While J.D. Vance, Vice President of the United States, advocates for grace toward teens engaging in online trolling, Australia has implemented strict new “hate speech” laws that could lead to citizens being jailed for up to seven years.
The debate ignited online after Elon Musk announced he would rehire a staffer who had resigned following reports of “racist” social media posts, including: “Just for the record, I was racist before it was cool,” “You could not pay me to marry outside of my ethnicity,” and “Normalize Indian hate.”
In response, Vance voiced his disagreement with the staffer’s posts but argued against the notion that such “stupid social media activity should ruin a kid’s life.”
“Here’s my view: I obviously disagree with some of Elez’s posts, but I don’t think stupid social media activity should ruin a kid’s life. We shouldn’t reward journalists who try to destroy people. Ever. So I say bring him back. If he’s a bad dude or a terrible member of the team, fire him for that.”
Vance was then asked if the staffer should apologize “for the sake of both of our kids,” before being rehired. Vance responded:
“For the sake of both of our kids? Grow up. Racist trolls on the internet, while offensive, don’t threaten my kids. You know what does? A culture that denies grace to people who make mistakes. A culture that encourages congressmen to act like whiny children.”
Vance continued to blast the notion of emotional blackmail over social media comments, stating:
“I cannot overstate how much I loathe this emotional blackmail pretending to be concern. My kids, god willing, will be risk takers. They won’t think constantly about whether a flippant comment or a wrong viewpoint will follow them around for the rest of their lives. They will tell stupid jokes. They will develop views that they later think are wrong or even gross. I made mistakes as a kid, and thank God I grew up in a culture that encouraged me to grow and learn and feel remorse when I screwed up and offer grace when others did.”
Vance made it clear that he does not fear his children making mistakes:
“I don’t worry about my kids making mistakes, or developing views they later regret. I don’t even worry that much about trolls on the internet. You know what I do worry about, Ro? That they’ll grow up to be a US Congressman who engages in emotional blackmail over a kid’s social media posts. You disgust me.”
When asked whether he agreed with Vance’s call to “Bring him back,” President Trump responded, “I’m with the Vice President.”
