Sam Harris and Quillette Founder Claire Lehmann leave Twitter (from Livestream #151)

A loss to the public square

Clip taken from DarkHorse Podcast Livestream #151 (originally streamed live on Nov 26, 2022):
Q&A:

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Theme Music: Thank you to Martin Molin of Wintergatan for providing us the rights to use their excellent music.

[BB-nzsk]

Bret - they were not driven from Twitter….they chose to leave. They were not bullied in any way, shape, or form. Sam is blessed that you still consider him a friend. 😊

[dm]

Sam Harris removing himself from Twitter is a blessing, but I don't think he had the choice, him staying on would result in unbearable psychological pain inflicted by people attacking him for his arrogance and unreasonable stand.

[abumansaray]

Sam Harris leaving Twitter is not a lost at all. The guy became the very monster he spoke out against.

[Andrew-dcnl]

I remember Claire speaking very positively about lockdowns whilst chilling in her enormous back yard.

[thegeth]

Remember when sam harris went on triggernometry and said a plot against democracy is ok if it stops trump?

[TheD]

We're all better off without Sam Harris. We always were and once he got to the point at which he no longer was grounded in any sort of reality he was doing more damage to society than anything else.

[NezzConstantine]

I used to like Sam when I was younger, but the last 6 years made me unfollow and distance from him. He went crazy. Claire, I am a little sad over because for the most part I agreed with most of her views... but then covid happened and her insane authoritarian impulse grew out of control when she could look at her country throwing people into camps and think, "This is good. We need to do this everywhere. We need to do more." Never an after the fact, "Ok, I was wrong. Sorry, I was just scared." Still fully behind it all and would do it again. Insane.

[thegreatbambino]

Sam leaving isn't a loss and I'd never welcome him back. On his interview with Triggernometry, he was adamantly clear that he supported the shutdown of the discussion concerning Hunter's laptop and the involvement of his father because it was warranted to get Trump out of office. He put his hate for Trump before his principles and I will not be held to the same open discussion principles concerning him, that he feels he can just toss aside whenever he wants to. Goodbye and good riddance. To be clear, I wouldn't support Twitter banning him, but I'm not upset that he doesn't want to play anymore.

[Nickat]

Bret, Twitter is better off with Sam leaving. His "Public Square" consisted only of people that agreed with him. It was no different when he stated he would not debate you about Covid because "I do not see the point of it."

[paulpeele]

Maybe it's a good thing. The very fact they have shown themselves to be against freedom of speech or personal liberty generally, might limit what they could have contributed.

[wagonweel]

These people leave because they have lost power. They can no longer have dissenters removed (silence people) thus risks their lies being exposed (held accountable).

[JeffBertolotti]

The most impressive thing Sam Harris ever did was to convince his followings he was a philosopher. I've studied many a philosopher; Mr. Harris is no philosopher.

[debbieturrell]

This is really their problem, not anyone else's, and is a good indicator of (lack of) character. They are stomping away from the playground, refusing to play anymore because certain advantages have been removed from their team, still demanding attention all the while. Earn it. Debate. Stand your ground. Fight for your cause. Engage. Listen. Give us a reason to respect you, even if we don't agree with you.

[julioguardado]

I could not care less about Twitter drama. And as far as the people leaving, I would tell them they're not as special or precious as they think. I bet 99% of people on the street wouldn't know who they are or care about what they have to say.

[craigfrober]

From what I've observed of them during covid, it's seems Sam and Claire (unwittingly?) are guided by a need to align with the group rather than abide by any particular principles. Whether it's out of fear, intellectual dishonesty, malice, etc is another matter.

[ericvulgate]

Plenty of other people spouting Harris neo liberal talking points on the internet I have a feeling we'll be fine.

[andrewsteel]

Not sure I’d call Sam’s absence a loss

[lowerclassbrats]

"No, stop, don't" ~ Willy Wonka voice

[taylorjharris]

I’m done with Sam forever. I hope he withers on the vine, is forced to get a real job and gain some humility. Too many people sat in their privileged ivory towers during covid while the rest of society had to deal with the real world affects of perpetual masking, vaccine mandates, and lockdowns. The final straw was his outright confession that democracy could and should have been subverted purely to keep Donald Trump from another 4 years. I didn’t vote for Trump in 2016, but I don’t seem to recall the country and world completely collapsing because of Trump. Unfortunately, Trump broke Sam Harris, as he did to too many liberals.

[michaelbronstein]

I didn’t hear a single thing you guys said as I was entranced by the utter peacefulness of the sleeping dog and cat.