Just ... Scroll ... Down ... Click where it says "read more" or "show more replies"
You're human; THE most adaptable creature known. Adapt!
I'm not saying that twitter UX is perfect, or even good. I AM saying that it is usable.
The amount of stuff your brain has to filter in the form of user name, user tweet handle, additional tagged handlers, UI menus, UI buttons for replying, retweeting, liking, etc on every single code snippet makes your brain work way more than it should to read a page of text.
Just imagine if I had written this exact text in 3 separate HackerNews comments, and prepended each with a 1/ 2/ 3/ text, in addition to all the message UI, it would have been more difficult to read than a simple piece of text.
Sure, you /can/ cut your steak with a spoon and a fork but... it is just "painful" because those tools were not made for that. Would we think you are a delicate flower for asking for a knife? (or to make the analogy better, let's say you are at your friend's BBQ and he is giving you the steak for free).
I like twitter, and I use it of certain specific things for which a 200 character text is quite good at.