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Twitter Users Promise to Protect Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg at All Costs After SCOTUS Shakeup


After Supreme Court Justice Anthony Kennedy announced his retirement from the bench this week, questions quickly surfaced about what his exit means for the future of women, people of color and the LGBTQ community, whose rights are often on the line in high-profile cases that come before the justices.

But there was one other person the internet immediately focused their attention on: Ruth Bader Ginsburg.

Kennedy’s retirement sent Twitter into a full panic spiral, as people worried that perhaps RBG, who is 85, might also be planning her exit. Ginsburg is the oldest Supreme Court Justice, and she’s already five years past the average age at which most Justices have retired.

“Protect RBG at all cost!” tweets flying across social media read, with many users promising to send her vitamins, prayers, and even 24/7 security detail. “I’m buying Ruth Bader Ginsburg an Anytime Fitness membership, 10 years of Vitamins, and a lifetime of Smoothies…” one Twitter user wrote. “I’m becoming an organ donor but only if my organs are going to Ruth Bader Ginsburg,” someone else said.

The good news for nervous RBG fans is that she’s still going strong. While many predicted she might call it quits during the Obama administration, the planking heroine of an octogenarian has kept on. She even hinted earlier this year that she hoped to follow the path of former Supreme Court Justice John Paul Stevens, who retired at the age of 90. According to the Los Angeles Times, she also said that she’s in “very good” health and that “as long as I can do the job full steam, I will be here.”

Plus, there’s recorded proof of her fitness level here, which means Twitter users can rest easy.

While the world went full-blown Liam Neeson in Taken over the Notorious RBG, she was busy reacting to Kennedy’s news like the boss she is. Kennedy, who was considered the Supreme Court’s key swing vote, could throw off the conservative-liberal balance of the bench with his retirement, but there was no trace of anxiety in Ginsburg’s sweet tribute to him.

“I will miss the pleasure of his company at our Conference, his helpful suggestions on circulating opinions, his recommendations of art exhibitions to visit with my chambers staff, and much more,” she said in a statement. “For the good he has done during the 43 years he has served as a member of the federal judiciary, he has earned a rousing Bravo.” She also called Kennedy a “true gentleman, a caring jurist and a grand colleague in all respects.”

What a class act. (But also, please never retire.)

Related Stories:

A Reminder That We Won’t Need a Full Repeal of Roe v. Wade for Abortion to Be Restricted

How Justice Anthony Kennedy’s Retirement From the Supreme Court Could Erode Women’s Rights





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A Federal Judge Ruled That Donald Trump Can't Block Users on Twitter—and of Course Chrissy Teigen Has Thoughts


A federal judge in New York ruled Wednesday that Donald Trump is in violation of the Constitution when he blocks users on Twitter, as he so often does.

In making her ruling, Judge Naomi Reice Buchwald wrote that “no government official—including the President—is above the law, and all government officials are presumed to follow the law as has been declared.” She continued, “While we must recognize, and are sensitive to, the President’s personal First Amendment rights, he cannot exercise those rights in a way that infringes the corresponding First Amendment rights of those who have criticized him.”

In short, Buchwald holds that the “interactive space” where users can engage with the President’s tweets should be considered a public forum and blocking people based on their political viewpoints is a violation of their First Amendment rights.

At least one celebrity critic of Trump is looking forward to interacting with POTUS once more. Chrissy Teigen tweeted a video of herself watching news coverage of the decision with the caption, “Well well well we meet again @realdonaldtrump”.

Trump infamously blocked Teigen last July after a fairly innocuous tweet in which she said, “No one likes you.”

At the time she said, “It’s been a long time coming. I have been very anti-Trump since The Apprentice, like when it first started, so it didn’t start during the presidency like everyone thinks. This goes pretty deep.” But it’s not like she was all that bothered. “I don’t even follow him [on Twitter], so I’m definitely fine being blocked,” she continued. “There’s just this part of me that’s so happy that he had to actually do that. It’s just funny.”

The case that resulted in Wednesday’s ruling was brought to court by the Knight First Amendment Rights Institute of Columbia University on behalf of seven individuals who had been blocked by the @RealDonaldTrump account. “We’re pleased with the court’s decision, which reflects a careful application of core First Amendment principles to government censorship on a new communications platform,” Jameel Jaffer, the Knight Institute’s executive director, said in a statement on their site.

“The President’s practice of blocking critics on Twitter is pernicious and unconstitutional, and we hope this ruling will bring it to an end.”

It’s not clear at this moment when or how users once blocked will become unblocked. Will it be en masse? One at a time? Is there a prioritized list? We shall have to wait and see.





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OkCupid Is Getting Rid of Usernames, and a Lot of Users Are Pissed


Following in the footsteps of competitors like Tinder and Bumble, OkCupid has announced it will require its users to use their real names—even if it’s just a first name. The decision that has sparked an uproar with many users, especially with women and the LGBTQ+ community.

In an announcement titled “An Open Letter on Why We’re Removing Usernames, Addressed to the Worst Ones We’ve Ever Seen,” the company explains the rationale behind the decision. “It’s because, like the recent goodbye we said to AIM screen names, it’s time to keep up with the times. We want you, BigDaddyFlash916, to go by who you are, and not be hidden beneath another layer of mystique. Even if that mystique is crucial to you and your dating life, unicorn__jizz.”

We get it: It’s a little less…’00s? Or an effort to look less creepy—considering that, according to OkCupid data cited in the post, upwards of 16,000 users have the word “horny” in their name.

Here’s the problem, though: For a lot of people who don’t happen to be straight, cis men, the ability to use a username can function as a sort of screen, especially at the very beginning of interactions, before a rapport and some sort of trustworthiness is established. In these cases, a username can be critical to feeling safe on the site. And many users let OkCupid know exactly that.

After some backlash, OkCupid said on Friday that they’ll allow users to use the name they’d like to be called on the site, not their full names, as a way to maintain privacy. “We’ve also heard from many members of our community that they want to maintain the privacy they enjoy with usernames—with this change, we won’t be collecting full names; instead, we encourage our users to go by the name they’d like their dates to call them on OkCupid,” the company wrote on the blog. They also tweeted: “We love our members. You do not need to use your government name or even your full first name. Use the name, nickname, or initials you’d like your date to call you on OkCupid.”

So apparently you can use your real name, your first name only, a nickname, or a name you’d like to be called as an OkCupid user…wait a second.

The change, whatever it is, apparently won’t take effect for everyone right away: The company will start rolling it out with a test group “ahead of the New Year” and then everyone else gets hit with it soon after. OkCupid suggests updating profiles ASAP with what you’d want other users to call you, whatever that may be.

Related Stories:
–OkCupid Now Lets You Know Which Dudes Support Planned Parenthood
–How One Woman Confronted the Issue of Racial Bias on Online Dating Sites
–A 7-Year-Old Makes Her Mom a Dating Profile, and the Results Are Hilarious





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