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PaperclipPerfector  9mo ago (text post)   37791 thread views

Culture War Roundup for the week of January 20, 2025

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Will Elon succeed in making the Roman salute cool again? Reddit is predictably going apeshit over his gesture that can be construed as one. I mean, I doubt he's done that deliberately, it's a natural gesture in the same way a bendy cross is a natural ornament, but I doubt he's the kind of person that will mumble an apology and withdraw from the public eye for a while. If anything, I expect him to double down and insist it's been 80 years and people should be free to reappropriate the gesture.

Even ADL isn't buying the controversy. I don't this "scandal" has much staying power among the powers that matter. But it may provide a useful long term smear for the masses, like the weird couch hoax.

Is this really that surprising? They are too busy fighting imaginary antisemitism--criticism of a democratically elected government of a country and probably see the need to not alienate the owner of one of the largest social media companies.

Yeah, and it's not showing up in my mainstream news feeds -- it's only a social media thing, especially on reddit. The news is talking about the actual things Trump has been doing.

It's a good reminder that reddit has a ubiquitous userbase, particularly in terms of age, and you won't find much real political diversity there, even in places that claim to have it (the conservative sub is mostly libertarians). I agree with you that this is another couch-fucking social media propaganda meme, and I have an eerie feeling the reddit algorithm is being gamed or manipulated to put it in front of as many zoomer eyeballs as possible.

it's not showing up in my mainstream news feeds

Reuters article

"This was no ordinary victory. This was a fork in the road of human civilization," he said. "This one really mattered. Thank you for making it happen! Thank you."

Biting his bottom lip, he thumped his right hand over his heart, fingers spread wide, then extended his right arm out, emphatically, at an upward angle, palm down and fingers together. Then he turned and made the same hand gesture to the crowd behind him.

"My heart goes out to you. It is thanks to you that the future of civilization is assured," he said as he finished the gesture.

The gestures were quickly scrutinized online.

Even ADL isn't buying the controversy.

Are we back in the Berenstein Bears timeline?

I have to admit, I was surprised and I am trying to acknowledge that my prediction was wrong: when I read the text I thought that whatever Elon did would have to be a stretch to call a Nazi salute.

Then I watched the video and... yeah, idk. Based on priors I assume he wasn't trying to do a Nazi salute, but it really is what it looks like to me prima facie. If you point out that "no, a real Nazi salute is..." I just have to say: yes, I believe you, but that salute definitely fits with a normie imagining of what it looks like.

Until someone pointed out to me that the Hitler salute was directly in front, I realized two things:

  • Elons salute indeed doesn’t look that hitleresque
  • I’ve been doing the Hitler salute in my bathroom mirror during shaving wrong this whole time

I’ve been doing the Hitler salute in my bathroom mirror during shaving wrong this whole time

Do you shave in a little mustache first?

(That's the joke.)

pics or it didn't happen

Good gravy I never expected to see the adl call for grace, they must be utterly terrified.

Terrified of what?

The people turning on them if they throw their weight around like they used to.

Where does the ADL stand with Elon? They seem to jump on everything, usually

It could be a vibe shift or just them backing an antiwoke ally.

Alternatively, they looked at the full context and are reassured that Elon Musk's intent was not what the memes are suggesting.

I realize that saying activists are sometimes sensible is unpopular, but this should be a "thank goodness, my opponents aren't as bad as I thought" moment.

The ADL is antiwoke?

In the same sense that Frankenstein was against his monster.

After October 7th (and, more to the point, after the Woke response to Israel's blockade and invasion of Gaza), a lot of Jews are reconsidering whether spending decades spearheading the left was a good idea.

After October 7? I imagine they've gained some appreciation for the antiwoke's hatred of certain groups.

The ADL is more concerned about imaginary antisemitism than real antisemitism.

I think the ADL is taking steps to recalibrate when they realized they were starting to become a punchline on both the right and the left.

They’re concerned with what their donors are concerned with, which varies through the generations.

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