Love what he said about being unafraid to express himself.

But why?

It's not brave to say dumb and hateful things. It's not a noble trait. Being unafraid to express terrible thoughts isn't a good thing in a person. It's almost always a bad thing.

I think it's telling that Musk, early in that interview, makes an allusion to "freedom of speech" - which of course has nothing to do with the question of whether it's good or smart or wise for him to be saying terrible things. But people who say terrible things often will cite "freedom of speech." I think that's because "freedom of speech" is a noble and wonderful human right, and so they then jump to the fallacy of thinking that since the right that allows them to say terrible things is noble and wonderful that it somehow makes their choice to exercise that right to say those specific things has some nobility, or bravery, or even defensibility.

But it doesn't. Being unafraid to say terrible things just makes someone a jerk. Being unafraid to endorse someone else's anti-semitic posts isn't noble or brave...it's just a terrible thing to do. Sometimes the things that are protected by your freedom to express yourself are things that no decent person would actually say.

So why does this make you want to shake Musk's hand? Do you think the things he's saying are okay?

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