Elon Musk amplifies call by antisemites to ban the ADL from X

[The Hour IS AT HAND]

"Elon Musk is engaging with white nationalists and antisemites who want to ban the Anti-Defamation League from Twitter, the influential social media platform he now calls “X.”

The ADL has an interesting history, what do yall think about this?

Elon Musk amplifies call by antisemites to ban the ADL from X

Boss of platform formerly known as Twitter asks his followers if he should poll the platform about the hashtag #BanTheADL, embraced by white nationalists and others on far right

www.timesofisrael.com

 

[WolfGate]

My basic response is what the heck is Elon Musk doing liking a post from a neo-nazi who is wanting Musk to ban speech from an organization because that organization is trying to ban the neo-nazi's speech. It's kind of absurd. Musk pretends to be philosophically pure in opposition to banning free speech, but he really is only in opposition to banning speech he agrees with.

 

[Paulos23]

Just another reason to avoid the dumpster fire that is X.

 

[dwb001]

So if someone posts something that makes a good point... I now have to do a thorough background check to make sure they are not associated(now or ever) with a naughty group?

I like posts on this site that make good points without checking peoples backgrounds... is that wrong to do?

Here I thought the idea was important no mater who speaks it. But if that is now wrong then I guess the masses have spoken.

 

[The Hour IS AT HAND]

 

[The Hour IS AT HAND]

So if someone posts something that makes a good point... I now have to do a thorough background check to make sure they are not associated(now or ever) with a naughty group?

I like posts on this site that make good points without checking peoples backgrounds... is that wrong to do?

Here I thought the idea was important no mater who speaks it. But if that is now wrong then I guess the masses have spoken.

We live in the age of character assassination... Not saying it hasn't been done before, but it seems to be the go-to modern tactic.

 

[The Hour IS AT HAND]

An interesting quote from Woodrow Wilson that I feel relates...
"A little group of willful men, representing no opinion but their own, have rendered the great government of the United States helpless and contemptible."

 

[Fireinfolding]

I was trying to find something on this that was shared by the owner of Gab but lost where his initial post was so I could copy paste it directly because he goes into why Elon can't ban the ADL even if he wanted to

Why Elon Can’t #BantheADL Even if He Wanted To

Over the past few days a grassroots campaign popped up on X calling for the platform to ban the ADL. The campaign, united around the hashtag #BantheADL, has been trending on the platform for days with hundreds of thousands of posts. This campaign comes after the CEO of the ADL,...

news.gab.com

 

[ThatRobGuy]

it's one of those chicken and the egg scenarios...

Sort of like the paradoxical question "do you have to tolerate intolerance to be a tolerant person"?

I think the same notion applies here. Can you be pro free speech if you try to ban an organization who attempts to ban the speech of others?


Sort of like "can you be accused of not being really anti-killing if you kill guy who was trying to kill 15 other people?"

All analogies aside, this is why ideological purity standards/tests fail the prudence test.

Musk may have set himself up for this trap by presenting himself as a "free speech absolutist".

Absolutist positions are noble-sounding in echo-chambers, but often times aren't practical blanket positions.

 

[Fireinfolding]

Elon is rich enough, why wouldnt he consider the same untouchable set up Gab has?

 

[FireDragon76]

Journalists that follow Musk have been commenting how he seems to be becoming increasingly erratic, perhaps due to (ab)using controlled substances like ketamine.

If he courts neo-nazis, no advertiser with serious money is going to want to be on his platform.

 

[Desk trauma]

Just another reason to avoid the dumpster fire that is X.

It appears his tweets have been made impervious from being removed from the for you feed regardless of how often you mark them as something you’re not interested in.

 

[ThatRobGuy]

Journalists that follow Musk have been commenting how he seems to be becoming increasingly erratic, perhaps due to (ab)using controlled substances like ketamine.

If he courts neo-nazis, no advertiser with serious money is going to want to be on his platform.

Well, I think the time for playing hardball with him has long since passed...

Elon Musk’s Shadow Rule

How the U.S. government came to rely on the tech billionaire—and is now struggling to rein him in.

www.newyorker.com

I read another article recently about how there were concerns about the fact that he could opt to shut down starlink in the Ukraine (a service their military has become reliant on)

Such is the risk of allowing one set of preferences to dominate the "marketplace of ideas". The left was the first to put all their eggs in the Musk basket due to his involvement with climate causes and EVs (which is where he made most of his money). The problem with that is when that "one basket" decides to either go off the rails or decides they're not on-board with everything being pushed by their former team, and decides to rush into the welcoming arms of the other team.

He's got money and power, and when he sees torches and pitchforks to the left, and a welcome mat to the right (and knowing that most captains of industry are driven by ego and the need to be liked), these outcomes aren't terribly surprising.

You can see some of that mentality in his posts.

When he posted this, you can see where his head was at

To elaborate, he's not alone in that feeling, he's just one of the few people who has enough resources to spend exorbitant sums on proving a point.

 

[Gene2memE]

it's one of those chicken and the egg scenarios...

Sort of like the paradoxical question "do you have to tolerate intolerance to be a tolerant person"?

I think the same notion applies here. Can you be pro free speech if you try to ban an organization who attempts to ban the speech of others? Sort of like "can you be accused of not being really anti-killing if you kill guy who was trying to kill 15 other people?"

Popper's 'Paradox of Tolerance' applies here:

“Less well known is the paradox of tolerance: unlimited tolerance must lead to the disappearance of tolerance. If we extend unlimited tolerance even to those who are intolerant, if we are not prepared to defend a tolerant society against the onslaught of the intolerant, then the tolerant will be destroyed, and tolerance with them ... In this formulation, I do not imply, for instance, that we should always suppress the utterance of intolerant philosophies; as long as we can counter them by rational argument and keep them in check by public opinion, suppression would certainly be unwise. But we should claim the right to suppress them if necessary even by force; for it may easily turn out that they are not prepared to meet us on the level of rational argument, but begin by denouncing all argument; they may forbid their followers to listen to rational argument, because it is deceptive, and teach them to answer arguments by the use of their fists or pistols."

This Jean-Paul Sartre quote would seem apt as well:

“Never believe that anti-Semites are completely unaware of the absurdity of their replies. They know that their remarks are frivolous, open to challenge. But they are amusing themselves, for it is their adversary who is obliged to use words responsibly, since he believes in words. The anti-Semites have the right to play. They even like to play with discourse for, by giving ridiculous reasons, they discredit the seriousness of their interlocutors. They delight in acting in bad faith, since they seek not to persuade by sound argument but to intimidate and disconcert. If you press them too closely, they will abruptly fall silent, loftily indicating by some phrase that the time for argument is past.”

 

[Fireinfolding]

Jesus was a Jew, and he was hated but not for simply being a Jew. He had more of a turn the other cheek philosophy towards others intolerance of him. He encouraged the same of his followers.

 

[Pommer]

It appears his tweets have been made impervious from being removed from the for you feed regardless of how often you mark them as something you’re not interested in.

I have Elmo blocked.

 

[Fireinfolding]

So if someone posts something that makes a good point... I now have to do a thorough background check to make sure they are not associated(now or ever) with a naughty group?

I like posts on this site that make good points without checking peoples backgrounds... is that wrong to do?

Here I thought the idea was important no mater who speaks it. But if that is now wrong then I guess the masses have spoken.

Even a person who God might refer to as either blind or a fool I could agree with once and awhile because we all know a blind squirrel will eventually stumble across a nut here or there.

I gotta break the habit of using all this posting "bling", its almost like some sort playful trap ready to spring upon you on every platform anyway. I am glad I dont belong to any of them. These things only make these tale bearers useless jobs easier who love to dig around only to find out what sort of objectable things "you liked" just to nail you to a wall. What a world.

 

[FireDragon76]

Well, I think the time for playing hardball with him has long since passed...

Elon Musk’s Shadow Rule

How the U.S. government came to rely on the tech billionaire—and is now struggling to rein him in.

www.newyorker.com

I read another article recently about how there were concerns about the fact that he could opt to shut down starlink in the Ukraine (a service their military has become reliant on)

Such is the risk of allowing one set of preferences to dominate the "marketplace of ideas".

This has more to do with the danger of the power of oligarchs in general, than a competition in ideologies. Elon Musk is essentially a new robber baron, throwing around his socioeconomic power.

The left was the first to put all their eggs in the Musk basket due to his involvement with climate causes and EVs (which is where he made most of his money).

I wouldn't attribute Musk to strictly "the left". EV's have just as much to do with Silicon Valley techno-libertarianism, and how that ideology has managed to gain respectability along with neoliberal economics.

 

[ThatRobGuy]

This has more to do with the danger of the power of oligarchs in general, than a competition in ideologies. Elon Musk is essentially a new robber baron, throwing around his socioeconomic power.

I wouldn't attribute Musk to strictly "the left". EV's have just as much to do with Silicon Valley techno-libertarianism, and how that ideology has managed to gain respectability along with neoliberal economics.

But that ideological "bonding" is often the vehicle (pun intended) that people use to accrue enough money and power to get themselves into "oligarch" status.

This CNN segment titled "How Elon Musk went from liberal to conservative hero"

https://www.cnn.com/videos/business/2022/12/05/elon-musk-popularity-poll-cnntm-contd-vpx.cnn

When he was something of a climate activist and retweeting Greta, anyone on the left who could afford one was buying a Tesla Model 3 (AOC was on that list, but later said she wanted to sell it after she no longer liked him) when they rolled off the line and he was being praised for "brining EVs to the masses"

You had articles from MSNBC and Axios in 2018 with headlines like
"Why Tesla's work is important to the future of the world"
and
"Why Buying A Tesla Is The Best Thing You Can Do For The Environment"

MotherJones even went as far as suggesting that the government should provide increased subsidies in order to help incentivize more people to buy them and increase production. NY Times in 2019 was touting the benefits and informing people on how to get one and how to make the purchase process easier.


From 2016-2019, his climate advocacy, his advocacy for increasing carbon taxes, his pro-UBI stance (among other stated views) certainly weren't winning over many conservatives during that time window when his brand was building up.

 

[FireDragon76]

There is no question that techno-libertarianism is a stream in American culture that has transcended partisan political boundaries, to some extent. This has been the case especially since the 1990's.