Elon Musk, the billionaire entrepreneur, has elaborated on why he feels the "woke mind virus," or awakened ideology, pose an existential danger to human civilization.
Musk, a self-described free-speech absolutist, discussed the issue with "Real Time" presenter Bill Maher last week. The Tesla CEO claimed that the "woke mind virus" has been simmering in society for a long time, citing the indoctrination of "woke" policies in schools and universities as a probable basis.
“You have talked about this woke mind virus in really apocalyptic terms,” Maher said to Musk. “You should explain why you don’t think it’s hyperbole to say things like it’s pushing civilization toward suicide. First of all, what is the woke mind virus?”
In response, Musk said: “I think we need to be very cautious about anything that is anti-meritocratic and anything that results in the suppression of free speech. So, those are two of the aspects of the woke mind virus that I think are very dangerous—that it’s often very anti-meritocratic and you can’t question things. Even the questioning is bad.”
“So, you know, another way to … almost synonymous would be cancel culture,” he added.
The SpaceX creator was then asked where the "woke mind virus" originated. Musk began using the word more frequently around the time he owned Twitter, offering occasional dire warnings about woke ideals ruining America.
“This woke mind virus, how did it start? Was it bats? Did it escape from a lab?” Maher asked Musk in a joking manner, prompting laughter in the audience. “I mean, what is your assessment of what—because it’s fairly recent. How did it start and why?”
“I think it’s actually been a long time brewing,” Musk responded. “The amount of indoctrination that’s happening in schools and universities is I think far beyond what parents realize,” he added.
Musk then stated that the educational experience that today's youngsters are having is drastically different from what he and others of his generation had, citing major changes in educational systems over the previous decade.
The trend of public schools expanding their educational handbooks to include gender ideology-infused lessons, race essentialism, and other politically sensitive topics has become a hotly debated issue in recent years, with many parents protesting such decisions and urging schools not to include such lessons.
Musk also made a bold statement about the importance of the First Amendment and free speech in American culture.
“I think we should be extremely concerned about anything that undermines the First Amendment,” Musk said. “The First Amendment is because people came from countries where they could not speak freely and where saying certain things would get you thrown into prison. And we were like, well, we don’t want that here.”
“I can’t emphasize this enough. We must protect free speech. And free speech only matters—it’s only relevant when it is someone you don’t like saying something that you don’t like. Because, obviously, free speech that you like is easy,” he continued. “So the thing about censorship and those who would advocate it, just remember that at some point, that will be turned on you.”
