What’s great about this, and Stephen Fry is brilliant, is not that he’s absolving Musk, or that he’s criticizing Tesla, but that it is an argument likely leading to Elon Musk protesting,
‘No, my cars are good enough that I can be a Nazi!’
What’s great about this, and Stephen Fry is brilliant, is not that he’s absolving Musk, or that he’s criticizing Tesla, but that it is an argument likely leading to Elon Musk protesting,
‘No, my cars are good enough that I can be a Nazi!’
I would describe Elon Musk as an autistic adult whose weird behavior patterns and way too much money are dangerous in a system that gives money way too much power.
edit: just to be clear to the angry arrow smashers, I’m not offering excuses, rationalizations or support for Elon Musk, just a purely clinical view of his behavior, and why it’s so dangerous that our system gives so much power to money. Without the influence his billions give him he would be just another annoying weird guy. Some people would probably even feel some sympathy for him if it didn’t carry the risk of being called Evil.
I’ve autistic friend, she’s not a nazi. He’s just a cruel and rich sociopath.
I would say your friend’s actions need to be watched and controlled because they’re dangerous, and that the friend as a person needs help.
Autism =/= fascism or even being an insensitive moron. Autistic people are often highly sensitive to such topics.
You’re painting autistic people in a bad light. There is nothing about autism that excuses such behavior.
There’s also no reason to take anything I said as an “excuse”.
His potential neurodivergence does not excuse the evil. The majority of autistic people comprehend morality.
I don’t think he’s trying to excuse it. I think he’s saying you’d view an autistic Nazi walmart greeter more differently than you’d view an autistic Nazi whose already the wealthiest man in the world, and society’s values are letting that wealth have a huge platform and allowing him to basically run the country unilaterally.
An autistic Nazi plebian doesn’t have that kind of influence. Many people would probably pity them. An autistic Nazi being given the world is probably a bad thing.
Yeah I guess we’re not allowed to talk about this guy clinically at all. Has to be about good vs evil.
You want to argue that armchair psychology is more important in this situation than condemning doing a Nazi salute?
Armchair psychology and armchair political rants are both armchair activities., so neither is more important, and they can both happen at the same time.
It’s just interesting that all statements about <bad guy du jour> are considered support if they aren’t condemnation. If you said Bill Cosby used to do funny standup for example, you would be flooded with hate because the only acceptable reason to mention Cosby is condemn him for being horrible. But understanding the psychology of horrible people is actually important. Think how it would be if you got a rectal disease and it turned out there was no cure because assholes are gross so nobody studies them and anybody who mentions them except to rant about how disgusting they are gets pounded with douchevotes and called a pervert. Objective talk about aspects of sociopaths should be okay. Don’t be the Christian who clutches their rosary every time somebody says “Satan”.
Not a lot of normies can hyperfocus enough to become billionaires
I think extreme wealth is a matter of luck. Lots of equally clever, equally hardworking people succeed moderately, but extreme wealth and success are a perfect storm of timing, economics, and a lot of other things that nobody controls.
I would describe the wealthiest person in the world, Elon Musk, as the oligarchic son of an apartheid mining oligarch. His personality “quirks” are an irrelevant distraction that excuse & explain nothing.