Elon Musk is no hero
Recently, for some on the right, Elon Musk has become a hero for attacking the Anti-Defamation League (ADL), threatening to sue for loss of advertising revenue.
For many conservatives, the ADL has gotten out of line. The new head, Jonathan Greenblatt, was a functionary of the Obama administration, and seems to be taking the ADL into advocacy politics well beyond the original scope of the ADL, which is to fight antisemitism. In plain terms, the ADL has become a leftist advocacy group. From the New York Post:
First off, the ADL isn’t a ‘Jewish’ organization in any genuine ethnic or theological sense.
Its primary mission is no longer to stop the defamation of Jews.
The ADL’s CEO, Jonathan Greenblatt, a former Barack Obama appointee who often appears on MSNBC to chat it up with bigots such as Al Sharpton, has created a partisan leftist social justice outfit.
And its primary goal these days is cynically using the organization’s historical position to advance often illiberal, completely irreligious, leftist ideas.
More than one conservative Jew has taken exception to the ADL’s new direction. Make no mistake about it, the ADL does have enough influence to bring financial pressure to bear when it wants to. Facebook was “persuaded” to abandon its “free speech” position and ban Holocaust denial from its platform after a boycott supported by the ADL and the NAACP:
That same month, the ADL launched an advertiser boycott to protest Facebook’s inaction in removing anti-Semitic and racist hate speech. More than 1,000 companies participated, including Starbucks and Ben & Jerry’s.
So Elon Musk is not out of his mind when he suspects the ADL of causing an advertising loss.
Recently, the fight has gotten nastier. An Irish nationalist (mislabeled as a white supremacist) named Keith Woods posted a tweet which recommended #BanTheADL. Musk liked the hashtag. From the Times of Israel:
Musk had earlier ‘liked’ the tweet launching the hashtag by Keith Woods, an Irish white nationalist and self-described ‘raging antisemite.’
‘The ADL’s favourite tactic is financially blackmailing social media companies into removing free speech on their platforms,’ Woods said in his Aug. 31 tweet. ‘Why should they have a platform on X to hold @elonmusk to ransom? It’s time to #BanTheADL.’
Musk liked two subsequent tweets by Woods, who touted Musk’s support to his followers.
Well the call to #BanTheADL took off.
And it looked like the ADL might lose in the court of public opinion. Prime Minister Netanyahu intervened to have a discussion with Musk, asking him to combat antisemitism.
Whatever one thinks about the ADL, Musk should not become a new conservative hero for defending freedom and liberty.
First: Musk is pushing electric vehicles, which are an ecological disaster masquerading as an eco-friendly technology. The United States does not have the generating capacity for the extra load those cars will require, and Musk, who is technically adept, knows this. He has to know that all he is doing is moving combustion from the local car to the power plant.
Second: Musk is the champion of the bizarre Neuralink, a new age transhumanistic technology which would put microchips in the brain. From Cybernews:
Musk envisions a future where brain implants could pave the way for game-changing solutions to various conditions, including obesity, autism, depression, schizophrenia, Parkinson’s, epilepsy, and beyond. He even predicts a future where web browsing using our brains and telepathy become the norm.
I am all for treating disease, but it obviously will not stop there.
Third: Musk is making decisions with Starlink that should be the province of governments, not CEOs, such as cutting off Ukrainian access to the network. From CNBC:
Sen. Elizabeth Warren called for a probe Tuesday following a claim that Tesla and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk curbed a Ukrainian military operation aimed at Russia’s Black Sea fleet last year by limiting access to SpaceX’s Starlink satellite network, a report said.
Right or wrong, Musk should not be the one making such decisions.
Maybe the ADL has gone too far. Ben Shapiro seems to think so.
But ultimately Musk is about Musk, and he is not a hero in this—neither is Jonathan Greenblatt. Musk is just a contender. He is no less a techie elitist pushing for a new world order than the rest.
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