-majority country in NATO is Albania - and Islam is the predominant religion of Albania because of why? The Ottoman Empire, you guessed it. But leave that aside for now.
After the fall of the Ottoman Empire, a civilization formidable enough to have put an end to the Byzantine Empire circa 1453, Turkey was established as its successor nation. After the Empire’s defeat in World War I, Turkish nationalists put an end to the sultanate and established parliamentary governance. Last year marked the one-hundred-year anniversary of the founding of the secular republic.
Ever since the beginning, Turkey has cast its gaze Westward while standing in the East. After World War II, Turkey joined NATO providing a bulwark against the all-engulfing USSR. But now, as its economy is suffering, and the power balance in the region might be slipping out of Western hegemony, Erdogan is relishing a return to the empire of yesterday.
Neither his primary opponent nor Erdogan was able to achieve 50% of the ballots on Sunday which will send the election to a run-off, a contest between the two most successful candidates, on May 28th, one that will be watched closely by interested parties around the world. The incumbent is likely to win the run-off as the candidate who garnered the third-most votes in the race is to the right of him.
Erdogan has repeatedly embraced the illiberalism and religious autocracy of his predecessors and lately, has looked as if he’s edging his nation towards their Eastern allies.
In 2020, Erdogan claimed that Jerusalem belonged to Turkey, not Israel, not Jordan - and certainly not Palestine - in clear regret of its dwindled sphere of influence. Turkey has strong economic ties to Russia and has made significant efforts to preserve those amidst growing international tension. They have managed to maintain amicable relations with the Kremlin by remaining neutral in the Russo-Ukrainian conflict despite being a NATO ally and contentious positions in the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict between Armenia and Azerbaijan.
Turkey, predictably, sided with Azerbaijan against the Armenians - a people whom the Turkish revolutionaries conducted genocide against in the first part of the 20th century. Russia has retained plausible deniability of its allegiance to either former Soviet state by supplying support and weaponry to both sides but in recent months, has looked more amenable to the Azerbaijani case.
Just last week, Syria, Iran, Russia, and Turkey held high-level talks promoting diplomatic relations between the four of them, and as China and Saudi Arabia increasingly play larger roles in the region, a new type of axis of power is coalescing.
A reelection of Erdogan at this point will likely serve to strengthen those ties as the once fledgling democracy drifts further away from its founding ideals.
It’s Miller Time?
It’s possible I grew up in the golden age of beer commercials. Growing up watching American football, I was treated with a bevy - nay, an onslaught of hoppy advertisements, especially, come playoff season.
Who could forget the Bud Light ‘Wassup?’ ads, the ‘Miller Time’ commercials, or, best of all, the Coors Light ‘Love Songs’ campaign? You know the one. “I love football on TV / Shots of Gena Lee / Hanging with my friends / And twins”
These were the jingles and catchphrases that ingratiated themselves into my childhood home during peak football months - it’s quite the feat considering mine was a household of teetotalers. Alas, the campaigns and slogans of today are no match for the elder statesmen of beer adverts.
Recently, Bud Light engaged trans-influencer Dylan Mulvaney for a harebrained, failed cobranding opportunity. Now, Miller Lite is under fire for their most recent ad campaign.
A few days ago, I watched as my newsfeed was inundated with posts from right-wing pundits decrying Miller Lite’s ‘woke’ ad featuring the comedian and actress Ilana Glazer. It’s like they were all reading from the same script. My first thought was, oh no, am I right wing? After review, I’m proud to admit to you, dear reader, my non-partisan priors remain intact, you fascist.
The minute and half spot has Glazer speak about the beer industry’s treatment of the fairer sex over the years. Watch the clip here if you haven’t yet.
It’s not that ba,d is it? I mean, sure, it’s a little self-congratulatory and nauseating giving their proceeds to only women brewers - what about trans-women brewers? Or cis-trans-men brewers? Or nonbinary kombucha brewers? Bud Light would like a word.
First of all, what Glazer says is correct. Women have had a close relationship with the brewing of beer for centuries. So much so, in fact, the Greek goddess Demeter is known as the goddess of grain - a ritual beverage comprised of which was consumed in her honor. Second of all, maybe overt sexualization isn’t a good thing.
Yes, Miller Lite is surreptitiously still exploiting women for revenue but at least now it doesn’t involve any lascivious imagery of pouring a cold one down a woman’s bare back. Honestly, if committing to not reducing the opposite sex to an object of lust to peddle a low-calorie alcoholic beverage is ‘woke’ then conservatives need to reorganize their priorities.
They’re miserable, pointless excuses for libations, but lite beers don’t be deserved any more than diet sodas do. I mean, if we let them cancel Miller Lite, what next? Miller High Life? The Champagne of Beers? Did you know it can only be called the Champagne of Beers if it’s brewed in the Champagne of Beers region of America?
To a better next week.
Cheers (literally),
~FDA