It’s confession time. For a long time…perhaps even a very long time…I admired Jeff Bezos, Elon Musk, and Mark Zuckerberg. I really did. These guys changed the world, and in many ways for the better. You have to put up with insane billionaire behavior if you’re going to admire them, and quirks like building the ugliest, most non-functional vehicle since the 5-wheeled chariot is the price you pay for recognizing how much these three guys have changed the way we live.
During the last election cycle, we had plenty of reason to be alarmed at the role these quirky billionaires were playing in the election of trump. I KNOW they are not trumpistanians…they are not in the cult. They treated this election the same way they treat just about everything they touch: “I have unlimited money…how can I make more?”
So as the election got closer it became very clear that all three of them saw that fighting the cult was going to cost them money. Seventy-seven million racists is a powerful spending bloc, and they were not going to be left out.
Since the election, things have gotten worse. They have all pitched in millions so that trump can parade around on January 20th as if all the people actually like him. We don’t. Musk’s involvement and his attempt to supplant trump as the primary decision maker in this country would be a source of great humor if the stakes weren’t so damn high.
So as all three of their companies cancel DEI programs as if actually treating everyone like a human was somehow a dangerous thing has brought an end to any modicum of admiration I may have been hanging on to. So today Facebook and Twitter were flushed down the toilet…or at least deleted from my devices. I will make every effort to no longer buy off Amazon, though I know I’ll violate that now and then, because my capacity for laziness is pretty unlimited.
I have opened an account on Bluesky under the username “markpontoni”. I’d love my friends, relatives, and former students to join me over there. I WANT to stay in touch, but not at the cost of ever opening Facebook or Twitter again until, as I said in my first Bluesky post, the world is back on its axis.
I plan on using The Grumblings more frequently and in more creative ways as I explore my new interests as I head into the next phase of retirement. (Phase One was “What the hell am I going to do now?” and it has NOT been easy or fun. I miss my classroom a lot, and that is going to take a bit longer to overcome.)
So that’s it…the shortest Grumblings on record, with a promise for much more to come. Please stick with me, and let me know how you see things…
The Grumblings 
We no longer order from Amazon. Instagram and Twitter are gone too. I will look you up on Bluesky. Good column.
Marcia
I’m with you, Mark. I have been sober from Amazon since just after the election with one little relapse (it was the only place that had the gift our son wanted) a week before Christmas. The family is on notice that our Amazon Prime will go away in August. If they want it, they can pay for it. I’m not going to do that anymore. I have rediscovered local commerce and I’m visiting small businesses on line and irl. There are several drug and grocery stores within a short drive, bike or walk so wtf has been the matter with me these past four years? (Don’t answer that!) I completely deleted all of my Meta and Twitter accounts. I’m good. You will be too. Fuck those guys. And I love your description of the fugliest vehicle ever made. Maybe Elon used his face as the model. Love you.
Mark
You may remember me from a few years ago when I interviewed a student of yours who was accepted to Brown u. Her comment on who was her best student, was you. You made her think. In my yrsrs of educating, mostly orthopedic residents. Reasoning more important for cognition.
I dislike Facebook…but some in gamify love messenger. I have stayed on X as I follow Sheldon Whitehouse and many good liberal thinkers. Mostly has been to follow medical science with Eric Topol. Many have gone blue I’ve posted a lot on Facebook, most recently on the alien and sedition act after listening to Cory Brett Schneider on Watson Institute discussing his book,” the President and the people”. Trying am I to read Havel the power of the powerless, Tim Snyder translated I kept my brain active following Covid advances and the coordinate major changes in our understanding of cellular science and Snyder understanding Ukraine.
The oligarchs who run Facebook, X and Amazon need to be controlled I fear Congress is so dependent on them in the lobby of the Capitol, it may be hard
I’m scottusmagnus on Bluesky