Anti-Tesla, anti-Musk

Anger at Elon Musk turns violent with molotov cocktails, gunfire at Tesla lots

....Since President Donald Trump’s inauguration, more than a dozen violent or destructive acts have been directed at Tesla facilities, according to court documents, surveillance photographs, police records and local media reports reviewed by The Washington Post. 

The incidents come as Elon Musk has rocketed to prominence as Trump’s best-known backer and as a conservative provocateur in his own right. 

The ire directed at the tech billionaire online has increasingly spilled into real life, with vandalism directed at Tesla storefronts, charging stations and vehicles.

In March several Tesla superchargers at a shopping center in Littleton, Massachusetts, were set ablaze. Vandals in Maryland also spray-painted “No Musk” on a Tesla building, alongside a swastika-like symbol. 

In February, a man brandishing an AR-style semiautomatic weapon fired at a Tesla storefront in Salem, Oregon. 

Just a few weeks earlier, investigators say, the same man attacked the same dealership by throwing molotov cocktails at Tesla vehicles and through the store window. He caused an estimated $500,000 in damage, according to court documents....

See also Elon Musk: Scientist and Hot Tesla market: Burn baby burn

Why Trump is who he is

From The Contrarian:

....Why does he needlessly make such objectively self-destructive moves? His tariffs certainly cannot be justified economically, and the predictable results are so severe they make even less political sense. 

We know that Trump—who reads nothing, lacks the least bit of curiosity, and surrounds himself with thick-headed sycophants—often gets fixated on a wrongheaded idea (e.g., NATO is ripping us off). 

When challenged by numerous informed people, he digs deeper into his ignorant stances. Agreement with him (or at the very least silent acquiescence) becomes a sign of MAGA loyalty. 

Trump delights in playing the schoolyard bully. He is entirely uninterested in whether Americans get hurt or not. 

Similarly, he seems thrilled with his ability to threaten loyal allies (e.g. Denmark), as he did in his speech to Congress, simply because he can....

Rob's comment:

Yes, morally and intellectually Trump is a boob and a rube. And of course he's a bully.

He's also a know-it-all, hates animals---he tried to overturn the Endangered Species Act in his first term---and he's a crybaby who apparently sees himself as a victim. 

Poor little rich boy whose mommy didn't love him. A barely functional and profoundly neurotic guy, but he's our president, thanks to our proto-fascist Republican Party!

Don't play dead

In yesterday's NY Times:

Why Democrats shouldn't play dead

Letter to the Editor:

Democrats who argue for adopting the political version of Muhammad Ali’s rope-a-dope strategy really do not understand the depth of the political nihilism we face.

This administration is not concerned with losing power as long as it can dismantle the bureaucracy of the federal government before it happens. In the face of such a relentless foe, Democrats will have to stop relying on clever political strategies and show the people they are willing to fight.

To win, they must do what all oppressed people have done when searching for the means of liberation: Develop a new philosophy of resistance that provides a vision and plan for organizing people and motivating them to make the sacrifices necessary to mount a full and committed defense of our democracy.

To do anything less would be the political equivalent of rearranging the deck chairs on the Titanic.

Michael Scott

San Francisco

Rob's comment:

Wrong! Here's a cliche to match Scott's Titanic cliche: No need to reinvent the wheel. Traditional ways of protesting in the US are not outdated and so far still legal: demonstrate, call your congress members, write letters, civil disobedience where/when appropriate, etc.