Correct, anon, that's just a guess. Because after that happened, hate-mongers like Musk started a pogrom to burn down a bunch of unrelated people's houses. The act of violence you mentioned is not what got people rioting. Horrible crimes happen every day, after all.
Believe me when I say that as a white person, I'd much rather count some Sudanese immigrants as my neighbors than anyone in these lynch mobs.
Musk has killed hundreds of thousands of people with his reckless dismantling of USAID (https://www.currentaffairs.org/news/how-elon-musk-killed-hun...) and actively promotes white supremacy and race riots on Twitter. The Georges Ruggiu of social media.
Meanwhile, here in our little tech bubble, we pretend it's not happening -- that he's not spending half the day amplifying some of the literal worst people on Earth and blathering about how immigrants are coming to rape our culture. Just focus on the IPO. Don't look behind the curtain.
Where is a good chunk of this newfound money going to go? Into the pockets of AfD, Reform, and other far-right monsters around the world.
It's all just... abhorrent. Beyond words. Regretfully, I start to understand the state of society that can foment revolution. Never before have I felt such impotent fury at the state of things.
I can only hope his career ends as Ruggiu's once did: in shackles in front of an international tribunal.
Bullshit. It’s not the responsibility of US to help everyone on planet Earth. Why doesn’t Saudi Arabia or China go and help? Not the least, most of the aid money is diverted by terrorists just like the medicaid scams in US. And Afd Reform are not “monsters”. The monsters are far left activists and charities who are smuggling people in boats to the UK to claim asylum and lining their pockets.
It'll end in suicide or OD. Every time he pulls off a coup like forcing huge indices to buy and hold massive amounts of $80 billion float he delays the inevitable but in the end his puffery will collapse at some point.
I feel second hand embarrassment for all the bankers and analysts who have felt the need to pump this
I think he's steadily working towards "too big too fail": make the entire US economy depend on his rat's nest of a megacorp, plus miltech/policetech (SpaceX, Grok).
Also plenty of people upvote these stories when they come up. Yes, most of them are not welcomed by the HN moderating rules/team, and yes a large portion of them get death-flagged.
But please do not disregard the people silently doing something about it. It only reinforces the lie that "people who care about democracy" are outliers and alone. No we are not!
Yes, but: it's hard to have optimism when 4/5 of articles about Musk's horrifying behavior are insta-killed, while Grok and SpaceX puff pieces are cheerfully discussed with nary a mention of their owner's murderous politics.
What does it take to make someone persona non grata in SV tech? Absolutely nothing, as long as they keep bringing in the big bucks. Nazi salutes, incitement of racial violence, thousands dead from starvation and cut-off medical care -- doesn't matter in the slightest. In a functioning society, Musk would not be able to go anywhere without being swarmed by protestors.
Yes, being optimistic, specially today, is hard. But it is important to remember that HN is not SV, and SV is not the USA, and that the USA is not the World. But people have absolutely prevailed over much harder conditions. Even SV in the past was exceptionally anti worker: I wrote about the history of SV here https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47099922.
Finally, sometimes we just need a break. It is OK to take a break. Do not burn yourself out. This is a marathon, not a sprint. Finally, to quote a historian, "You're always in history, and your choices matter" (src: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AFbzg_bp-Q0)
I can't speak for anyone else, but as a Christian, it's really quite simple: any death that you help cause is a black mark on your soul. Maybe you can repent for it, someday. But it's not something that will just be let go when the day of reckoning comes.
Incidentally, I'd feel the same way about killing someone in self-defense.
As someone from a Catholic country I always find hard how we mix that peaceful message with was was done in destruction to this day in the name of spreading faith since the ruling religions changed a few centuries ago.
I thought accepting and believing in Jesus as Lord was all you needed to enter heaven?
John 6:40 (KJV) 40 And this is the will of him that sent me, that every one which seeth the Son, and believeth on him, may have everlasting life: and I will raise him up at the last day.
Do you honestly think you're raising a novel point and not just being trite? If so, try reading Luther's Concerning Christian Liberty, where he dispenses with this argument. Or if you want a short version of what he says, if you just claim to "believe in" God but that doesn't affect your behavior in any way, then you don't really believe.
I'm certain I could not raise a novel theological perspective on Chrstianity even if I devoted my entire life to it. But from what I can tell, killing is not a black stain that precludes you from salvation. God is good, and He is forgiving.
OK, but part of repenting for something is genuine contrition, which is not really incompatible with knowing it's wrong but doing it anyway since you read that you can be forgiven.
You have to seek forgiveness and truly understand the nature of your transgression against your fellow man, not be like "welp, collateral damage is just part of the job."
Sure, I'd say that's a requisite for believing in Christ. But like I said, that belief can be sparked after what seems like any number of transgressions.
If you believe something, that will obviously have consequences on your actions, so there's obviously no inconsistency between the verse you quote and what he said.
Sure there is. They're a Christian, and think any action that causes death directly or indirectly condemns you to hell, and it's not given that you can repent. But scripture says belief in Christ will save your immortal soul, and that God is forgiving and merciful. That is not consistent with OPs views, who puts salvation as a "maybe" if you've caused death. If you find a genuine faith in Christ after the fact, you will be saved.
But scripture also says that many people will believe that they are holy and will be saved, and won't be, and this is one of Jesus's parables.
So it's far from clear. People who believe will have works, this is also something with scriptural support. So if you are doing harm, such as by killing people, you probably don't.
In a life-or-death situation, maybe a Christian could make the decision to take another life, then spend the rest of their life burdened by the guilt and sorrow of breaking the unambiguous 6th Commandment. There is room for repentance in this context.
That is *far* from the reality of the "defense" industry, however. Making widgets so that some dude at a computer terminal has an easier time drone-striking buildings full of kids halfway across the world is, essentially, evil.
"Criminal" is far from the worst label that can legitimately be applied to this man. In fact, every article on Musk and his ventures should be prefaced with a note: "This vocal white supremacist has caused the deaths of thousands of people in third world countries through his reckless and destructive actions."
I think when the histories are written, his legacy will be more Kissinger than Ford.
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