This is hardly TDS. Elon made his own 'gestures' then went to an AfD rally to clarify his position with a bullhorn in case some didn't hear the dog whistle.
Being uneasy about using products and services from a political extremist is a rational and normal position.
Calling people that you disagree with deranged or impaired is hardly "leaving personalities out of it". Rhetorical games like that are not helpful or beneficial to the discussion.
"It's easier to fool people than to convince them that they have been fooled"- Mark Twain
The pictures and video I saw of Elon in the news look nothing like the salutes in documentaries, TV shows, and movies. I did see one picture of Kamala making the same gesture as Elon though.
There's a mind-virus infecting people. It reminds me of when the front page of reddit was about Trump pooping his pants which didn't happen, but...
people want to believe what they want to believe.
I don't care what "side" of politics people are on, I hate it when either side doesn't act in good faith.
(The front page of reddit is constantly politics now, it's no longer interesting, so I no longer waste my time there.)
Not sure if the picture was from that video, but I appreciate it. I also have never lived in Germany, but I assume Germans have seen more historical depictions than I have, so thank you for that datapoint.
> I did see one picture of Kamala making the same gesture as Elon though.
A picture lacks context. And if that is the one which I think it is, it is clearly an utterly different gesture due to the context. Misrepresenting that is not acting in good faith.
He often does not look normal.
He gave a nazi salute to the USA flag. He saluted once to the crowd, then turned around and saluted to the flag. Sadly many people have not seen the full video.
Have you seen what he posts on his social media accounts? It is full of fascist, racist, conspiracy content. It is almost certain that he knows how a Nazi salute looks like and that it was two of them.
In case anyone sees this... this is true. I've never actually seen Elon himself post something blatantly racist.
Instead he'll wait till someone else like Marjorie Taylor Greene posts something like "jewish space lasers are responsible for California fires" and he'll retweet "close".
He does this so often, it's like he wants to be technically innocent of wrongdoing, but he's associating with all the bad actors.
Amusing, since the entire defense of Elon at this point is a bad faith attempt to dilute the richest man in the world's continued racist ideas, comments, and actions.
You can argue the gesture was unintentional, but to say it "look nothing like the salutes in documentaries, TV shows, and movies" is just a lie. Nothing like it? What would he had to have to have done differently for you to say it looked similar?
i don't really think that's a fair way to answer my question.
the property "associated to the concept of jew-murder" doesn't automatically make judging a technical company by the alleged beliefs of its operator sensical.
once again, if someone were to state some ground for dislike of gay folks (e.g. calling it a cognitihazard) it would still not make sense to criticize the company they belong to, nor companies that associate with theirs when the subject is an unrelated technical feat.
i'm "likening gays and Nazis" only in the sense that they're both adjectives. i chose the example of homosexuality because
- tim cook is gay, and we're talking about Apple
- it nicely politically parallels criticizing association with SpaceX based on the alleged proclivities of Elon Musk
but the post could just as easily have been about his favorite shirt color, to reduced rhetorical but identical logical effect.
your stance only makes sense if you think "SpaceX is getting into bed with the gays" /isn't/ a ridiculous thing to say, and is acceptable because being gay is good and being a nazi isn't.
What are you even on about. They are not the same. Elon being a weirdo proto-fascist, mid-life-crisis having weirdo has nothing to with someone being born gay. One is a choice the other isn’t. And before all you Elon apologist play the Asperger’s card even people like him with his deficiencies know better.
no offense (well, some offense...), but are you reading a script? enacting an argument you've had mentally with someone else?
you literally just replied to a post saying the the gay / alleged nazi dynamic wasn't critical to the point with... a moral assessment of being homosexual vs. a "proto-fascist, mid-life-crisis having weirdo".
I’m not the person you were replying too but I think I can set the matter straight.
You said: the property "associated to the concept of jew-murder" doesn't automatically make judging a technical company by the alleged beliefs of its operator sensical.
This is where we disagree. The key part of the statement “technical company” isn’t “technical”. It’s “company”.
The reason the mods (cross fingers) haven’t shut this discussion down is because HN isn’t just a tech forum, it’s also a business forum.
From a business perspective, it’s completely fair to criticize the political viewpoint and even national allegiance of another business. And it’s fair to question if Apple is squandering its goodwill by associating with bad actors. Technical competency is irrelevant if people are reluctant to buy your products or others are reluctant to integrate with you due to your political beliefs.
That’s why it’s often recommended that business leaders do not speak outside their area of expertise and if they have to give a political opinion then they should align with the majority and the governments stance (which arguably Musk is doing).
I lost almost all respect for Elon Musk when he started calling a rescue diver "pedo guy". Up until this point, I was enthusiastic about his company's accomplishments in aerospace and electric vehicles.
Now I would love to see him fulfill his dream of being a Martian pioneer - as long as he doesn't return to earth. In my view, he is an embarrassment to the tech community and the United States. His childish and petty behavior has no place in a civil society.
TDS should not be tolerated in polite society.