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A short time ago, Donald Trump became the 47th president of the United States of America.
At the inauguration of President Trump, now the most powerful person in the world, Elon Musk, the richest person in the world, stood in front of thousands of people and made a gesture that closely resembled a Hitler salute.
He was challenged by many for his actions, and ultimately made a half-assed apology on Twitter, laden with all sorts of Holocaust-related puns.
And, of course, the internet went insane.
Confusion of Multiple Worlds
I live in multiple worlds, and in my multiple worlds I see things I feel would shock many (unless I’m utterly mistaking what’s going on out there).
It feels like social media algorithms are messing with people’s brains, and forcing them to look at the world through a faulty lens. That lens says there is only one way to see things, and instead of challenging our beliefs and ideas, we only ever get exposed to those views already aligned with our own.
So how might a Facebook post look?
Someone says Elon Musk has shown his true colors. He is very obviously a Nazi. And he should be forever condemned.
And the comments below the post are basically an echo chamber of people saying this is absolutely correct. Yes, some will see this and disagree. But most likely they’ll stay silent for fear of getting shouted down by everyone else, or even getting unfriended by the original poster. Which is pretty much exactly what will happen when that lone voice of descent makes his opinion known. He’ll be diving right into very unfriendly waters.
On the other side of the internet…
At the same time, over on the other side of the internet, there will be a completely opposite opinion expressed. And it will be equally unfriendly territory for anyone who doesn’t share that opinion.
And here I am.
I am from the States, where my friends and family over the years are overwhelmingly liberal. But I live in Israel, and I’m part of the orthodox Jewish world, where the vast majority of the voices shouting out have a conservative bent.
And I’m watching these two worlds exist simultaneously, somehow never crossing each other’s paths. They have a wild disdain for each other.
And it baffles me.
Where I Stand
I will always love and care for my friends and family on both sides of the aisle. I will never care if we disagree with one another. And I will never condemn anyone for having a perspective different from mine, even if I find their view distasteful. I can hate the view and still love the holder of the view.
I can’t say everyone in my life feels the same about me. But I feel it important for everyone to know where I stand and plan to forever stand.
So here’s my two cents on a topic that I personally think is just a smokescreen from real life.
What do I mean by that?
We are inundated with information and activity at the moment in ways I have never seen before. And many of the things happening are of enormous import. They can affect lots of people’s lives and well-being for generations to come.
Elon Musk, the Bizarre Genius
Elon Musk’s erratic behavior that day is not one of those things.
Musk is a bizarre genius. Putting all politics to the side, I don’t really think either of those two points are debatable. You can love the man and admit he’s peculiar, and you can loathe him and think he’s one of the smartest people alive.
However, saying he’s anti-Semitic based on what was more likely just an expression of his peculiarity seems very farfetched to me. It’s not the first time the man has found himself in a world of controversy with the Jewish people. The previous time he responded by visiting Israel, touring the site of the October 7th attacks, and walking around wearing a dog tag to publicly express his support for bringing the hostages home.
Sure, you can say he’s overcompensating. You can say he’s trying to appease the vast and very powerful Jews of the world who’s enmity could ruin his career or reputation.
Or you can say what I believe: Elon Musk did an ill-advised and odd farewell to the crowd.
And now we should all move on with our lives.
But the world is so obsessed with rebuking those with whom they disagree, and hellbent on destroying careers and pushing for apologies that satisfy them, that I still see repeated claims every day of Musk being a Nazi.
Humor and the Holocaust
But what about his Holocaust-related jokes he included in his not-so-apologetic apology?
Here’s where it gets fun, and we probably find out how different I am from a lot of people.
The most common response I saw to this was people angrily proclaiming there is only one group in the world ever permitted to utter a Holocaust joke: The Jews.
Sorry, my friends, I absolutely disagree.
And I always will.
I recall sitting around my dinner table a few years ago with a group of guests. One was a non-Jewish former couch surfer visiting from Poland. Another was an orthodox Jewish woman.
The Polish girl (in context) asked if it was OK to tell a Holocaust joke. The orthodox Jewish woman exclaimed, “I love Holocaust jokes.”
She told it. We laughed. And the night moved on, everyone friends. And we always will be.
Humor has no Boundaries
You see, first and foremost, I’m a fan of free speech. People say what they say. If they choose to be safe and not risk offending others, it’s certainly an acceptable and respectable choice.
You can disagree with others. You can ignore them, boycott them, and say horrific things about them. And you can tell them their words could have consequences.
But you can’t tell them they don’t have the right to say it.
Second, humor doesn’t have boundaries. At least not after a certain very unspecified amount of time has passed. Comedy is the last piece of society remaining that basically has no limits. And that’s a beautiful thing! It’s all on the table. We as a society can laugh together. And we can do so about every absurd thing in existence. Everything’s allowed, so long as humor is intended, not hurt.
Brave New World
Why was that dinner together so magical?
Eighty years after World War II ended, a non-Jewish Polish girl could break bread with a Jewish family in Jerusalem, and we could talk about anything and everything. We can cry about the past, to be sure. But we can laugh and rejoice in the present as well.
It’s a brave new world.
You can choose to spend your days trying to prove Elon Musk is a Nazi.
I’m going to spend my days worrying about things that matter.
And laughing.
Without laughter, we’ve got nothing left.
