Ruben Navarrette: Though an immigrant himself, Musk gets the issue wrong again and again – West Central Tribune

SAN DIEGO — There is at least one thing wealthy White men are not great at doing: deferring.

I’d love to hear one of these princes of pleasure address his or her limitations when he is asked for his opinion on a subject that is beyond his area of expertise. He could say:” I’m sorry. I do n’t have the life experience necessary to comment. I would suggest speaking with others who are more knowledgeable.

Elon Musk is not a normal refugee. As a white man born in South Africa in 1971, Musk entered the world at a time and location where having white skin was important because of racism.

Musk may tread softly when addressing contentious topics like race or immigration because his life has already had such a huge head start.

Not a possibility. In fact, Musk has criticised efforts by businesses and colleges to advance diversity, equity, and inclusion ( DEI ). He challenged the notion that those on the profits are more noble in a speech to a German Jewish Association meeting in Poland in January.

Equipment Grode / Tribune graphic

Musk reaffirmed the idea that the typically weaker party should always be straight.” We need to stop this. ” This is simply not true. If you are oppressed or the weaker party, it does n’t mean you’re right”.

The software company executive — who has an estimated net worth of more than$ 90 billion — has used the blog to vent on different topics since buying the social media platform X, previously known as Twitter, in 2022. The issue is that much of what Musk says is unintelligible, if only to those who are on the extreme border.

He continued during a difficult interview with former CNN number Don Lemon lately. The “great alternative theory,” a myth that white supremacists believe White people are consistently being replaced by non-White people in the United States, was one of the topics covered.

In November, Musk endorsed a malicious article on X that accused Jews of promoting “hatred against white” and bringing “hordes of immigrants” into European countries. In reply, Musk wrote:” You have said the exact truth”.

Also, emigration has become a favorite chew toys for Musk. Next fall, the city slicker donned a cowboy hat and survive- streamed video to X from the U. S. Mexico border, where he declared:” The level of illegal immigration across the US southern boundary is staggering”.

Musk went back to X in March to accuse the Biden administration of leaving the country vulnerable to a terrorist attack by allowing “unvetted illegal immigrants” into the country.

During his conversation with Lemon, Musk said he did n’t” subscribe” to the great replacement theory. He did so in fact, make a second anti-immigrant conspiracy theory. Musk asserted that Democrats intentionally allowing a large number of undocumented immigrants to cross the U.S. Mexico border to bolster their political standing by choosing to support a claim that is frequently made popular on the right.

According to him,” a disproportionate number of illegal immigrants go to blue states, which amplifies the effects of a blue state vote.” According to what I understand, the Democrats would lose about 20 House seats if illegals were n’t taken into account in the Census. And that’s also 20 less electoral votes for president. So who controls the House and the presidency has a clear impact on illegals?

It’s simple to believe what Musk says when he speaks with such confidence. But sadly, much of it is not. This most recent theory has a lot of holes.

First, many of the people who Musk casually refers to as “illegal” are actually in the country legally because they were detained by U.S. immigration agents when they applied for asylum at the U.S. Mexico border. That’s not a technicality. That’s U. S. law.

Next, after the 2020 Census, the states that gained seats in Congress included Texas, Florida and Montana- all controlled by Republicans. The states that lost seats included California, New York and Illinois- all run by Democrats.

Finally, undocumented immigrants typically have one important factor in choosing where to settle. They follow the instructions. So long as American employers are hiring, both red and blue states will continue to benefit from illegal immigration.

Immigration is a complex subject that requires careful consideration. Musk handles it recklessly.

The billionaire appears to be speaking out against free speech. In reality, he’s making a mockery of it.

We all know intelligent people who are successful in their fields but who sound foolish when discussing topics beyond their area of expertise. Meet another.