Bill Maher and Elon Musk are old, rich, white guys shaking their fists at the 'kids these days': MSNBC panel
After the richest man in the world, Elon Musk, posted a meme showing that "both sides" have moved toward the extreme. It was resoundingly denounced by those who dedicate time to researching and monitoring such movements. But it sparked a conversation about just how far the GOP has gone to the right, culminating in an actual insurrection on the U.S. Capitol in Washington.
"Most people don't follow politics closely, and, therefore, it's very easy to just go, 'far left — far right. They're the same!' And take an equidistant position between the two extremes, and it's not just Musk doing that," said MSNBC host Mehdi Hasan. "I mean, vast swaths of the American media, sadly. Molly, if you think, if anyone thinks America's far-left and far-right are equally dangerous, surely, they must be suffering from some form of brain rot. But it's important to point out. It's not just Musk. It's many people in our media."
The Atlantic's Molly Jong-Fast linked Musk, who grew up in South Africa under Apartheid, with Bill Maher, the HBO host who has increasingly turned to the right after COVID mitigation efforts caused him inconveniences. She began by explaining that every older generation in history has complained about the younger generations because they're different. Maher is no different.
"I do think he's [Musk] being courted very hard by this far-right fringe, and you see it," said Jong-Fast. "You see Joe Rogan and those types are working very hard to, sort of, charm him. He does seem to be a person who likes it when people are nice to him, right? So, he is quite upset with the left because he has all these labor problems. He has, you know, a lot of workers complaining about racism and sexism, terrible sexual harassment complaints, and racism complaints in the factories. So, there's, you know, there is a real move to try to unionize. But also if he doesn't like it. I think he's a person who likes to be liked, and that's really what it is. And these guys are working really hard to make it his friend."
She went on to compare the whining about the left to Maher, who was once thought of as a liberal host.
"The other thing I would say about him, and with all these guys, and you've seen this also with Bill Maher, you know, so much complaining of, 'oh, you know, everyone so woke, they don't let me tell my jokes,'" she said. "But you know, old, rich white men have since the beginning of time, complained about young people. This is not new. You know, the older rich white, you've got everything, of course, you are threatened by young people. Of course, you are mad, of course, you don't like their beliefs. I mean, think about the 1960s. Like this is not some new phenomenon. Old, rich, white men are always very threatened by young people. So, as much as I understand it, I think their fault in some ways, and it's on the mainstream media for reporting this incredulously, and not saying — this is a rich guy who does it want his factory unionized."
It's reminiscent of the 1960's complaints about "kids these days with the hair and the music..."
See the clip below:
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