By The Editorial Board
On Monday, the Auschwitz Memorial and Museum celebrated the 80th anniversary of the camp’s liberation. Instead of celebrating the victory over hate in the days leading up to the event, national headlines were fixated on how Elon Musk brought back the signal of terror.
During a speech at Donald Trump’s inauguration parade on Jan. 20, Musk thanked his supporters, patted his chest and threw his arm in the air at a 45-degree angle, something strongly reminiscent of a Nazi salute. He then said, “My heart goes out to you,” as if to blow past the fact that he just made such a gesture.
Sitting 80 years from the reign of concentration camps, some of the most influential people in the world have accepted, forgiven and laughed off a gesture that insulted generations. Hundreds of news publications and thousands of people stated their disbelief, but their opinions were quickly swept under the rug when their reasoning was dubbed “wokeism.”
Some even brushed it off, calling it a “Roman salute,” not a Nazi salute. One quick Google search or look into history will tell you these are one in the same, the terms often interchangeable, even.
That’s like watching Godzilla terrorize a city and saying, “Calm down everyone, it’s just a lizard.”
Instead of apologizing and moving forward, Musk instead posted Nazi-related puns on X, formerly known as Twitter, two days later. To make matters more complicated, Musk addressed a crowd for Germany’s far-right party on Saturday and received roaring cheers when suggesting that Germany’s Nazi history be forgiven for the comfort and peace of mind of today’s citizens.
“Children should not be guilty of the sins of their parents, let alone their great-grandparents,” Musk said. “There is too much focus on past guilt, and we need to move beyond that.”
So not only did one of President Trump’s right-hand men make a call back to the Holocaust, but he also forgave the fact that it happened. Musk made a point to go to Germany and double down on such an idea without apologizing or clarifying what his gesture was meant to signal. He might have been giving his heart to the people, but that could have been done with almost any other gesture imaginable. A simple wave to the crowd, like saying hello. Perhaps just the hand over the heart. Even a fist in the air would have appeared more mild and less threatening than what he did.
Whether it was an accidental or a purposeful gesture, calling out the situation as unacceptable and inconsiderate isn’t “woke.” The American people are waiting for an apology or some sort of understanding — meanwhile, Joe Rogan and other political figures back Musk and consider pushback to be the result of woke ideology.
That idea sounds more like manipulation. If your ideas go against theirs, then you must be some sort of enemy; at least, that’s what they’ve insinuated. Normalizing a symbol of global suffering and torture by using anti-intellectual language is upsetting. Calling it out the way you see it — whether or not it was intentional — shouldn’t be punished.
To quote from George Orwell’s “1984,” the most influential and popular book on authoritarianism around, “the Party told you to reject the evidence of your eyes and ears. It was their final, most essential command.”
Being able to trust what you see and hear is a cornerstone of being a critically thinking individual in this day and age. Getting the American public to doubt their instincts and disbelieve their own judgment is a sure route to being able to define truth and reality for the American public.
You have a choice. If somebody is unable to be remorseful about throwing out a Heil, would you rather be classified as a woke ideologist or a Nazi apologist?
