[untitled]
5 comments
What was she expecting exactly?
The Holocaust was a tragedy. For the vast majority of people, it’s a very distant, remote, almost abstract tragedy. It happened generations ago thousands of miles away from most Americans, in a world entirely different from ours. Did she expect him to break down crying? And that he didn’t is just confirmation that he’s indifferent to dead Jewish people?
This is not meant to be a defense of Elon per se, but just of the general attitude that Jewish people deserve unique deference. He didn’t even visit the site of the Holomodor yet when he criticizes Ukraine there’s no impression that he’s anti Ukrainian (because these are entirely unrelated).
The Holocaust was a tragedy. For the vast majority of people, it’s a very distant, remote, almost abstract tragedy. It happened generations ago thousands of miles away from most Americans, in a world entirely different from ours. Did she expect him to break down crying? And that he didn’t is just confirmation that he’s indifferent to dead Jewish people?
This is not meant to be a defense of Elon per se, but just of the general attitude that Jewish people deserve unique deference. He didn’t even visit the site of the Holomodor yet when he criticizes Ukraine there’s no impression that he’s anti Ukrainian (because these are entirely unrelated).
I think it's a common experience for people who visit the death camps and witness the heaps of artifacts to feel the sheer weight of those places and reflect on their brutal history. At the very least, visitors ought to behave mournfully and respectfully while touring the grounds, especially as part of a political delegation, especially when living victims are traveling with them. After all, these are vast cemeteries where millions of people were systematically murdered, buried, and scattered. Generations wiped out for absolutely no reason.
Most first-hand accounts I've read of Musk depict him as a person utterly bereft of empathy. I don't think Julie Gray posted this account out of spite: I think she was genuinely disturbed by the visit.
Most first-hand accounts I've read of Musk depict him as a person utterly bereft of empathy. I don't think Julie Gray posted this account out of spite: I think she was genuinely disturbed by the visit.
Sure, there’s a way to conduct yourself at these places.
From her account: there’s no indication that he was being rude, only that she felt he didn’t provide her preferred amount of solemnity. If it were anyone else there’d be nothing to conclude. If it’s Elon Musk, it’s devastating proof of sociopathy
From her account: there’s no indication that he was being rude, only that she felt he didn’t provide her preferred amount of solemnity. If it were anyone else there’d be nothing to conclude. If it’s Elon Musk, it’s devastating proof of sociopathy
I think you're discounting her subjective experience of paying attention to Musk and his behavior that day. I agree with you entirely that it's almost an abstract tragedy, difficult to relate to, and honestly overemphasized by Hollywood. But if I were there, I sure as shit would make an effort not to appear disinterested. It's just basic human decency (unlike, for example, those people who just whip out their smartphones to take photos and record videos from the outskirts of the damn place).
I don't think that's enough to call him a sociopath (at least not just that, lol). It feels like she was already set on using that word, but Musk is a pretty controversial figure these days.
I don't think that's enough to call him a sociopath (at least not just that, lol). It feels like she was already set on using that word, but Musk is a pretty controversial figure these days.
And here's an account of a woman who visited Auschwitz with him:
> I see people posting that Elon was at Auschwitz this time last year - therefore, his recent "gesture" is not antisemitic. I was there, too. Last year. With Elon. I am embarrassed that I have photos of this on my phone. My love, Gidon Lev, was the "special guest" of this photo-op event. We thought, at the time, that it would be good publicity. But I would not share the photo today. I chatted with Elon Musk. I spent hours with him and walked with him through Auschwitz. I stood with him, looking at the nauseating heaps of hair, luggage, and shoes flooded with violet light meant to preserve it. Is Musk an antisemite? People, actually, it's worse - he doesn't care whatsoever. Elon, father of "little X" as he described his freezing cold son to me, literally does not care. He was unmoved by the experience. For Gidon, to be in the place where his father, Ernst, died on a death march - whether shot by the side of the road or having simply collapsed - was a huge deal. Elon did not care. He was about his press junket and his bodyguards. I was ten feet from him as he posed for the cameras of his entourage. He was utterly detached. He cared about how he looked. When he placed a wreath at Auschwitz and Gidon was overlooked, he walked away with the cameras whirring. This is Elon Musk. A sociopath, if ever there was one. To deduce, from this visit, that he is a friend of the Jews is desperately naive.