Elon Musk has slammed people for stating their pronouns without being asked for them.
The new Twitter owner’s criticism began yesterday when he appeared to mock pronoun use.
Musk tweeted yesterday, “My pronouns are Prosecute/Fauci.”
My pronouns are Prosecute/Fauci
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) December 11, 2022
Dr. Anthony Fauci is, of course, the leading advisor to the US government concerning Covid and other infectious diseases. Some have criticized his advice, with many in the MAGA wing of the Republican Party calling for him to be investigated and prosecuted.
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Musk posted another tweet with a meme showing Fauci whispering into the ear of President Biden, asking for another lockdown.
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) December 11, 2022
Among those to applaud Musk’s pronoun tweet was Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene. She said, “I affirm your pronouns, Elon.”
I affirm your pronouns Elon.
— Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene🇺🇸 (@RepMTG) December 11, 2022
Greene had her personal Twitter account barred last year for spreading Covid misinformation. She recently had it reinstated, following Musk’s takeover of the platform. Greene has frequently spoken out against trans rights.
Related: Elon’s supervillain takeover kicks off with this homophobic alt-right conspiracy
Musk’s tweet about Fauci prompted a swift backlash from many others.
Gay Rep. Ritchie Torres (D-NY) said, “Elon Musk wants to criminalize Anthony Fauci because he disagrees with him. Elon is no champion of free speech.”
Elon Musk wants to criminalize Anthony Fauci because he disagrees with him.
Elon is no champion of free speech. pic.twitter.com/2UlWmvQR6n
— Ritchie Torres (@RitchieTorres) December 11, 2022
Rep. Dean Phillips (D-MINN.) said, “It’s America. You can select any pronouns you damn well please. But Anthony Fauci has likely saved more human lives than any living person in the world. Shame on you.”
It’s America. You can select any pronouns you damn well please. But Anthony Fauci has likely saved more human lives than any living person in the world. Shame on you. pic.twitter.com/NbQks9Tohn
— Rep. Dean Phillips 🇺🇸 (@RepDeanPhillips) December 11, 2022
My pronouns are he/him. And I want to thank Dr. Fauci for his long service.
Be on the right and respectful side of things. It’s better for your own soul, and better for others.
— George Takei (@GeorgeTakei) December 11, 2022
“Forcing pronouns upon others”
Another person to respond was former astronaut, Scott Kelly. He said, “Elon, please don’t mock and promote hate toward already marginalized and at-risk-of-violence members of the #LGBTQ+ community. They are real people with real feelings. Furthermore, Dr. Fauci is a dedicated public servant whose sole motivation was saving lives.”
This prompted a direct response from Musk. The tech billionaire replied, “I strongly disagree. Forcing your pronouns upon others when they didn’t ask, and implicitly ostracizing those who don’t, is neither good nor kind to anyone. As for Fauci, he lied to Congress and funded gain-of-function research that killed millions of people. Not awesome imo.”
I strongly disagree. Forcing your pronouns upon others when they didn’t ask, and implicitly ostracizing those who don’t, is neither good nor kind to anyone.
As for Fauci, he lied to Congress and funded gain-of-function research that killed millions of people. Not awesome imo.
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) December 12, 2022
Musk’s tweet has provoked a swift reaction. It’s been liked almost half a million times at the time of writing. However, many commentators criticized his viewpoint.
“Forcing your pronouns upon others” – what the frack does this even mean?
Nobody is forcing anything on anyone. Respecting people’s choice of pronouns is just a nice thing to do. It costs you nothing and shows respect for your fellow humans. Nobody is “ostracized” by this.
— Brandon Paddock (@BrandonLive) December 12, 2022
Others disputed Musk’s aattitude toward Fauci.
You do realize that Anthony Fauci does not personally choose whose grant applications get funded, right? There’s a whole process, with two levels of review, a study section consisting of expert scientists to score the grants and then a council to prioritize which ones are funded.
— David Gorski, MD, PhD (@gorskon) December 12, 2022
Musk and his trans child
Elon Musk has a trans child who legally applied earlier this year to change their name and gender recognition from male to female. In the same court documents, the 18-year-old also stated they no longer want to “live with or wish to be related to my biological father in any way, shape or form.”
This is not the first time Musk has commented on pronouns. He previously tweeted, “Pronouns suck” in July 2020.
Related: Elon Musk finally speaks about his estranged trans daughter and of course he’s gotta be an a**hole
Since Musk took over Twitter, the platform has been plagued with controversies. Not only did he get rid of half of the workforce and reinstate many banned accounts, but he’s also introduced a paid-for blue tick “verified” system. He’s also shared previously secret data from the Twitter vaults about what stories were amplified and which were effectively killed.
Many users have reported coming across a greater amount of hateful comments and misinformation on the platform.
Over the weekend, Elton John became the latest celebrity to say he was quitting Twitter.
“All my life I’ve tried to use music to bring people together,” tweeted John. “Yet it saddens me to see how misinformation is now being used to divide our world.
“I’ve decided to no longer use Twitter, given their recent change in policy which will allow misinformation to flourish unchecked.”
Musk responded personally, saying he hoped the ‘Rocket Man’ singer returned.
I love your music. Hope you come back. Is there any misinformation in particular that you’re concerned about?
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) December 9, 2022
Bosch
Musk is not a virologist, nor does he understand how to run a social media platform.
“Half of being smart is knowing what you are dumb about.” – Solomon Short
I wish I’d known sooner that getting hair plugs can motivate crowds of incels to suck your d…
dbmcvey
Thank you!
We have too many people who have been declared “geniuses” who believe their own press.
Man About Town
Nothin’ says lovin’ like a billionaire with the emotional maturity of a toddler.
Chrisk
Since the owner of the company has gone full on Maga QAnon I wonder how tesla owners feel? It’s not like the Trump crowd can afford his crap.
RIGay
My thoughts, exactly. I feel like the Red Hat has been replaced with a “T”…
LumpyPillows
Can’t image Tesla people are happy with the mad emperor.
still_onthemark
If you work in certain fields, especially academia or nonprofits, you would of course be “ostracized” and maybe fired for using the wrong pronouns on purpose. Even some Fortune 500 companies might discipline someone who did that nowadays. It’s silly to pretend nothing EVER happens, like some of these tweets do.
If Queerty got a new hire who intentionally started using wrong pronouns, would Queerty take no action? Not even ostracization? Really? If you believe that, I have some horse de-wormer to sell you.
At any rate, I’ve quit Twitter – Elon’s anti-Fauci mania being the last straw for me. Elon and Tesla should have been prosecuted for breaking Calif. law on several occasions during the pandemic. He’s done a remarkably thorough job killing Twitter in only a month and a half.
DBMC
Any real life examples of your first statement?
still_onthemark
@DBMC: Queerty doesn’t allow links. There’s this thing called a “search engine”….
Again, I’m not defending the offenders. Sometimes offenders will get punished for this and that’s fine by me. I’m saying it’s silly to assume nobody EVER gets disciplined, anywhere, for misusing pronouns. The Twitter user Brandon Paddock, quoted here, assumes just that.
dbmcvey
There is an aggressive way to not use people’s preferred pronouns and those people should be disciplines. As for ostracization, that’s not something that companies, shools and nonprofits do. You can’t force people to socialize with someone they find offensive.
But I will take your answer as, no, you have no real world examples.
still_onthemark
@dbmcvey: And I’ll take your comment as no, you don’t know what a search engine is.
Have you really never worked at a job where someone is ostracized? That’s not official policy of course, but it happens all the time, for much less.
LumpyPillows
Definitely they will come for you over pronouns. People have been fired for refusing to use pronouns. I do not think people have been fired for mistakes using the wrong pronoun. People certainly have been attacked for it though.
dbmcvey
I don’t know what in my comment needs moderation. It’s certainly no worse than anything still_onthe mark has posted.
still_onthemark
@dbmcvey: Queerty’s “moderation” is usually tripped by one or maybe two “bad” words. You can probably figure it out.
Take a deep breath. Do you really believe that no one is EVER punished for such a thing? How did that become dogma for you? Why is it so important for you to believe that? And again again again: Dude, I AGREE WITH YOU on the main point.
You seem to have very little experience with the job world?
dbmcvey
@LumpyPillows
Were the people fired for using the wrong pronouns maliciously? Can you provide an example?
dbmcvey
@still_onthemark,
Condescension aside. If someone kept referring to you, I’m assuming a gay man, by pronouns meant for a woman, they should also be disciplined. If someone is maliciously going after you, the employer should intervene.
RIGay
He’s Trump with a rocket.
Just when you think you can’t stand anyone more, they prove you wrong.
LumpyPillows
He’s not as bad as Trump…not that that is saying much in his defense.
DBMC
So in addition to not knowing what pronouns are, he also is following right wing nutmeg conspiracies. I guess they go hand in hand.
Brian
Agreed. That’s the second half of this story. He seems to believe in the nonsense posted by Q. He lacks critical thinking skills. He can’t tell what reality is. How embarrassing.
okiloki
Elon is neither good nor kind. Those are not traits he values.
Donston
He’s just another rich, privileged narcissist who hides behind “free speech” in order to promote paranoia and hate and of course, to promote himself. Twitter has always been a shit show. It’s going to become borderline unbearable.
bachy
He’s just another rich, privileged narcissist who hides behind “free speech” in order to promote paranoia and hate and of course, to promote himself.
Well put! Why do you think he believes that promoting paranoia and hate will in some way end up serving his self-promotion? Is there some kind of logic or strategy behind that kind of behavior?
LumpyPillows
Bingo. Rich, privileged narcissists are the root of all social ills.
DCguy
Funny, he has no problem forcing his MAGA attitudes on his workers and the people on Twitter.
You knew Musk had gone crazy right wing when he came out with tweets defending oil and gas burning cars, when that goes directly against Tesla’s market.
He is fine with attacking his own business to support Trump and right wingers.
Donston
It seems like the primary reason he even bought Twitter was to uplift the far-right. Also, of course, to stroke his own ego and flex his power.
dbmcvey
He’s not really a free speech champion. He still censors speech he doesn’t like.
Mister P
Asking someone to use one’s name, nickname or pronouns is not that difficult and is actually the mannerly thing to do.
A person in Congress and a billionaire have the ability to do some good in the world instead of just whining.
Kangol2
The anti-pronoun thing has reached the usual peak of right-wing hysteria. If you misuse a pronoun, just apologize and correct. And be sincere about it. I have a friend who was a he, then a they and is now going primarily by she. I have adjusted. In fact, calling her “she” actually fits best! As for the Melon Husk animal torturer who’s destroying Tesla and bankrupting Twitter and himself, he proves by the day that he’s more an idiot than previously thought with each new day.
LumpyPillows
The he/she issue is fully understandable. I stumbled on this a few time when my co-worker transitioned. My co-worker was understanding an did not take offense as none was intended. I don’t think most people have a problem with transgender pronouns.
It’s the non-binary stuff that drive people like me loopy. Every time I have been confronted with non-binary pronouns it feels like it’s an intentional power play – a game. I find these people to be purposely looking to make people uncomfortable. So, there is that. I think they actually undermine trans people.
Elon Musk is a train wreck. If this were a one off, I’d be disposed to let it slip, but he is also trying to force people to his mindset and this is not a one off comment. His comments on Fauci are inexcusable. He intends offense.
Josh in OR
@Lumpy: I don’t disagree, exactly, with your assessment on the rise of NB identity. I think most so-called NB’s are just young people with other issues jumping onto a train of thought that they hope might finally make things make sense for them.
That said…it neither picks my pocket nor robs my house to respect a person’s pronouns, and it might just save a life. A minor – and I do mean MINOR, since I can immediately adjust my pronouns for a dog or a baby I misgender, so it shouldn’t be any harder to do for an adult or teenager – inconvenience isn’t worth throwing a hissy fit over. Especially when I don’t know the other person, don’t know what they’ve been through or what brought them to use a pronoun that I might not entirely understand.
Compassion dictates that, at MINIMUM, I do my best not to make other people’s lives any harder, and at best that I try to make their lives better, where possible. Stodginess is easy, and ‘drawing a line in the sand’ is well and good, but they don’t encourage unity, or understanding, do they?
LumpyPillows
Josh, if it is a sincere request, I’d go along with it. I’ve yet to have one be sincere. It has always been an in-your-face, respect my pronouns attack from some non-binary who also tells me what’s wrong with the white, male patriarchy within 30 seconds of meeting. It really isn’t about gender, it’s about being offensive. I really think most people commenting on this and trans issue have zero actual real life experience. It’s all theoretical.
Compassion would also take into consideration the people you are demanding you use incomprehensible pronouns like hiz/whosit. or whatever fancies them on that day. It’s people like Sam Brinton making a mockery of everything we’ve have worked for in the federal government during the 2022 Pride event at DoE. Nah, it really isn’t about compassion, it’s about control and attention. At least that is my real world experience, which I am willing to adjust should the world show me something new.
dbmcvey
@LumpyPillows
It’s such a small thing to me I don’t see any reason to make a big deal about it. I’m not interested in what their motives are. If they correct me I apologize and try not to do it again. It’s no skin off my nose.
Ken A.
I haven’t quit TWITTER nor intend to. I don’t agree with a lot of views but at least they’re there to be seen so I can disagree with them. I hate censorship of any type so if there is misinformation to be debunked, I’m for it. The misinformation is on both sides I have found.
Den
Where misinformation regarding the pandemic, science in general, history, current events, cultural issues, sociologuy, psychology, statistics, elections, and much, much more is concerned; the overwhelming bulk of misinformation comes from the right.
It is well demonstrated that the right seems unable to distinguish between fact and opinion, and believes in magical thinking as much as 6 and 7 year old children typically do. Twitter will only amplify these intellectual failings on the right, and Musk seems to be falling into their grip, or at least interested in trying out a grift or two. His luck in making business decisions seems to have run out though, and make no mistake he has been as much lucky as any sort of genius!
Ronbo
Ken is absolutely right.
I don’t think Den understands that covid vaccines, unlike previous vaccines, do not stop covid or the pandemic or the spread to others, they simply reduce the death count. Outlawing bacon, meat and dairy would save many, MANY more lives. But who wants to live in a nanny state?
Informed choice is best. I’m fully vaccinated but if Republicans so choose, let them die.
dbmcvey
What misinformation from the left has caused people to invade and try to kill congress people?
Mack
Musk identifies as asshole
The real Bruce
He is one UGLY person. I almost said man. He should take some of his “billions” and go to a body and facial shop for a complete overhaul. And while there, see if they can find a heart, soul and mind.
Ronbo
Attacking people for their personal appearance is childish. He has many other attributes that he could change that are more deserving of ridicule. How did you feel when teased about the harelip in grade school?
Joshooeerr
If anyone who wasn’t a billionaire had done what Musk has done recently they’d be undergoing psychological evaluation about now. Then a course of meds, if not hospitalisation.
Max
having money and owning big things doesn’t mean you should treat people like a-holes.
totally despise his expectations of employees to be on-call by sleeping at the office.
SDR94103
such an ugly person, inside and out.