How Elon Musk Got Me to Vote

A story of how my nemesis helped me understand that growth often involves examining one’s fundamental beliefs to see if they still hold true.

In 2020 I was the girl on fire.

I was ready to rage against the machine and was heavily invested in the idea of something’s gotta give. We were in the middle of a pandemic, my mother had just died and my emotions were all over the place. And it truly felt as though me and America were in the same space mentally, spiritually and emotionally.

I’d sat with the country election after election and watched as leaders, pandered, pleaded, and catered to whoever they felt would get them into the ex-president’s club or the coveted incumbent position so they’d never have to lift a finger again to actually act on behalf of their constituents . I watched as the country dove deeper into the curve of late stage capitalism and stand woefully inept and severely underprepared for the impacts of increasing weather disruptions, pending water crises, income inequality, crumbling infrastructure, runaway housing and food costs, and the rising threat of unregulated billionaires and their dystopian technologies turning this place from mild racist utopia into full blown science fiction plots conjured by minds far brighter than my own.

And each time I would scream into the void BEGGING TO BE HEARD.

And each time I was met with, well you gotta vote if you want things to change.

And each time I’d scoff because who exactly was I supposed to vote for? The lesser of two evils or the eviler of two evils?

None of this would bring me the change I sought.

None of this would help me or my loved ones have a fighting chance at surviving the world to come.

I’m not interested in the status quo, never have been, never will be.

Standing at the crossroads desperate for change

Fast-forward to now 2024, I’m still very much on fire, though I’d have to say I’m less of a blaze and more like a chemical fire that’s burning slowly but the slightest bit of water may just reignite my passions once more.

And once again I stand here with my country, my home, my love, absolutely bewildered that we have not gotten off this hamster wheel of a two party system.

Only this time between generative ai, disruptive social media arguments, and misinformation on all sides, it’s looking more and more like a political circus with the clowns firmly in charge.

And as election day draws nearer I found myself asking more and more, as I became bombarded by political ads and swarmed with mailers demanding I participate in this farce the same question:

Who do I vote for?

The criminal or the cop?

Do I want a peaceful yet disruptive transition of power or do I want to sit back and watch as millions of cult like followers, egged on by their leader and rogue billionaires alike swarm the capital yet again, desperate for change much in the same way I am?

Enter my antagonist

I don’t have an answer to that question as of yet. I’m sure no matter who wins we’ll continue to skip blissfully unaware into a world we are fully unprepared for and is most assuredly the product of what will be our darkest timeline.

Whether entering the world of Octavia Butler’s Earthseed, or Margaret Atwood’s The Handmaid’s Tale or even Star Trek’s vision on what takes place on this planet between 2026–2053, doesn’t matter.

All I know is whatever we are facing, money in politics guarantees we the people are certainly going to be royally fucked one way or the other.

But then again we wouldn’t be American if we weren’t. Exactly when have the odds ever been in the people’s favor?

And I know for foreign audiences that seems preposterous because ample propaganda has made it seem like we have it together as a country, but just like an Instagram influencer on throwback Thursday, I promise, our public relations team is lying to you. The American Dream died a long time ago. Only the internet keeps it’s skeletal myth alive.

And dark as this mindset may seem this is where I met my nemesis on equal ground.

A shared belief

What’s intriguing about the man I’ve deemed my personal nemesis is that he is a product of what many immigrants who come to this country see. The illusion of the American Dream.

He saw big problems we were facing and with the help of financiers, personal funding from family members (all he is is owed to mama mae), networked and fumbled his way across the finish line to amass incredible wealth against the odds.

He is the 1% that survived this place with something to show for it.

But he sees what quite a few see. That while America is a nice place to cool it at the top if you make it, we are if anything a planetary species.

And if we plan to survive as a species, especially given the mess industrialization is making of the place as we continue to convert natural resources into cheaply produced goods to be sold to the highest bidder until they find themselves at the bottom of a landfill, then it is only natural we eventually fling ourselves from this planet and towards the stars and hope for the best.

Note: cleaning up this planet is also a viable option, but given the current conveniences we experience at the expense of the earth’s biosphere, it’s the probably the least likely thing we’ll do.

And on this point me and my nemesis agree.

But this is where we say goodbye

However, Elon has quite a dangerous track record here on earth. From manipulating stock prices of companies he owns, to engaging in unsavory business practices, to building shoddy products, to engaging in union busting, to literally fist fighting co-workers and throwing tantrums in meetings, demanding things be done his way or else, it is quite clear the man has no regard for rules regulations and restrictions.

After all he’s trying to get us to space, did we think he was going to be “chill?”

And as the man championing the charge for space, I’m highly concerned. Especially given the fact that he has some weird views on population collapse that’s giving Republic of Gilead, a penchant for revisionist history, and the fact that he’s a third generation racist (he’s south African and his people moved there because it was a white utopia at the time).

That is not someone I want in charge of securing our species a burgeoning new life where the rules are left up to the ones running the ship. Where borders and contracts and laws don’t matter.

Yeah we might get to space but what kinda slavish fantasy will we be entering into in the process?

Note: dude totally suggested debt slavery/ indentured servitude as a means for people to get to space if they can’t afford it and i wish i was making that up.

A call to arms

So when it was announced that should several time felon and self aware leather handbag, Donald Trump, win the presidency Elon Musk would essentially be given the power to regulate the agencies that regulate him I perked the fuck up.

I already awakened from many a fever dream induced nightmare about that timeline to know that was my hard line in the sand.

And trust me it does not help that I am literally watching the man spread disinformation on the news platform/ social media network he purchased, which I honestly believe he did just to give Trump a place to speak again.

And it is for that reason, despite none of the candidates on the ballot having any kind of plan to future proof America, I chose to exercise my right to vote in this election. And early too, cause I hate lines almost as much as I hate Elon.

Reflecting on the choice

While my views which are probably still fringeable compared to most are probably going to end up in the void again, the idea that I could change a staunchly held belief even in the face of what seems like ridiculous odds was something i didn’t think I was capable of.

Yes I feel dirty.

No I don’t feel good and I know the choice has already been made by the electorate, but in the face of extreme odds I at least attempted to take advantage of a possible solution in front of me.

So in a way I guess I owe the man a thank you.

Instead of ignoring civic duty because I felt it would not be good enough, I chose to participate in life for once instead of stand on the sidelines.

I’m still preparing for the darkest timeline, but at least this time I can say whichever way we go, I had a chance to be heard…ish.

Now if you excuse me I have to hose the shame off of me and put all this conspiratorial energy into a fictional piece of work. I got an apocalypse to prepare for and a nemesis to square off against.

Till next time loves.