Elon Musk appears unhappy that the German government provided a little more than $2 million to groups that aid migrants, include one that conducts search-and-rescue operations.
In the post shared by Musk, the account lamented the presence of humanitarian groups in the Mediterranean Sea that rescue migrants from distressed vessels.
"These NGOs are subsidized by the German government," the account posted. "Let's hope AfD wins the elections to stop this European suicide."
He endorses a party with Nazis in the highest positions. Bernd/Björn Höcke is the leader of the Thuringian AfD and courts decided that he’s a nazi. Not a right wing extremist, a fucking nazi.
AfD members have called for a second Holocaust (Marcel Grauf and an unknown talker at a party conference), the execution of refugees (Dieter Görnert), the imprisonment of homosexuals (Andreas Gehlmann), the creation of a new SA (Andreas Geithe), the imprisonment of left wingers in Buchenwald, a former concentration camp (Mirko Welsch) and most probably Musks favourite: Germany practicing apartheid (Holger Arrpe).
10-15 years ago I remember being told that Nazism couldn't take hold again in Germany because of all the laws, and the education in schools about Nazis, and stigma, and people who would fist-fight Nazis in the street if they saw right-wing symbols.
Was I sold an optimistic outlook or has the situation just changed that drastically since then?
As a non-German who is particularly not keen about Nazism but who doesn't speak enough German to keep a closer eye on it over there, I'm grateful for your name and shame overview.
Nazism is still a shunned no-go, and the AfD knows that (and regularly accuses others of being Nazis).
The way I see it, its officials are still Nazis though, but they get around acknowledging that by just positioning themselves as counter-culture opposition to progressive movements, which is great at mobilizing a united front of anyone who feels attacked by any part of progressivism. Meanwhile, they also covertly appease other Nazis and the extreme right through dogwhistles and the like. The anti-progressive voters just ignore or tolerate this. This combination sadly proves successful.
When they start building the camps, of course everyone should've known they're Nazis, but no one thinks that far even though it's their policies' logical conclusion.
I remember that we discussed this specific question at school. How dangerous it is to believe that "this can't happen here again because we all remember it and everybody is so well educated about it". That's when you start letting your guard down. That's also when people who may not identify as nazis (yet) start thinking :"Well, national socialism obviously can't happen again, therefore MY far right views can't possibly count as national socialism, therefore they're ok."
It's all bullshit. You can educate people all you want, there will always be a certain percentage of assholes and idiots and we've been far too tolerant of those for far too long.
There always has been a solid 15% of the German population that is lost to democracy and favours fascist and extremely right-wing politics. This “nazi” foundation has always been well established in many governmental bodies and economic branches as they were necessary to keep the country running after the end of WW2.
Now they are employing the same tactics as before 1945: stimulating fear among disadvantaged population groups (if factual or imaginative) and scapegoating minorities (migrants) for everything bad.
The perceived hesitation and disagreement of the current government doing their part, many of the „Bio-Germans“ who feel disadvantaged turn to the idea of „the new strong man“ that finally „cleans up the cesspool“ they imagine the current political system to be.
If nothing drastically changes, I see whole federal states go lost to the AfD that especially in eastern states are nothing more than a thinly veiled new NSDAP.
I thought the same 20 years ago. The positive outlook was common sense at the time, not an exaggeration. The overall vibe was inclusive, we had open borders in Europe since the 90ies, and German public opinion pro-European and progressive-leaning.
Neonazis were a thing, but a niche phenomenon. Angry young man. Not a part of mainstream society and everyone from conservative teachers to rock bands were 'against nazis', whatever this means.
The situation has changed indeed and it is somewhat scary. Right-wing (including fascist) talking points get significant air-time in the media. Politicians use language that appeals to far-right voters much more openly, dog whistles maybe.
The society is more divided these days. Bavaria votes next weak and you will see a strong divide between urban and rural. Trivial things like how to address groups of people including all genders are heated debates. Rational policies towards solving the climate crisises are stalling because change is seen as an attack on a livestyle. Better: Propaganda frames everything as a cultural war. Your vegan sandwhich, that's war against cattle farmers.
A lot of people just stared accepting far right wing views like about abortion, LGBT hate and etc. Instead of fighting them. They also made a lot people really belive that all problems we face are not from big companies wo only pay minimum wage (which isn't enough to support people in bigger cities) or who own over 70% of the real estate in Germany but because of left wing politics and immigrants.
"Getting hold of" can be interpreted broadly. While it’s not unrealistic that the next coalition might be conservative CxU + libertarian FDP + nazi AfD, it’s also very likely that the AfD gets banned until the next election, the responsible organization already has an eye on them. And a government with the AfD would be catastrophic (obviously), but it wouldn’t equal the creation the fourth reich. They would need a 2/3 majority to change/abolish constitutional laws and to change art. 1-20, which ensure human rights and such stuff, they would first need to change/abolish art. 79, which not even CxU and FDP would support. And here’s the fun part: if the AfD actually planned to do that, even without outright stating it, it would be enough to get them banned. The protecting mechanisms are there, the AfD can’t do anything about it and the other parties with coalition potential, even CxU and FDP, wouldn’t pave the way that far for another dictatorship.
So while it’s grim that a Nazi party is that popular, the damage they can possibly do is definitely below 1933.
For one, calling every person who is against migrants or refugees "a Nazi" is really bad. I don't know where this originally started, but people seem to use this word for all kinds of assholes.
Nazis were a political party and in Germany you learn about history of the Nazis and second world war. That's not the same as learning how to not be against migrants or something.
Nazi symbols etc. are still forbidden and even many extremely right wing people would be appalled if you call them a Nazi. These are two different things. And the inflationary use of the word is really stupid (not directed at you, I see it everywhere online for all kinds of things). You give them an easy way out because they will start a discussion about the word or try to push the narrative that only "real Nazis" are the problem.
The movement to the right you see currently in Germany has the same reasons as the movement to the right you see in other countries currently as well.
Not particularly well-off people and/or not particularly bright people and/or just greedy people are scared they will get left behind or become less wealthy if other people take or even participate in what they see as theirs. Refugees and migrants are by far the easiest target for these frustrations.
Thins joke about not using his proper first name is so old and worn out by now it should definitely be retired. Just call the man Bernd and be done with it.
Wait, Bernd is a real name‽‽ I thought it was just a joke. "Bernd das brot" und das Kika Lounge, was the first time I ran into the name, and it sounds to an English speaker, like myself, like "Burned the Bread"
The platform will likely get blocked within the EU quite soon if it stays this way. After a devastating report about misinformation, they loosened oversight even more, meaning it actively does not conform to EU regulations (regarding hate speech for example) anymore. Facebook has already received hefty fines for less so I honestly don't expect Xitter to be around much longer.
Shame the people the reply is aimed at don't see refugees as humans worth saving, instead they probably claim it is the German lives that the refugees "threaten" that need to be "saved".
There is no logic-ing someone out of a position they didn't logic themsleves in to..
Gee I wonder where they all got these brain worms that their comfort is so fragile and that everyone else envies their comfort and wants their treats and is only on a mission to steal their precious from them
I’m sure the capital owners don’t want to keep these refugees “illegal” and looked down upon so they can be exploited for cheap labor and no one will care
“Oh you had to escape the terrible material conditions created when the west either directly or indirectly installed a horrible dictator in charge of your country and people started starving/dying? Pathetic!”
Tesla too. I know a lot of good people that have had them a long time, or just nerd on them, thinking they're saving the environment, or even for whatever reason think they're quality products, but if you buy one now, you have to know what you're supporting.
Ten or so years ago I liked the guy. He did great things with tesla and spacex. Now every bit of information I get about him deminish my respect more than the previous. It seems like tesla and spacex has done great in spite of him, not because of him.
His employees did, I doubt he knows jack shit about designing cars or rockets. He stole the credit to create this image that he's like a real life Ironman.
It seems like tesla and spacex has done great in spite of him, not because of him.
Twitter is the perfect example of that, what happened to it is the demonstration of what happens when there's no one to babysit him out of not taking stupid decisions.
I honestly thought he founded both companies back then. I don't know if that he just bought them was obvious/something everyone should know or if I was clueless. I guess maybe it is a mix of both.
He founded SpaceX not bought it. He bought Tesla when it was a failing startup with an unsellable prototype.
It probably was the smart people he hired that made them successful but he very definitely didnt just buy thriving businesses and claim their existing success as his.
The guy is an ass and a terrible person, but he very definitely was instrumental in building those companies
Has Musk forgotten that without government subsidies there wouldn't have been a Tesla today? Fucking hypocrite! Socialism for the rich and capitalism for the poor.
Also it seems he never ever wants Tesla or any of his other companies getting any kind of warm treatment from any German Federal or State regulatory or licensing body. Well actually probably most of EU, given his behaviour towards Germany. After Germany treated him completely normally and business like and actually at parts some what welcoming with his business. Not their fault, if he can't comprehend the concept of EU is not USA. Things don't work the same.
He also absolutely will not need that good will.... Given that his Tesla imports to Europe from the Shanghai factory along with all Chinese EV imports are about to get dunked with extra tariffs soon over Chinese government subsidies to "level the playing field". It ain't official yet, but the grumbling from EU Commission is pretty hefty to that direction.
Ah, the party whose members are actual Nazis. I would say mask off, but that mask has been off for longer now. Sad that he feels empowered to be this blunt.
It will be intesting to see what effect his support will actually have among potential voters, given he's an american entrepreneur, controlling the biggest spy satellite network in the world, likely used by the CIA. On top of that, Tesla is the main driver behind EVs popularity. Musk should be the nemesis of any right wing european, honestly.
Right wingers don't actually believe in anything they say about the economy or foreign policy. They just care about power, and they'll gratefully ally with any industrialist that is able and willing to help them.
Him, and the rest of this power-greedy horde emanating in this world, too.
Although they have been trying again and again to subvert that one adage regarding who gets to rightfully write human history: the sole victors at large, the underdogs with their numbers, or the tricksters that pull the marionette strings behind the show.
And yes, the fictional Dream and DreamXD characters fit in, too.
His grandfather J. N. Haldeman was a staunch anti-Communist from Canada who in the nineteen-thirties and forties had been a leader of the anti-democratic and quasi-fascist Technocracy movement. (Technocrats believed that scientists and engineers should rule.) “In 1950, he decided to move to South Africa,” Isaacson writes, “which was still ruled by a white apartheid regime.” In fact, apartheid had been declared only in 1948, and the regime was soon recruiting white settlers from North America, promising restless men such as Haldeman that they could live like princes. Isaacson calls Haldeman’s politics “quirky.” In 1960, Haldeman self-published a tract, “The International Conspiracy to Establish a World Dictatorship & the Menace to South Africa,” that blamed the two World Wars on the machinations of Jewish financiers.
I for one like that he's being this blunt rather than conveying what's on his mind in a tip-toey way. It's easier to identify the cunt's true colours and disillusion-ise poor souls who still believe in him.
It always has been, Tomsci, you veteran Flairwarsian. Borne from decades of prejudice and a hitch for subjugating his fellow people in sometimes-overt ways. Just not fully known before these defining moments of these past few months.
After hearing about the Tesla factory lawsuit, I'm not even surprised anymore. At this point I'm half expecting for him to post selfies of himself in klan attire sometime within the next year. Really disappointing tbh. He was doing something cool with Tesla and SpaceX. If he'd kept his mouth shut and touched grass every now and then he might still be highly respected.
His PR agents probably did something cool with Tesla and SpaceX. He hired an agency after his PayPal payout and fired them around the time of the "calling an actually helpful scuba diver a pedo" Thai cave incident. This is who he's always been, it was simply previously filtered out by professionals.
If I had someone whose entire job was to prevent me from shitposting or being a complete dick, I would look pretty great all the time too. Everyone would.
He's just a racist egotistic techbro mining heir who wants people to think he's a genius übermensch, and to show him love like his parents seemingly didn't.
simple thing to keep in mind: money is a tool that can, among other things, allow to anonymously exploit socially weaker groups of people. for example to build cheap phones or clothes. keep this in mind when an extremely rich person says anything. they're winners at a rotten game
Just a quick thought, a well know science man (Harald Lesch) recently said, that, if you want to have a artifical environment for humans in the Mars, this would cause the Mars' moons to smash in the Mars itself. So, there's that and Peter Fox (nice musician guy) said in a song fuck Elon Musk and his mars project, cause it's to cold there and arschweit weg. 👍
Likely always has been. It's just that he seemed like a cool, progressive, science-loving entrepreneur before he showed the world what a total piece of shit he really is.
Earlier this month, Germany's foreign ministry announced it was dispersing funds to two nonprofit organizations that assist asylum-seekers, including a group that conducts search-and-rescue operations in the Mediterranean Sea.
Musk, on Friday, amplified similar criticism and directly waded into German domestic politics, suggesting that the governing coalition should pay a price at the ballot box.
AfD is Alternative for Germany, a far-right political party that campaigns against migration to Europe — and has strong ties with right-wing extremists, including those of an "outright neo-Nazi nature," per an investigation by Der Spiegel.
According to the United Nations, the vast majority (83%) of migrants crossing the Mediterranean — many fleeing war, political repression, and poverty in Africa and the Middle East — end up landing in Italy.
"Considering that on average one person dies every three hours in the Mediterranean Sea while fleeing, two million euros for search and rescue in this year's federal budget is more than sobering," Kaldenhoff said.
This week he traveled to to Eagle Pass, Texas, where on a choppy X livestream he lambasted the White House for not doing more to quell the flow of migrants across the US-Mexico border.
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Well he would know what the worst case scenario is of a bunch of people coming in from somewhere else to your home is, as a white South African and American. Now I assume he’s concerned there aren’t enough white people in any of those countries