HughsterDec 12, 2022

Amazing. When I checked this story (about #Musk getting #booed on stage at a #Chappelle gig) a couple of hours ago it had 3 embedded #Twitter videos of the booing on it. Since then Musk has had all 3 removed and had the account that posted them deleted —not suspended, deleted—completely.

There's no longer any pretence of it being a free, pluralistic platform.
https://gizmodo.com/elon-musk-booed-stadium-crowd-dave-chappelle-sf-boo-1849881192

[Update: Musk did not delete the account. They deactivated. They're now back, and have posted the below.]

Elon Musk Gets Viciously Booed by Stadium Crowd at Dave Chappelle Show

“You shut the fuck up,” Chappelle said as the crowd booed the billionaire.

Gizmodo
Show threadCoolJojo 😄

@hughster Watching Musk, I learned about how people with power turn into tyrants (or monsters).

#elon #elonmusk #birdsite

Dec 12, 2022 at 3:38pmWeb
Show threadLaurenDec 12, 2022
@Cooljojo @hughster
Any legacy he could have built, he is currently destroying.
Show threadJacob MarkeyDec 12, 2022
@lmediaarts @Cooljojo @hughster think what else could have been done with $44BB 😢
Show threadSUSPACKDec 12, 2022
@Ebeneezer22 @lmediaarts @Cooljojo @hughster like solve world hunger.
Show threadElizabethDec 13, 2022
@Bodo @Ebeneezer22 @lmediaarts @Cooljojo @hughster Or, you know, not killed over 1500 animals pushing development of his Neurolink chip, which in and of itself is a frightening proposition.
Show threadFrida Kahlua🌊🇺🇲🇵🇭🇺🇦Dec 13, 2022
@lmediaarts @Cooljojo @hughster
So does Jack. I bet he never have dreamed his platform to become the platform of the terrorist.
Show threadDr. Guillermo Power Dec 12, 2022
@Cooljojo @hughster I hadn’t thought about this, but yeah. This could be the perfect example of power corrupting a man.
Show threadTim FordDec 12, 2022

@Cooljojo @hughster

Power does not corrupt. It reveals.

When you get enough power to do whatever you want, people see what kind of person you were all along.

Musk did't just change into a douchebag. He was a douchebag all along, but he didn't have the power to flex about it.

Show threadDennis JernbergDec 12, 2022
@timfordwrites @Cooljojo @hughster
So it's like "in vino veritas". This is certainly true in Elon's case.
Show threadTim Burnham 🇺🇸🇺🇦Dec 12, 2022
@timfordwrites @Cooljojo @hughster In that case, this is just another way of saying "all humans are naturally corrupt," because it always happens. My worldview can't accept this.
Show threadTim FordDec 12, 2022

@timrburnham @Cooljojo @hughster

Not sure what you mean. If you're saying it has always corrupted, I respectfully submit that isn't the case.

Presidents like FDR or Lincoln have wielded power in pursuit of good. There have even been morally just monarchs, like Dom Pedro II of Brazil.

By no means are all people naturally corrupt. I'd even go so far as to say the majority aren't. If they were, we'd be backstabbing each other in broad daylight. We naturally form communities instead.

Show threadTim Burnham 🇺🇸🇺🇦Dec 12, 2022

@timfordwrites @Cooljojo @hughster I won't say anything about monarchs, too far outside my experience.

I'd argue that presidents are poor examples. A prime goal of democracy is to withhold corrupting power from individuals: power is wielded by institutions, stewarded by people. In a sense, billionaires are more powerful (less constrained?) than presidents.

The way to be president is to reveal your character, not the other way round. Sometimes, voters choose a president of poor character.

Show threadTim Burnham 🇺🇸🇺🇦Dec 12, 2022

@timfordwrites @Cooljojo @hughster I agree strenuously with your last paragraph. People are good.

I don't wish to quarrel. But I agree far more with the usual quip about power corrupting, than your reformulation.

Show threadMostlyTatoDec 12, 2022
@timfordwrites @Cooljojo @hughster Very true, I may quote you on the first bit sometime, if you don't mind.
Show threadTim FordDec 12, 2022

@MostlyTato @Cooljojo @hughster

Feel free, but I can't claim this as an original thought.

Robert Caro most famously talked about this after he chronicled the life of Lyndon Johnson, who was a well-known narcissist, and Robert Moses, an urban planner who abused his power for racist and money-hungry ends.

Here's the interview he first popularized the theory: https://www.esquire.com/entertainment/interviews/a6826/robert-caro-0110/

And here's a good analysis:
https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/economy/power-doesnt-corrupt-it-just-exposes-who-leaders-really-are/2019/02/22/f5680116-3600-11e9-854a-7a14d7fec96a_story.html

Robert Caro: What I've Learned

Robert Caro chronicles his own life, before admitting he's scared to know what college kids think of his books

Esquire
Show threadMostlyTatoDec 12, 2022
@timfordwrites @Cooljojo @hughster Nice one, thanks for the links.
Show threadFrida Kahlua🌊🇺🇲🇵🇭🇺🇦Dec 13, 2022
@timfordwrites @Cooljojo @hughster
Spot on!
Show threadShell SheddyDec 13, 2022

@timfordwrites @Cooljojo @hughster
...Musk had the $$$$$$$ all along --he just didn't have the BIG platform to exert his total control...

#ACCOUNTABILITY is long overdue

Show threadHolly 🇨🇦Dec 12, 2022
@Cooljojo @hughster I kinda think that you need to already be a monster/tyrant to become a billionaire.
Show threadFrida Kahlua🌊🇺🇲🇵🇭🇺🇦Dec 13, 2022
@Cooljojo @hughster
He grew up that way we only knew him as an adult bit he was raised a narcissist by his apartheid parents.