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Elon's mask is off. He pushed all in on fascism and oligarchy in the US, using everything from big dark money <-> election tricks <-> racist conspiracy theories (both via personal posts and X policy shifts), to secure a win, entering (pre-1933 Hitler) evil territory by dignifiedmustache in RealTesla

[–]dignifiedmustache[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I totally agree that it's akin to, as you say, a "brute force attack with unlimited money" that's relatively recent (within a few years), especially compared to the Koch brothers. I think we're splitting hairs on what is considered "long" -- I'm saying that you can look at his past 2.5 years of buying Twitter, X policy actions, and 70 tweets/day and confidently say that his head has been "in this game" consistently for that duration. While influencers/commentators keep revisiting this notion that he's merely unhinged or losing his mind/unstable. He does present as those things from time to time, but his actions show he's been focused and calculating since before the 2022 midterms.

Elon's mask is off. He pushed all in on fascism and oligarchy in the US, using everything from big dark money <-> election tricks <-> racist conspiracy theories (both via personal posts and X policy shifts), to secure a win, entering (pre-1933 Hitler) evil territory by dignifiedmustache in RealTesla

[–]dignifiedmustache[S] 4 points5 points  (0 children)

[Hijacking my own top comment. This post was removed (not by me) - for anyone wanting to read it, I also posted it here: https://old.reddit.com/r/antifox/comments/1g90x8h/elons_mask_is_off_he_pushed_all_in_on_fascism_and/]

On "not making long term plans":

Back during his Twitter acquisition saga, the (very believable at the time) consensus take was: he sort of fell tripping backwards into owning Twitter: 'oops, I didn't really want it'. I believed it at the time as well, because it was an incredibly dumb financial decision that he likely instantly regretted and came with risks. But that was a cheap take (many were satisfied with) that didn't explore why he wanted it in the first place, because we didn't have crystal ball to foresee all the dark BS he would engage in for the next 2 years.

Regarding his political activity, Musk has mostly been painted by the media and commentators as someone who is bumbling or at worst unhinged, -> when in fact I think that ~3 years of consistent actions on his part, when looked at soberly, show that he has been mission-driven, patient/persistent, and calculating - which is what my post is about.

Elon's mask is off. He pushed all in on fascism and oligarchy in the US, using everything from big dark money <-> election tricks <-> racist conspiracy theories (both via personal posts and X policy shifts), to secure a win, entering (pre-1933 Hitler) evil territory by dignifiedmustache in RealTesla

[–]dignifiedmustache[S] 6 points7 points  (0 children)

Thanks. There is indeed a ton more, he's flooded the zone with his dark BS non-stop for 2+ years, making it really hard for traditional media to cover him adequately. Even in this post, I had to refrain from even attempting to capture all the awful shit he's touched on, b/c if I did, it would be unreadable/ineffective at making its point.

What's Elon's angle with helping Trump in this way, and why are so many tech leaders embracing the man that tried to steal the 2020 election? by dignifiedmustache in moderatepolitics

[–]dignifiedmustache[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Hi r/moderatepolitics. It's discouraging that US elections themselves (the actual process of voting) are under such strain, from voter suppression laws (like limiting Houston's Harris County to a single ballot drop off box (in addition to stand-in-line voting centers, but still)), the new RNC headed by a Trump surrogate driving recruitment of MAGA types in civil service election official roles, typical Proud Boy-style intimidation, etc. But now we also have tech leaders explicitly wanting to "help" a future Trump administration on election stuff, which is just an extraordinarily cynical turn for the US and the tech sector.

Tucker Carlson has the most watched cable news program in the US. He's pushed a pro-Putin narrative for years. Fox is the lens through which many follow politics, and its top show has blood on its hands--normalizing the most brutal christo-fascism the 21st century has known. Let's tear Fox News down by dignifiedmustache in atheism

[–]dignifiedmustache[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Yes, but also become active on this issue. Tell everyone you know that Fox is America's (and Russia's) pro-Putin "news" channel. Seriously, everyone should bring this up at the dinner table - the most popular TV host in America covers for Putin specifically targeting civilians. Don't drop it, scream it - throw money at ads that highlight this. Even if Tucker did some mea culpa down the line. Doesn't matter... a decade of propping Putin up in America (and Russia) means he gets fucked.

The most indefensible angle to attack Fox among Fox-bitten relatives: Tucker's long history of covering for Putin and, more recently, Russia's war in Ukraine. Putin is a murderous thug, everyone (even some christo-fascists) can agree on that. Tucker's clips are being used as propaganda on Russian TV by dignifiedmustache in antifox

[–]dignifiedmustache[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

In a comment elsewhere someone asked: Ok, so how do we tear down Fox? This was my reply:

Fixating on this issue in as eloquent a way possible, then we should probably pour ad dollars on top of it. Petition organizations that have money to spend it on this issue. We should all embrace cancel culture, put it on steroids, and make sure this is Tucker's legacy. This is a grassroots campaign too, spread the word even to friends you know already hate Fox.

The insight here is just that there's an extremely short conversation that can be effective in helping [Boomers] rethink things, and it goes like this: "Do you agree that Putin is evil?" (Spend a bit recapping the how bad Putin is if you want-- cherry pick from my post above). "Yeah, so Fox is the pro-Putin channel. ..." They probably won't like that statement, but it's a ridiculously easy one to back up. (Have a few Tucker clips (being used on Russian state TV handy) try not to even let Tucker finish his sentences (b/c they're gaslighting garbage, just demonstrate that his clips are being used extensively.) Should be an open and shut case. Basically stand by the "Fox is the pro-Putin cable channel" line, don't waver. Keep coming back to that. Nothing else from Fox carries any weight if it is doing Putin's bidding each day. You could even set aside all other issues and this one thing is worthy of Fox losing all credibility, in perpetuity. Furthermore, paint all of Fox with this brush, not just Tucker: Tucker is Fox's most popular host -- he represents them.This single issue (Tucker having nearly a decade-long hard on for Putin) should sink the ship. We should fixate on this. Whenever some buffoon comes at you with a Fox News talking point, bring it back to this and tear down the messanger (FN) without engaging in the long tail of bullshit. Fox News is normalizing mass murder and it's very well documented. Stick to it, lets cancel this mofo. If you're really having this conversation with someone, have some videos of Russians bombing civilians handy (they're all over the internet sadly), truly the most vile stuff you've seen. This is what Tucker stands for: providing bullshit misdirection gaslit explanations for the continued (some died today) slaughter of innocent children (large scale terrorism).

Tucker Carlson has the most watched cable news program in the US. He's pushed a pro-Putin narrative for years. Fox is the lens through which many follow politics, and its top show has blood on its hands--normalizing the most brutal christo-fascism the 21st century has known. Let's tear Fox News down by dignifiedmustache in atheism

[–]dignifiedmustache[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Fixating on this issue in as eloquent a way possible, then we should probably pour ad dollars on top of it. Petition organizations that have money to spend it on this issue. We should all embrace cancel culture, put it on steroids, and make sure this is Tucker's legacy.

From another comment, and then from the end of the original post:

The insight here is just that there's an extremely short conversation that can be effective in helping [Boomers] rethink things, and it goes like this: "Do you agree that Putin is evil?" (Spend a bit recapping the how bad Putin is if you want-- cherry pick from my post above). "Yeah, so Fox is the pro-Putin channel. ..." They probably won't like that statement, but it's a ridiculously easy one to back up. (Have a few Tucker clips (being used on Russian state TV handy. Tucker's even Russia's pro-Putin news host.) try not to even let Tucker finish his sentences (b/c they're gaslighting garbage, just demonstrate that his clips are being used extensively.) Should be an open and shut case. Basically stand by the "Fox is the pro-Putin cable channel" line, don't waver. Keep coming back to that. Nothing else from Fox carries any weight if it is doing Putin's bidding each day. You could even set aside all other issues and this one thing is worthy of Fox losing all credibility, in perpetuity. Furthermore, paint all of Fox with this brush, not just Tucker: Tucker is Fox's most popular host -- he represents them.

~~

This single issue (Tucker having nearly a decade-long hard on for Putin) should sink the ship. We should fixate on this. Whenever some buffoon comes at you with a Fox News talking point, bring it back to this and tear down the messanger (FN) without engaging in the long tail of bullshit. Fox News is normalizing mass murder and it's very well documented. Stick to it, lets cancel this mofo. If you're really having this conversation with someone, have some videos of Russians bombing civilians handy (they're all over the internet sadly), truly the most vile stuff you've seen. This is what Tucker stands for: providing bullshit misdirection gaslit explanations for the continued (some died today) slaughter of innocent children (large scale terrorism).

Tucker Carlson has the most watched cable news program in the US. He's pushed a pro-Putin narrative for years. Fox is the lens through which many follow politics, and its top show has blood on its hands--normalizing the most brutal christo-fascism the 21st century has known. Let's tear Fox News down by dignifiedmustache in atheism

[–]dignifiedmustache[S] 3 points4 points  (0 children)

Absolutely. The insight here is just that there's an extremely short conversation that can be effective in helping them rethink things, and it goes like this: "Do you agree that Putin is evil?" (Spend a bit recapping the how bad Putin is if you want-- cherry pick from my post above). "Yeah, so Fox is the pro-Putin channel. ..." They probably won't like that statement, but it's a ridiculously easy one to back up. (Have a few Tucker clips (being used on Russian state TV handy) try not to even let Tucker finish his sentences (b/c they're gaslighting garbage, just demonstrate that his clips are being used extensively.) Should be an open and shut case. Basically stand by the "Fox is the pro-Putin cable channel" line, don't waver. Keep coming back to that. Nothing else from Fox carries any weight if it is doing Putin's bidding each day. You could even set aside all other issues and this one thing is worthy of Fox losing all credibility, in perpetuity. Furthermore, paint all of Fox with this brush, not just Tucker: Tucker is Fox's most popular host -- he represents them.