On BBC Newsnight the panel of journalists and politicians were discussing Elon Muskā€™s emphatic salute at US President Donald Trumpā€™s triumphal inauguration rally in Washington.

Probably most people have seen Muskā€™s Dr Strangelove moment by now but none of the panel would say what it most clearly was: a Nazi salute.

Musk did not just involuntarily raise his right arm and point his fingers to heaven. He slammed his right hand into his chest, paused for a long moment, and then thrust his arm outwards as tens of millions watched nationwide, and thousands of Trump supporters in the auditorium cheered.

At this point, many people were no doubt watching stunned and wondering if they had just hallucinated Muskā€™s gesture, but helpfully, he then turned his back and did the same salute to those in the seats behind him.

And yet somehow Gabriel Gatehouse, a seasoned BBC observer of US politics and the far right, played down the moment, as did the great sword-carrying failed Conservative leadership contender Penny Mordaunt. Gatehouse suggested it could be a ā€œRoman saluteā€ and compared it to a cartoon frog that appeared in the 2016 presidential campaign.

  • blakenong@lemmings.world
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    14 hours ago

    The only good Nazi is a dead Nazi. Removing this comment is sympathizing with a Nazi.

    Make a choice.

  • watson387@sopuli.xyz
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    14 hours ago

    The Nazis appropriated the ā€œRoman saluteā€ as the Nazi salute. Known fact.

      • pivot_root@lemmy.world
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        10 hours ago

        Elon could literally have a tattoo of one on his chest, and his dumbfuck supporters would legitimately start claiming this to be the fact.

    • jonne@infosec.pub
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      12 hours ago

      And the Roman salute harkens back to Mussolini, so itā€™s not exactly a huge improvement.

  • John Richard@lemmy.world
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    14 hours ago

    Democrats will keep losing at this pace when they canā€™t move past things like this when there is no easy way to prove either way. Plenty of pictures & videos of popular Democrats making similar gestures. This whole concept that if you move your arms in a certain way makes you a Nazi is dumb. PC police will be telling you everything you do offends someone.

    • endeavor@sopuli.xyz
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      2 hours ago

      Being from a nazi family, being found guilty of having an openly racist workplace multiple times, bbacking a party on which the europes stance is they are nazi, agreeing with some pretty nazi ass statements on twitter, having the twitter become overflowing with antisemetisim and racial hate shortly post your takeover, employing a lot of things nazi party did to your companies, engaging in censorship, throwing two nazi salutes at a political rally and not saying a peep about it makes you pretty nazi, idk about you.

      Stop being such a snowflake if you canā€™t handle the facts. You should worry about your new life as a woman.

      • John Richard@lemmy.world
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        12 minutes ago

        ā€œTrump is a fascist! Letā€™s run a pro-genocide candidate to defeat him that parades around with Liz Cheney & praises Dick Cheney, a war criminal. Letā€™s send out Mark Cuban to tell everyone how much Democrats love big businesses. Letā€™s script all our interviews & only go on shows that already agree with us. Letā€™s attack other progressive candidates & say that they are Russian agents.ā€

        Yeah, you did this to yourselves.

      • John Richard@lemmy.world
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        10 minutes ago

        If I had hundreds of billions Iā€™d be pushing to enact open source & transparency in all forms of government, so no this is not Elon.

    • Boomkop3@reddthat.com
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      9 hours ago

      I wanna see those democrats salute too! I heard a bunch of people claim this but I canā€™t find a video :/

      • John Richard@lemmy.world
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        3 hours ago

        Itā€™s because theyā€™re everywhere. Most people will see them & know youā€™re not trustworthy, but youā€™ll still be pretending they donā€™t exist.

        • endeavor@sopuli.xyz
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          2 hours ago

          There arenā€™t any. Get cancer. In case youre an easily offending snowflake, that word combination was me sending my heart out to you. Very common american expresion everyone does. You heard all the dems say the same thing as well, very easy to find.

          • John Richard@lemmy.world
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            20 minutes ago

            Pro-genocide establishment Democratsā€¦ ā€œTheyā€™re the Nazis! Get cancer if you donā€™t agree!!!ā€

            • endeavor@sopuli.xyz
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              15 minutes ago

              Oh now you understand what common gestures and phrases mean suddenly.

              Why you spending your first 24h as a woman getting your panties in a bunch? You seen like an easily offended snowflake who just got owned to me.

              • John Richard@lemmy.world
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                8 minutes ago

                You totally owned me. Oh you got me so good, Iā€™ll never recover. You can go tell your teenage friends that you owned timewarp on Lemmy. Youā€™ll be so popular & youā€™ll get all the sex.

          • Boomkop3@reddthat.com
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            3 hours ago

            Theyā€™re claiming thereā€™s videos of democrats doing the nazi salute everywhere. And they claim that I am not to be trusted because Iā€™ve not seen any

            • frunch@lemmy.world
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              2 hours ago

              Itā€™s because there arenā€™t any. All the stupid responses are photos which can easily be taken out of context. Just a frame out of a video can be sufficient to achieve the look.

              But what he did left zero room for misinterpretation. Thereā€™s no need to isolate the movementā€“itā€™s right there plain as day. He did it twice last to make sure everyone saw it. We will not find any Dems doing that because it would be political suicide to do so.

              Anyone trying to claim that was anything but a seig heil is full of shit

    • DokPsy@lemmy.world
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      14 hours ago

      Please provide video evidence of anyone in democratic party doing the same gesture.

      No, I donā€™t mean waving with an outstretched arm in a fashion that would look like it in a still photo.

      I mean the hard hit to the chest followed by the straight arm and hand that musk displayed both to the people in front and behind him.

      • John Richard@lemmy.world
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        3 hours ago

        ā€œPlease provide a video of a Democrat doing that thing with their arms, but Iā€™m a scared that it might exist so they have to look like Elon, double tap their heart & hold out their arm exactly at the angle Elon did, and they have to turn around after & do something similar in the other direction where I canā€™t see. If it is at all different then I get to decide, which clearly I am not biased. Wink winkā€

    • LandedGentry@lemmy.zip
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      13 hours ago

      Man everywhere I turn there you are running your ignorant mouth again. You know you donā€™t have to grace us with whatever shit take you have.

      • John Richard@lemmy.world
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        10 hours ago

        You look like super Karenā€™s to about 80% of the population, but hey you must love Trump & Elon cause all you do is help them win.

        • LandedGentry@lemmy.zip
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          57 minutes ago

          Nah I donā€™t love bigoted fascists but feel free to take a wild swing again if thatā€™s your thing. One less person youā€™re bugging if I can occupy your time.

            • LandedGentry@lemmy.zip
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              26 minutes ago

              Man Karen jokes are stale as hell. Gonna call me a triggered snowflake next? Troll me with a rick roll?

                • LandedGentry@lemmy.zip
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                  14 minutes ago

                  I worked both of Bernieā€™s campaigns, dumbass. Got another shit take for me?

                  Stop trying to make ā€œblue MAGAā€ a thing. Itā€™s never going to be a thing.

    • forrgott@lemm.ee
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      12 hours ago

      No easy way? False.

      Anybody who intentionally makes a Nazi salute is a Nazi. Absolutely no chance of doing that accidentally.

      So, whether your delicate sensibilities like it or not, anybody who moves their arm (not arms, pathetic attempt at distraction btw) in a certain way is, in fact, a Nazi.

      Deal with it, snowflake.

      • John Richard@lemmy.world
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        10 hours ago

        I saw the KKK shake each otherā€™s hands so if you shake someoneā€™s hands your now a KKK member. Lol, really this is 100% projection on your part. I guess this is your way of dealing with the massive election loss that you caused by being a genocide enabler. Give yourself a big pat on the backā€¦ Oh wait, that means you hate women. Prob shouldnā€™t move at all else youā€™ll offend the PC police.