The Worst Thing About Elon Musk Is That He Got Away with All of It(newrepublic.com)

19 pointsby robtherobber12 hours ago8 comments

fullshark12 hours ago
A lot of people believe in comforting justice narratives. The truth is there is no justice, there is only power, who has it, and how they wield it. That is what collectively drives civilization.
- beardyw12 hours ago
  > That is what collectively drives civilization.
  That is a narrative which seeks to deny the power of society and thus undermine public resistance.
  - fullshark9 hours ago
    I actually think it's a narrative that should inspire public resistance, at least genuine public resistance, not sitting around and complaining online.
    8 hours ago
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theartfuldodger11 hours ago
This is what passes as publishable journalism these days? It would fail a 101 class. What a sad state of affairs.
Regardless of opinion on Musk, normalizing whining does nothing for anyone.
ZeroGravitas11 hours ago
This article is far too positive.
It regularly assumes he tried to do good things and failed.
treetalker3 hours ago
Homer: "The worst thing about Elon Musk so far!"
Me: he got away with all of it so far
pipeline_peak11 hours ago
> (and possibly his ketamine habit)
I think I’ve read Buzz Feed articles with more integrity.
ai_critic12 hours ago
Like the fellow or not, outright lies like "When Musk’s plans inevitably fail" undercut any credibility this creed might have.
Tesla cars, the new Optimus thing, SpaceX, xAI...like, the dude has a track record of making things happen.
Be upset about the concentration of wealth, be upset about a misunderstanding of public policy and misalignment of values in the execution of DOGE, be upset about petty manchild antics on Twitter--but for fuck's sake, can we please stop ignoring the evidence (good and bad) in front of our own eyes?
- archagon10 hours ago
  His wood chipper tactics led directly to thousands of deaths from disease and starvation in the third world: https://hsph.harvard.edu/news/usaid-shutdown-has-led-to-hund...
  - 56J8XhH7voFRwPR8 hours ago
    There are so many things this study assumes that you cant possibly think its remotely accurate. These estimates rely on mathematical modeling to estimate this which we should know from covid that these models are often flawed. This specific study referenced from the link you provided is estimating a projection of a 15% increase in all cause mortality by 2030. Dividing total funding by "average per-child treatment cost" to estimate death ignores the fact that not all aid reaches its target. In fact as we've seen with other "aid" programs (cough cough Ukraine) much of that money is disappears due to fraud and corruption. It doesnt take a rocket scientist to look at the countries this aid was going to and know that they are rampant with corruption.
    Secondly, what is missed is that while USAID was shut down, many of the programs were moved to the US State Department with a blanket waiver for all life saving humanitarian aid.https://www.state.gov/emergency-humanitarian-waiver-to-forei...
    > The Lancet study claims USAID programs saved more than 90 million lives during this period. In other words, USAID was allegedly responsible for the entire global improvement in mortality, plus another 11 million lives.
    https://reason.com/2025/07/24/did-usaid-really-save-90-milli...
    https://depts.washington.edu/globalhealthjustice/what-is-the...
    archagon8 hours ago
    You can find articles[1][2] with direct reporting on the deaths. I don't know what the actual numbers are, but it's a verifiable fact that many people have died because previously-available health care, medicine, food, etc. were suddenly (and illegally) cut off by DOGE. There's a correct way to taper a life-saving program instead of yanking out the IV and washing your hands of the consequences, but that imbecile Musk either didn't care to learn or simply didn't care. Minimizing human suffering was not even a consideration.
    [1]: https://archive.ph/20250629012329/https://www.nytimes.com/20...
    [2]: https://www.propublica.org/article/kenya-trump-usaid-world-f...
xenospn12 hours ago
s/got away/rewarded/
stronglikedan12 hours ago
First TDS, now EDS.
- pixelpoet12 hours ago
  And finally, Calling Dislike of Awful People A Syndrome Syndrome.
  - theartfuldodger11 hours ago
    It becomes a "syndrome" when your dislike takes up.your attention, emotions and character and all logical thought about the topic is replaced by emotion filled rhetoric.
    ronsor11 hours ago
    This is exactly the case. If I don't like someone, I think about them as little as possible. Elon doesn't care if people whine about him, so you don't gain anything from fixating on it.
    10 hours ago
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  - metadope10 hours ago
    Drop that 'Awful' judgment and I'm right dare wit ya:
    Dislike Of People Exhibiting A Syndrome Syndrome (DOPEASS)
    metadope10 hours ago
    I resemble that remark