If Musk’s gesture had happened just once, I could have excused it as a doofus’s spasm, but it turned right around and did it again! That’s no accident.
If I inadvertently made a gesture that someone associated with something I personally find abhorrent, I would be falling all over myself to set them straight. I'd make it abundantly clear not only that I wasn't making the gesture but that I find the thing abhorrent.
It certainly looks deliberate, but looks can be deceiving, so I went with probably. But really, who cares whether it was deliberate or not? When it comes to Nazis, Elon Musk is what used to be called a fellow traveler in referring to communist sympathizers. He's already shown us what he is. I believe him. He's a danger to this country. But I have a feeling the Trump-Musk bromance won't last much longer. Musk gets attention, which takes away from the attention that Baby Boy Trump demands. No way his Orangeness can let that slide for long.
Nope. Trump is not threatened by Musk. Musk is both his arm candy and the guy who actually has ideas and gets “the boring” shit done. Plus he can buy him Greenland. (Did you know that musk is now going to have an office in the West Wing?). Musk is what Trump ALWAYS wanted as a buddy and never had amongst the NY crowd. He’s actually IS the richest man in the world (vs all the faux superlatives that Trump loves to throw around). Lots of reports, also, that Trumps cognition is in SERIOUS decline. Who knows? Maybe they’ll 25th him and Vance and Musk will buy a sofa together.
Much as all these people share various traits with the Nazis, only Steve Bannon and the armed groups like the Proud Boys etc. ad nauseam would be bold enough to intentionally display a genuine Nazi salute. To do that, the straight arm sweeps up (or, if already partly up, straight out). Swinging the right arm from across the body to straight out, as Musk does in this video, is a far more natural gesture. Let's go after these idiots for their statements and acts, rather than their gestures. They already have plenty to answer for.
My wife--the smartest person I know--reminded me that Musk had made a similar gesture while wearing what appeared to be a German officer's cap, so I'll recant. I have also since discovered that, according to Wikipedia, Musk's maternal grandparents "were Nazi sympathizers in Canada before relocating to South Africa for political reasons." 'Nuff said.
While I'm here, I'll relate two more comments from my wife. I remarked on Musk's pointing out that Alice Weidel, the parliamentary leader of the Alternative für Deutschland party (the "no, we're not Nazis" party) being romantically involved with a woman from Sri Lanka, and I considered that odd in such a party. My wife immediately responded, "Clarence Thomas."
Marc Andreesen was born in Cedar Falls, Iowa, and raised in New Lisbon, Wisconsin. A friend of mine from New Lisbon recalled that after Andreesen became famous for Netscape Navigator, a TV news crew nosed around New Lisbon and discovered the deli where he had worked as a youth. Asked if he had shown any tech aptitude there, workers said, "Oh, yeah. He was the only one who could adjust the digital meat scale."
It's tempting to say that Musk was employing a Nazi salute, but note that each time he first puts his hand over where his heart would be, if he had one, before flinging his arm out straight--to the side, not straight ahead like a proper "Sieg heil"--and then says, "My heart goes out to you." Guilty only of bad optics, I'd say. There are many, many reasons to deplore the guy without stretching to pin this one on him.
If Musk’s gesture had happened just once, I could have excused it as a doofus’s spasm, but it turned right around and did it again! That’s no accident.
I believe Space Nazi describes him perfectly!
Yes. And our new president thinks he’s the greatest thing since sliced cheese.
I should have added that I did not coin this name. I read it in a column written by Jeff Tiedrich. If you don’t read his stuff, you should be.
Thing is, Elmo has enough money to be a buffoon longer than anyone else. But I do hear the long knives being sharpened in the shadows.
"If you're going through hell, keep going".--- Attributed (wrongly) to Winston Churchill.
Meanwhile, hell is freezing over here in Florida
Like, 59 degrees???
Snow in Pensacola. 5" and counting.
47° this morning in Sarasota.
He's a documented Nazi sympathizer supporting a German Neo Nazi party. He knew exactly what he was doing.
I said probably. It was a nazi salute, but I don’t know if it came from the conscious or someplace deeper.
That he hasn’t rushed out to clarify is very troubling.
Exactly!
If I inadvertently made a gesture that someone associated with something I personally find abhorrent, I would be falling all over myself to set them straight. I'd make it abundantly clear not only that I wasn't making the gesture but that I find the thing abhorrent.
Yeah, no doubt there. His Nazi-loving heart goes out to all the authoritarians in the room.
I'd rather his heart GIVE out than GO out.
There’s always that Ketamine…a girl can dream.
It certainly looks deliberate, but looks can be deceiving, so I went with probably. But really, who cares whether it was deliberate or not? When it comes to Nazis, Elon Musk is what used to be called a fellow traveler in referring to communist sympathizers. He's already shown us what he is. I believe him. He's a danger to this country. But I have a feeling the Trump-Musk bromance won't last much longer. Musk gets attention, which takes away from the attention that Baby Boy Trump demands. No way his Orangeness can let that slide for long.
Nope. Trump is not threatened by Musk. Musk is both his arm candy and the guy who actually has ideas and gets “the boring” shit done. Plus he can buy him Greenland. (Did you know that musk is now going to have an office in the West Wing?). Musk is what Trump ALWAYS wanted as a buddy and never had amongst the NY crowd. He’s actually IS the richest man in the world (vs all the faux superlatives that Trump loves to throw around). Lots of reports, also, that Trumps cognition is in SERIOUS decline. Who knows? Maybe they’ll 25th him and Vance and Musk will buy a sofa together.
Much as all these people share various traits with the Nazis, only Steve Bannon and the armed groups like the Proud Boys etc. ad nauseam would be bold enough to intentionally display a genuine Nazi salute. To do that, the straight arm sweeps up (or, if already partly up, straight out). Swinging the right arm from across the body to straight out, as Musk does in this video, is a far more natural gesture. Let's go after these idiots for their statements and acts, rather than their gestures. They already have plenty to answer for.
Check a similar video of Adolf. Same gesture.
My wife--the smartest person I know--reminded me that Musk had made a similar gesture while wearing what appeared to be a German officer's cap, so I'll recant. I have also since discovered that, according to Wikipedia, Musk's maternal grandparents "were Nazi sympathizers in Canada before relocating to South Africa for political reasons." 'Nuff said.
While I'm here, I'll relate two more comments from my wife. I remarked on Musk's pointing out that Alice Weidel, the parliamentary leader of the Alternative für Deutschland party (the "no, we're not Nazis" party) being romantically involved with a woman from Sri Lanka, and I considered that odd in such a party. My wife immediately responded, "Clarence Thomas."
And finally, she pointed me to https://www.whitehouse.gov/about-the-white-house/our-government/the-constitution/.
Wise woman, your wife. No coincidence that musk, thiel & 1 other (andreesen?) are all from South Africa
Marc Andreesen was born in Cedar Falls, Iowa, and raised in New Lisbon, Wisconsin. A friend of mine from New Lisbon recalled that after Andreesen became famous for Netscape Navigator, a TV news crew nosed around New Lisbon and discovered the deli where he had worked as a youth. Asked if he had shown any tech aptitude there, workers said, "Oh, yeah. He was the only one who could adjust the digital meat scale."
Re: Philip Rucker. I don’t know that a move to CNN is necessarily a step up. Their coverage has been, shall we say, less than stellar.
Susan, it is a step OUT.
A lot of news organizations seem likely to improve, having pulled major talent from the once-great WaPo.
Yes, didn’t they just move their most admired commentator to Siberia?
He clearly did the nazi salute.
He's acting like a popular high school kid who wants to do something transgressive to show how "cool" he is...
It's going to be a very very very long four years😮💨
He said, "My heart goes out to you," which seems intended to explain the gesture.
It's tempting to say that Musk was employing a Nazi salute, but note that each time he first puts his hand over where his heart would be, if he had one, before flinging his arm out straight--to the side, not straight ahead like a proper "Sieg heil"--and then says, "My heart goes out to you." Guilty only of bad optics, I'd say. There are many, many reasons to deplore the guy without stretching to pin this one on him.
Maaaybe... but wouldn't the hand sweep out to the side in that gesture, with the palm vertical instead of horizontal?
I wonder if Elon owns a bespoke Waffen SS replica uniform, complete with Totenkopfs.
Omg that’s incredibly funny. Mostly because it’s completely plausible.
The chest thump and arm snap are exactly like those done by Hitler himself and there are videos comparing the two. It doesn't get more Nazi than that.