Writer's Blog #5 - Courting Spirit

Tesla has its stocks coming down in value, by half, and lot of people are coming out and talking about:

1. Elon Musk and his familial connections to Neo-Nazism.
2. His antics, usually with a negative connotation of retardation.
3. How he took over Tesla.
4. How there exists a narrative that he's a self made man, when he's not, just like Jeff Bezos isn't.

I've seen those videos, and I don't like the way, or agree with, the way he does business.

I am also grateful to find educative content, for free, on YouTube, as it's good to stay informed.

What's surprising to me, is that some people are happy that he's falling. And that's not very nice.

Not just potential victims are angry with him, if the allegations are true.

Nor am I referencing people directly affected by his actions, or those who are pleased that their version of America still exists.

I am talking about the choice of words, and tone about him. He's become a universal joke.

More importantly - Teslas were bought, it's a desirable company to work at, and people use twitter X - the cultural zeitgeist that Elon was at the forefront of, is now his undoing.

Why?

We're the other half of karma - in the cause and effect, sense.

It takes many Teslas to be valued, for the stocks to rise in value.

People don't become rich - we buy their products, and praise them. Amazon is another example, and so is Google search. 10 likes on Facebook is nice, right?

It's convenient to order something, and get it quick, and convenience is great business.

Also, someone liked my post on Instagram.

People don't become evil - we don't say anything, for a variety of reasons, when evil happens, and it's easy to pile something on when someone is falling, instead of when it's happening, and it's important to speak up.

The downfall of Musk, to me, more than the allegations against him, is a sign of how most of us want attachment, blind ourselves in our pursuit, and give him 100% of the credit, where he might only deserve 99.99%.

Whether he got that reputation by:

1. Lying.
2. Intimidation tactics.
3. Misrepresenting product features.
4. Illegal activities.
5. Geniusness.
6. Savvy politics.
7. Cutting corners.

is not my point of contention, here. That's between him, the courts, and those affected by him.

My point is, people love to hate, especially if they loved before. And it's fine, because everyone does it.

If it matters to you, I don't have a Tesla. I did more research on them in 2023, and explored buying one.

I deleted my twitter account, probably in 2024. I didn't like X.

I had a call with a Tesla recruiter, in 2024, and I said Elon Musk needs a grounding force, and I can provide that.

I really wanted a full-time job, I didn't pass the phone screen, and that's their choice.

Now my leetcode skills are better.

I am no paragon.

I am still struggling to write a realistic magic-based fantasy, and I am prioritizing what matters to me, while Jesus walked on water.

But, I can do this - I can point out what I like about him.

Here are some things I like about Elon Musk:

1. People feel motivated to work under him. I don't see a necessity to work at a location where you don't like the culture. Based on my understanding, Americans think like that....Pretty directly put your money where your mouth is. In this context, I am excluding immigrants, or people who can't afford to be picky in their choices.
2. His opinions on First Principles. I find it similar, to my post on science-magic.
3. I think him understanding rocket science is overrated - it's not that hard, given the right western background. You just need enough propellant to escape gravity, right? But, it's still a virtue. It's rocket science! I like physics.
4. He wanted civilization on mars, an electric future, privatization of space travel, among other science fiction concepts. It's good to dream. Even Ford is making electric cars now 🤯.
5. Tesla moves smoothly - its feels like butter on a road. I don't know if he deserves that credit, but, as someone who finds Tesla's glass to be weak, it's worth mentioning.

Something's wrong with the world, if someone who is biased against Tesla (a rarity), is vouching for anti-hate measures for Elon.

The same thing happened to J.K. Rowling.

She was my role model, in the sense that she went from being homeless, to the world's richest writer.

She's not my favorite writer - I frequently use Harry Potter as a good example of bad fantasy, while having read everything she wrote as a child, playing Harry Potter video games, having Harry Potter bags, reading the entire roster of her earthly monsters, the quidditch teams and feeling bad I don't have a broom.

I even told my sisters, while playing with them, that my choice of pet to bring to Hogwarts, was a basilisk.

It's not what they wanted to hear. I mean, anyone normal would pick a cute, white, fluffy owl, right?

Who would pick a snake that's long, with fangs, and a petrifying gaze?

And everyone who looks at the basilisk......

Anyway - she became 'anti-trans', in a way.

That was a huge mess on twitter, and lots of people no longer wanted to play Hogwarts, an upcoming game.

....And, she became the target for lots of unnecessary hate.

Again - I am not going to debate the intention, nor the accuracy of her claim, here.

What I will say, is this:

Is there a strong premise? Yes.

Is it logical? Yes. In its most basic form, she's arguing that human rights, which she vouches for, doesn't translate to employee termination based on views.

Is she right? I don't think so. I don't see the connection between what happened to that person, and J.K. Rowling. But I liked what she said. "Dress however you please" sounds very gay. What's the problem? I know trans is not necessarily LGBTQA, but I think that's what she means.....Isn't it enough for feminism that she speaks her mind, while also advocating for individual agency? I don't think there's a more feminist statement than 'Dress as you please, sleep with your preferred, consenting gender, but don't force women out of their jobs?'

Did I do research? A bit. I read that article, and went down the rabbit hole. I was also there, on twitter, being confused, at that time.

Is this personal to her? Yes.

Is she allowed to say this? Yes - free speech is a right.

For example, the ACLU defended the right of Neo-Nazis to vouch for Hitler, during World War II, in America.

Defending the right for some, but not for others, comes under authoritarianism, because some one decides what's allowed, as opposed to a peer review of what's the moral thing to do.

For example, convicts losing voting rights is not nice, nor is it fair to those who were wrongly convicted - the the idea is, though, if you create problems for a society, you can't enjoy it's privileges. This is a principle.

Do we have to buy her work? No. I am too old for them, anyway, and I don't think the video game will be that fun 😄. I bought the JJK brawler though. Asian boarding school is the new Harry Potter.

Do I use pronouns? Yes - it doesn't hurt me, and it helps others. I don't have time to care more, than do what I can for people in my life.

Should we hate her? No. It's not nice to hate.

Should we understand her? If we are writing articles, posts, and tweets, yes .

What did Elon Musk tweet?

His x.

😆

Are we obligated to understand her? No.

Does she care about trans people, more than me? Yes.

There's a dark side to every forceful creator. I spent half of my life studying fantasy, fiction, and my weaknesses in those fields.

I had a dream, and it had a costly price.

I am quite annoyed that Macs don't have that many USB ports now.

I liked that about window laptops - it's fun to have multiple options, and it's versatile.

I think Apple has moved away from ports in general, because of elegant minimalism.

I still use Macs.

I talk a lot about how bad Baahubali is - but they are terrible international movies, especially when you consider gems like Lagaan, and the disproportionate focus others movies are getting, relatively speaking.

Locally, they're great.

Who doesn't like Ramya Krishna?

I didn't even know Katappa existed, until Rajamaata called for him, and he sprang into martial readiness.

Who doesn't want a nice bachelor Bhishma warrior behind their seat?

They don't deserve the craze - but they're still hard to make, and artists need a vocation to eat food.

At least now, thanks to Rajamouli, I can criticize bahubaali as being not a good representative, because for some reason white people are interested in Bollywood now.

Pioneers push - that's part of the job.

They start conversations.

Where there is nothing, they do crap, or refine, or work hard, and with a little luck, get it right the first time.

I believe whatever drove J.K. Rowling to write about a normal person, in a magical world, drove her to speak up on something she felt strong about, as a magical person, in a normal world.

Good - if she's right, we will be glad we listened. If she's wrong, then we can just ignore her.

Personally, I'm finding a lot of topical polarization, and a general lack of reluctance to talk about anything - some are vocal, and others are silent, but no one I speak to knows what's happening.

One of the reasons I stopped playing card games, is by the time I get used to a deck, new cards come out, and I don't have time to repeat the entire cycle, from buying the cards, to practicing with them, and winning with them.

I thought I understood what 'woke' and 'anti-woke' meant, and then Trump got re-elected, and Elon happened.

Now I'm trying to catch up to Muskian Controversies......Maybe I should have just stuck to my Ashes deck....

I was trying to make a deck work with an unconventional, mono-build, that is a pure illusion.

I find it very weird that in an age of unprecedented information access and communication, constructive opinions are being labelled as toxic, or conflict oriented, while destructive opinions are gaining traction.

She's allowed to be J.K. Rowling.

Rajamouli is allowed to think he's great, and I am happy he won an Oscar. He specifically said in the Netflix documentary, on the scene with Prabhas / Tamanna, that critics don't know what they're talking about, and his movie also has Ramya Krishna.

I don't know if Rajnikanth knows Victoria's Secret, but I know what I am talking about.

I like the elegance in Macs, and I still might stop using them.

Elon is Elon.

I hope people who criticize Elon Musk, either use the facts, boycott him commercially by putting their money where their mouth is, or are vocal at the time of conflict, instead of picking on him.

Conclusion

On that note, I liked how Walter Isaacson handled his interview on Musk - he stuck to the facts, and didn't go beyond his role to speculate.

I can understand (and believe) that in softer vocations, some topics are difficult to probe, are problematic by definition, and cause controversy no matter what you say or do.

So, at times, speculation is healthy - for example, it can clear the air, and make sure people focus on the right angle, in a difficult conversation.

Conversely, I can understand the onus on celebrities to take questions positively, if the intent is positive, and constructive to the profession.

Using such statements, against the person later on combatively, while technically legal, breaks the spirit of constructive debate and learning, which hurts us in the long run.

I am glad Walter speculated on Musk, but refrained from commenting on whether he'd prefer beer with Elon or Steve.

He said 'Both are my projects', which as a biographer, speaks to his professionalism.

Also, looks like this Walter Isaacson also wrote the book, which had a cover, which I used in my meme.

I am just finding it weird that someone who was not in the Tesla craze, and is not a die-hard fan of the Harry Potter franchise, is supporting both.

Maybe it's because I am not a fan, that I see them both as people.

Leetcode is hard, there's no time for hype.