WaPo Columnist Says These Attacks on Obama Are ‘Enough to Make You Question Your Support for the First Amendment’

Washington Post columnist and MSNBC contributor Jonathan Capehart said on Wednesday that the racist tweets directed at President Barack Obama on Twitter are “enough to make you question your support for” the First Amendment.

The hatred squeezed into 140 characters by lunatics is enough to make you question your support for 1st Amendment. https://t.co/2Pq1WeVHqd

— Jonathan Capehart (@CapehartJ) May 20, 2015

Capehart’s statement was connected to his latest op-ed, which chronicles the hateful and racist remarks aimed at Obama following him joining Twitter on Monday.

Hello, Twitter! It's Barack. Really! Six years in, they're finally giving me my own account.

— President Obama (@POTUS) May 18, 2015

“The amount of hatred squeezed into 140 characters or less by lunatics usually cloaked in anonymity is enough to make you question your support for the First Amendment and your faith in the decency of other people,” he wrote. “To the uninitiated, the torrent of bigotry can leave you feeling violated. Even the most seasoned, battle-scarred, seen-it-all, can’t-nuthin’-shock-me individual will be left O-o by the filth in his or her Twitter feed.”

It’s true, Twitter is many times a platform for some of the ugliest and hateful people — one both sides — to say horrendous things anonymously, without much fear of consequences.

But is it enough to make you “question your support” for the free speech?

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