Mark Zuckerberg: Lindsey Graham’s Improbable Twin

Like U.S. Senator Lindsey Graham, the unparalleled master of the political suck-up, Mark Zuckerberg is the commercial world’s grand master in sucking up to whoever holds the presidential baton in the U.S. capital city of Washington, D.C.

The Zuckerberg Syndrome

First, it was the Democrats that Zuckerberg sucked up to — easily able to exploit that party’s love of Silicon Valley.

Then, with Trump’s arrival, it was the Big Devil of U.S. politics. Without regret, and always with a firm eye on the cash register ringing from all those ad sales, Mark Zuckerberg aided and abetted Russian bots to help get Donald Trump elected in 2016.

Mimicking innocence, while steadily aiding Trump

Zuckerberg’s expressionless face in his appearances before countless Congressional committees, endlessly and stubbornly defending the recklessness of his company’s inaction, was a perfect rendition of a doe caught in the headlights.

Remarkably, Zuckerberg’s “money-über-alles” driven act of aiding and abetting of Trump was still en vogue as late as June 2020, when Zuckerberg allowed Trump to incite racism and violence.

Zuck was lenient on the Great American Despot even after the latter had posted a message on Facebook in the wake of unrest after George Floyd’s murder: “When the looting starts, the shooting starts.”

In front of his own employees who were enraged over his permissiveness towards a deranged President, Mr. Zuckerberg, who should be known as “Mr. Unaccountable,” defended his enabling – and indefensible — behavior as in the interest of freedom of speech.

Finding elements of character, just in time

But then, 13 days before Donald Trump’s scheduled departure from the Oval Office, Mr. Zuckerberg suddenly found his moral compass and banned the instigator of an insurrection, the President, from any further postings.

Apparently, Mr. Zuckerberg had an epiphany on the limits of freedom of speech when he said of Trump that he was using Facebook to incite a violent insurrection against a democratically legally elected government.

He went on to say: “We believe the risks of allowing the president using our service during this time period are simply too great.”

Zuckerberg labeled the move “indefinitely,” but hastens to add that it will apply at least until Trump is still President of the United States.

This is too little, too late. For four years, Mr. Zuckerberg has allowed Mr. Trump to spread his hatred, spew his vile comments, demean people, denigrate heroes and demolish our democratic institutions.

Now, 13 days before it is finally over, Mr. Zuckerberg practically says in the words of Lindsey Graham: “Enough is enough.”

What does “Enough is enough” really mean?

Mark Z. and Lindsey G. are right! Enough is indeed enough. Enough of their peddling the cheapest and lowest of goods: Lies and deception.

Even though they pretend to mean that enough is really enough, to highlight their moral compass after all, this is but a temporary blip.

Zuckerberg and Graham make a move in that direction when it is convenient, but continue to sell their souls to whoever benefits them. The words gutless, unprincipled and hypocritical (and many more) come to mind.

Conclusion

The American writer Suzy Kassem said it best, when she wrote these words that could not describe Lindsey Graham and Mark Zuckerberg any better: “When a moral man speaks, listen. But when immoral men speak, toss away their words like bad fruit. Truth will never shine from a heart filled with corruption and lies.”