Summary
Elon Musk livestreamed a conversation with Alice Weidel, co-leader of Germany’s far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) party, on his platform X, endorsing her and urging support for the AfD ahead of Germany’s February 23 election.
The livestream, which drew over 200,000 viewers, raised concerns across Europe about Musk’s influence in foreign politics.
AfD, under observation for extremism, has gained popularity amid discontent with Chancellor Scholz’s government.
Musk’s promotion of Weidel and controversial remarks on other European issues are being monitored for violations of the EU’s Digital Services Act.
I’m not arguing that anti-immigrant division isn’t fueled by the ruling elite to cause class infighting - it is.
I’m arguing that infighting is nonetheless antithetical to class solidarity. Saying nobody listens to working class people about migrants inherently excludes working class migrants. Pretty much nobody is fully native to where they live - everyone has migrated at some point or another.
If you care about class consciousness - then I’d recommend you don’t try and divide us further by claiming Muslims are “diluting the culture” because some (even if currently most) are not tolerant of LGBTQ+ people as if that’s an inherent thing to people practicing Islam - it takes time for people to become more accepting - as if gay people in the UK were accepted by the majority of western Christians 20-30 years ago (and even now trans people are still being demonized) - that’s less than one generation for people living in relatively stable material conditions - just give people time and be nice.
Also, immigration will become more and more common in the coming years whether you like it or not - be it due to aging populations, labour exploitation (from western oligarchs), war (in large part bolstered by the global north’s war machine), climate change (again disproportionately caused by “developed” nations like Germany and the UK) - so crying about how you have a “preference that conservative lslam be prejudiced against at the point of immigration.” - is not just xenophobic but fundamentally unjust - you can’t have your cake and eat it too.
It’s okay to have concerns about religious groups’ acceptance of other people - but the only way to resolve that is by working with them and showcasing how we’re not all that different.
And look you may not identify as racist - but the phrasing you use is indistinguishable from racist rhetoric - and I hope you aren’t offended by being called out for racists remarks - as pretty much everyone has at some point been and said racist things - the point is to recognize it and actively engage in anti-racism whenever that happens.
Saying that people will adopt far-right views when called out for being racist were most likely already sympathetic to those views in the first place. We shouldn’t coddle racist viewpoints out of fear they’ll become more racist.
Integration challenges can be discussed without resorting to racism or xenophobia. Not by using prejudice and exclusion but through understanding and inclusion.
If you don’t know where to start - go to pro-Palestine marches and meet and talk to Muslim people - I can guarantee you’ll see we’re all in this shit together and we’re all just trying to survive.