1. It kind of invalidates the whole climate change narrative- I guess if hatred for one guy is more important than saving the planet, it's not such a crisis is it?
2. I'm guessing the majority of Tesla owners are what you could consider LIberal, Democrat, or left-leaning, which means you are destroying the property of your "fellow believers".
3. As with the above, there are probably many climate conscious investors and entities who have Tesla stock which is now in danger of bottoming out.
4. Protesting against a person, a government or a policy is perfectly reasonable and within the rights of citizens. Vandalizing, harassment and destruction of property are not, and should be punished maximally.
5. It's not going to change anything and is just going to piss a lot of people off.
In the summer of 2020, I was assured that (1) riots and looting were not happening, (2) riots and looting were necessary for justice, and (3) riots and looting were not happening.
I also live in DC, have a cheap used Tesla, and refuse to put on a bumper sticker despite disagreeing with Elon. It’s already caused negative interactions with at least one coworker.
I think Persuasion selects for people with low levels of tribality, and I’m happy to see my viewpoint represented (even if I don’t have a tribal bond with the Substack)!
Well said, and I agree. But the problem is that this is nothing new, just the latest and most extreme case. It's the logical conclusion to what has been happening on the left for at least the last 10-15 years. For all that time, leftists have been telling themselves that any amount of hate and violence is acceptable, even praiseworthy, as long as it is aimed at those who deserve it. As long as it's "afflicting the comfortable." As long as it's "punching up." And it turns out that it's just amazing how many people are "up" when you feel like punching them, and how many people are "comfortable" when you feel like afflicting them. And of course, anyone who questions whether a designated target really deserved it is a filthy apologists and therefore in turn deserving of being targeted.
I agree that this is absolutely catastrophic for the moral high ground the left depends on. However, I don't think we're in danger of losing it - I think the reason why Trump and Musk are here is that we've already lost it, that we lost it years ago. We need to start building it up from the ground again. And yes, telling people to stop vandalising the property of working people because they don't like their purchasing habits is a good start, but it needs to continue from there.
We seem to have a collective memory loss going on here. Whenever I confront a Trumpist about January 6th, their inevitable response in justification concerns the riots associated with the BLM protests after the murder of George Floyd.
We will make no headway with these people by copying the worst of their methods
No to vandalizing Teslas. Let the free market take care of Tesla. Of course, as Bob Dylan said, "if my thought-dreams could be seen, they'd probably put my head in a guillotine." I'll leave my impulses to vandalize Cybertrucks inside the dark recesses of my mind. But it's not only political. Those trucks are so ugly, and scream micro-penis so loudly, I have an urge to vandalize them. But no, in real life, let's not destroy property, it is a very dumb and illegal thing to do.
Totally agree. Some people are confused about the difference between already owning a Tesla (Elon doesn't care whether you keep your Tesla or sell it to someone else) and buying a new Tesla from Tesla, right now (Elon cares about that). Okay, so I wrote about this here: https://www.activevoice.us/p/whether-to-boycott-tesla
Upshot is don't buy a new car from Tesla, but definitely agree that vandalism is wrong and ineffective.
Ever since the concept of hate crime prosecutions was introduced, I've been waiting for an example of an actual hate crime (as opposed to a drug deal or prostitution deal gone bad). We finally have one.
People shouldn't vandalize Teslas because many were purchased before more people realized that Musk was a Nazi. If they are on dealer lots, they are fair game as far as I am concerned. If musk can destroy our government, it's only trivial retribution.
Vandalizing Teslas is stupid for so many reasons:
1. It kind of invalidates the whole climate change narrative- I guess if hatred for one guy is more important than saving the planet, it's not such a crisis is it?
2. I'm guessing the majority of Tesla owners are what you could consider LIberal, Democrat, or left-leaning, which means you are destroying the property of your "fellow believers".
3. As with the above, there are probably many climate conscious investors and entities who have Tesla stock which is now in danger of bottoming out.
4. Protesting against a person, a government or a policy is perfectly reasonable and within the rights of citizens. Vandalizing, harassment and destruction of property are not, and should be punished maximally.
5. It's not going to change anything and is just going to piss a lot of people off.
It is absurd that this piece needed to be written. The next thing we know, someone will need to explain why rioting and looting are wrong.
In the summer of 2020, I was assured that (1) riots and looting were not happening, (2) riots and looting were necessary for justice, and (3) riots and looting were not happening.
I also live in DC, have a cheap used Tesla, and refuse to put on a bumper sticker despite disagreeing with Elon. It’s already caused negative interactions with at least one coworker.
I think Persuasion selects for people with low levels of tribality, and I’m happy to see my viewpoint represented (even if I don’t have a tribal bond with the Substack)!
Well said, and I agree. But the problem is that this is nothing new, just the latest and most extreme case. It's the logical conclusion to what has been happening on the left for at least the last 10-15 years. For all that time, leftists have been telling themselves that any amount of hate and violence is acceptable, even praiseworthy, as long as it is aimed at those who deserve it. As long as it's "afflicting the comfortable." As long as it's "punching up." And it turns out that it's just amazing how many people are "up" when you feel like punching them, and how many people are "comfortable" when you feel like afflicting them. And of course, anyone who questions whether a designated target really deserved it is a filthy apologists and therefore in turn deserving of being targeted.
I agree that this is absolutely catastrophic for the moral high ground the left depends on. However, I don't think we're in danger of losing it - I think the reason why Trump and Musk are here is that we've already lost it, that we lost it years ago. We need to start building it up from the ground again. And yes, telling people to stop vandalising the property of working people because they don't like their purchasing habits is a good start, but it needs to continue from there.
We seem to have a collective memory loss going on here. Whenever I confront a Trumpist about January 6th, their inevitable response in justification concerns the riots associated with the BLM protests after the murder of George Floyd.
We will make no headway with these people by copying the worst of their methods
No to vandalizing Teslas. Let the free market take care of Tesla. Of course, as Bob Dylan said, "if my thought-dreams could be seen, they'd probably put my head in a guillotine." I'll leave my impulses to vandalize Cybertrucks inside the dark recesses of my mind. But it's not only political. Those trucks are so ugly, and scream micro-penis so loudly, I have an urge to vandalize them. But no, in real life, let's not destroy property, it is a very dumb and illegal thing to do.
Agree completely. Amazing how many people rationalize their bad behavior .
I'm sorry about the totally unwarranted crap that some bozos have been putting you and your wife through. Hope it stops; it never should have started.
Totally agree. Some people are confused about the difference between already owning a Tesla (Elon doesn't care whether you keep your Tesla or sell it to someone else) and buying a new Tesla from Tesla, right now (Elon cares about that). Okay, so I wrote about this here: https://www.activevoice.us/p/whether-to-boycott-tesla
Upshot is don't buy a new car from Tesla, but definitely agree that vandalism is wrong and ineffective.
Ever since the concept of hate crime prosecutions was introduced, I've been waiting for an example of an actual hate crime (as opposed to a drug deal or prostitution deal gone bad). We finally have one.
People shouldn't vandalize Teslas because many were purchased before more people realized that Musk was a Nazi. If they are on dealer lots, they are fair game as far as I am concerned. If musk can destroy our government, it's only trivial retribution.