The world's richest man is strong supporter of right-wing politics, & made gestures today at a rally for Donald Trump's second inauguration that's caused controversy
Here’s the thing, in a normal, functioning society if someone gets caught doing a gesture that is interpreted by some people as being a Nazi salute, that person apologizes.
Even if in their heart of hearts they really didn’t mean to do a Nazi salute, they still apologize. They’re not necessarily apologizing for Seig Heil, they’re apologizing for how the gesture was received and interpreted. In a normal world, in a non fucked country, it’s very important to clarify “I’m not a Nazi, I hate Nazis, I would never do that, and I’m very sorry that what I did hurt and scared people.” In some countries, merely doing that gesture is grounds for arrest, but someone might avoid arrest if they made it clear it was an accident.
Whether or not it truly was 100% a Nazi salute matters less than the aftermath. No consequences, no apologies, no denials. The US is so fucked now that there are no consequences for credibly behaving like a Nazi in public. He won’t be fired or censured by the boards of his companies. Trump and the rest of the GOP will continue to eagerly have him around.
The US is now a place where for about half the population (including a lot of non-white people) being a Nazi is not a dealbreaker.
in a normal, functioning society if someone gets caught doing a gesture that is interpreted by some people as being a Nazi salute
But it isn’t. All media has clearly told us within minutes that we did not actually saw what we saw with our own eyes and it’s just error in judgement on our side to have mistaken his “odd looking gesture” for a nazi salute.
Not just in public, the richest man in the world, during the inauguration of the President of the United States that he just spent a shit load of money getting elected.
This take i agree with. I still have reservations on what Musk really was intending to do there. There’s a slight variation in the way Musk did it and the way the Nazis used to do it, but it still demands an apology regardless of the facts.
It’s quite consistent with immature edgelord behavior, he probably concocted how to “almost” do a Nazi salute get people all riled up and then say we are all dumb for taking it as a Nazi salute because his hand was open, and he tossed in a “my heart to you all” as a rationalization.
Like back in middle school a kid said “The teacher is a bitch” and the teacher overheard and called him on it and he said “the teacher is a fish, you know, glub glub” and thought he was so clever. That’s the general energy of Musk.
It’s not just immature behaviour though, it’s also a demonstration of power, both his and the Nazi faction’s power. Showing that he can get away with it, and that he won’t even face criticism for doing it, as long as he doesn’t outright admit that yes, he was doing a Nazi salute.
I’m of the opinion that Musk didn’t do an actual nazi salute. He did what he thinks is the nazi salute because he himself isn’t a real nazi. He’s just an insecure little man who wanted some approval and acknowledgement from actual nazis, so he did the salute as a “look, I’m totally one of you guys”. He’s a wannabe nazi. Not that there’s a big difference because whether you’re an actual nazi of a wannabe nazi, you’re still a piece of shit. But I think him being a wannabe nazi fits with his public persona of being wannabe everything. He’s a wannabe engineer, he’s a wannabe tech bro, he’s a wannabe gamer and now he’s a wannabe Nazi.
Here’s the thing, in a normal, functioning society if someone gets caught doing a gesture that is interpreted by some people as being a Nazi salute, that person apologizes.
Even if in their heart of hearts they really didn’t mean to do a Nazi salute, they still apologize. They’re not necessarily apologizing for Seig Heil, they’re apologizing for how the gesture was received and interpreted. In a normal world, in a non fucked country, it’s very important to clarify “I’m not a Nazi, I hate Nazis, I would never do that, and I’m very sorry that what I did hurt and scared people.” In some countries, merely doing that gesture is grounds for arrest, but someone might avoid arrest if they made it clear it was an accident.
Whether or not it truly was 100% a Nazi salute matters less than the aftermath. No consequences, no apologies, no denials. The US is so fucked now that there are no consequences for credibly behaving like a Nazi in public. He won’t be fired or censured by the boards of his companies. Trump and the rest of the GOP will continue to eagerly have him around.
The US is now a place where for about half the population (including a lot of non-white people) being a Nazi is not a dealbreaker.
But it isn’t. All media has clearly told us within minutes that we did not actually saw what we saw with our own eyes and it’s just error in judgement on our side to have mistaken his “odd looking gesture” for a nazi salute.
Not just in public, the richest man in the world, during the inauguration of the President of the United States that he just spent a shit load of money getting elected.
This is terrifying. People should be terrified.
I’m too tired to be terrified
This take i agree with. I still have reservations on what Musk really was intending to do there. There’s a slight variation in the way Musk did it and the way the Nazis used to do it, but it still demands an apology regardless of the facts.
It’s quite consistent with immature edgelord behavior, he probably concocted how to “almost” do a Nazi salute get people all riled up and then say we are all dumb for taking it as a Nazi salute because his hand was open, and he tossed in a “my heart to you all” as a rationalization.
Like back in middle school a kid said “The teacher is a bitch” and the teacher overheard and called him on it and he said “the teacher is a fish, you know, glub glub” and thought he was so clever. That’s the general energy of Musk.
It’s not just immature behaviour though, it’s also a demonstration of power, both his and the Nazi faction’s power. Showing that he can get away with it, and that he won’t even face criticism for doing it, as long as he doesn’t outright admit that yes, he was doing a Nazi salute.
I wouldn’t doubt it, but Elon is like a walking 4-chan, so I have no idea…
I’m of the opinion that Musk didn’t do an actual nazi salute. He did what he thinks is the nazi salute because he himself isn’t a real nazi. He’s just an insecure little man who wanted some approval and acknowledgement from actual nazis, so he did the salute as a “look, I’m totally one of you guys”. He’s a wannabe nazi. Not that there’s a big difference because whether you’re an actual nazi of a wannabe nazi, you’re still a piece of shit. But I think him being a wannabe nazi fits with his public persona of being wannabe everything. He’s a wannabe engineer, he’s a wannabe tech bro, he’s a wannabe gamer and now he’s a wannabe Nazi.