# Now that Elon Musk has bought Twitter - now the Pit edition (Part 2) **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Tags:** elon-musk\ **Created:** [August 13, 2024, 12:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/now-that-elon-musk-has-bought-twitter-now-the-pit-edition-part-2/1005634 "2024-08-13T00:48:45Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 17
**Author:** ![Ludovic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7ab992/32.png) [@Ludovic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ludovic)\ **Post date:** [September 17, 2024, 10:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/now-that-elon-musk-has-bought-twitter-now-the-pit-edition-part-2/1005634/321 "2024-09-17T22:29:38Z")
> [@Red\_Wiggler](#): > > I kinda agree. We should all address him by his given name. Leon. Leon: The Unprofessional. ---
**Author:** ![Randolph](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e5b9ba/32.png) [@Randolph](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Randolph)\ **Post date:** [September 17, 2024, 11:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/now-that-elon-musk-has-bought-twitter-now-the-pit-edition-part-2/1005634/322 "2024-09-17T23:19:01Z")
Touched a nerve, didn’t I? ---
**Author:** ![BlankSlate](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/blankslate/32/80_2.png) [@BlankSlate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BlankSlate)\ **Post date:** [September 17, 2024, 11:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/now-that-elon-musk-has-bought-twitter-now-the-pit-edition-part-2/1005634/323 "2024-09-17T23:22:10Z")
How deep up Elmo’s ass was that nerve? ---
**Author:** ![Sage\_Rat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sage_rat/32/399_2.png) [@Sage\_Rat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sage_Rat)\ **Post date:** [September 17, 2024, 11:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/now-that-elon-musk-has-bought-twitter-now-the-pit-edition-part-2/1005634/324 "2024-09-17T23:22:25Z")
For the record, I’ve never called him Elmo. I agree that it’s a fairly petty attack. That being so, it doesn’t change whether Musk is deserving or not. If people were going around calling Ted Bundy, “Gumby”, I wouldn’t feel like it was worth my time to stop them. ---
**Author:** ![Miller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/miller/32/481_2.png) [@Miller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Miller)\ **Post date:** [September 17, 2024, 11:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/now-that-elon-musk-has-bought-twitter-now-the-pit-edition-part-2/1005634/325 "2024-09-17T23:54:26Z")
> [@Randolph](#): > > Touched a nerve, didn’t I? You know Elon is never going to fuck you, no matter how hard you white knight him, right? ---
**Author:** ![Smapti](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/smapti/32/17938_2.png) [@Smapti](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smapti)\ **Post date:** [September 17, 2024, 11:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/now-that-elon-musk-has-bought-twitter-now-the-pit-edition-part-2/1005634/326 "2024-09-17T23:57:26Z")
> [@Randolph](#): > > Touched a nerve, didn’t I? Elmo, is that you? ---
**Author:** ![Gatopescado](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gatopescado/32/5711_2.png) [@Gatopescado](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gatopescado)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2024, 1:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/now-that-elon-musk-has-bought-twitter-now-the-pit-edition-part-2/1005634/327 "2024-09-18T01:22:17Z")
Bolding mine… > [@Red\_Wiggler](#): > > We should all address him by his **given name**. Leon. Nice. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![SuntanLotion](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/suntanlotion/32/16165_2.png) [@SuntanLotion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SuntanLotion)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2024, 1:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/now-that-elon-musk-has-bought-twitter-now-the-pit-edition-part-2/1005634/328 "2024-09-18T01:33:01Z")
At Xmastime, he’s Noel. ---
**Author:** ![Great\_Antibob](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e47c2d/32.png) [@Great\_Antibob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Great_Antibob)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2024, 2:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/now-that-elon-musk-has-bought-twitter-now-the-pit-edition-part-2/1005634/329 "2024-09-18T02:22:28Z")
Declare victory and run, eh? Considering some of the epithets and name-calling ELMO himself (I don’t usually use this, either but apparently lessons must be learned) has used, it’s rather rich calling people out for doing so in the mildest possible way towards him. ---
**Author:** ![Randolph](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e5b9ba/32.png) [@Randolph](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Randolph)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2024, 2:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/now-that-elon-musk-has-bought-twitter-now-the-pit-edition-part-2/1005634/330 "2024-09-18T02:25:37Z")
I’m not running. I’m happy to engage on this - I just don’t want to derail this thread. You Internet Tough Guys who insist, “I’d say it to his face!” are missing the point. You’re _not_ saying it to his face. You’re calling him names behind his back. Because it brings you something. Otherwise you wouldn’t be doing it. So what do you get out of it? Maybe you think you’re impressing other Internet Tough Guys. Hell, you probably are. And if that’s what gets y’all going, then go on with your bad-ass selves. Don’t be mad. Don’t get defensive. Be proud of who you are. And the rest of us can draw our own conclusions as to the content of your character. ---
**Author:** ![Mighty\_Mouse](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mighty_mouse/32/7776_2.png) [@Mighty\_Mouse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mighty_Mouse)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2024, 2:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/now-that-elon-musk-has-bought-twitter-now-the-pit-edition-part-2/1005634/331 "2024-09-18T02:32:42Z")
And we can draw our own conclusions about your motivations. What the fuck happened to you? This is the hill you want to die on? Do you jump in to defend every shithead in the world who is catching flak on the internet, or just your dreamboat Elon? Do I have to slide in to Mohammed Bin Salman’s DM’s before I can call him a murderous tyrant? ---
**Author:** ![Smapti](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/smapti/32/17938_2.png) [@Smapti](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smapti)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2024, 2:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/now-that-elon-musk-has-bought-twitter-now-the-pit-edition-part-2/1005634/332 "2024-09-18T02:53:49Z")
> [@Randolph](#): > > You Internet Tough Guys who insist, “I’d say it to his face!” are missing the point. You’re _not_ saying it to his face. Very well, then; > Is my money now sufficiently adjacent to the presence of my mouth? ---
**Author:** ![Great\_Antibob](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e47c2d/32.png) [@Great\_Antibob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Great_Antibob)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2024, 3:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/now-that-elon-musk-has-bought-twitter-now-the-pit-edition-part-2/1005634/333 "2024-09-18T03:24:49Z")
> [@Randolph](#): > > You’re calling him names behind his back. Because it brings you something. Otherwise you wouldn’t be doing it. As I noted, I wasn’t before - I don’t really see the point in it in the abstract. I did now. Because in the specific, you’re being an idiot, and it irks you for some reason. So take that for what it’s worth. So…um yeah, I am getting something out of it. You’re clearly riled by this for reasons I cannot fathom, and I’m learning something about you that is much less to your credit than you seem to believe. ---
**Author:** ![Kimstu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/ecd19e/32.png) [@Kimstu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kimstu)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2024, 3:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/now-that-elon-musk-has-bought-twitter-now-the-pit-edition-part-2/1005634/334 "2024-09-18T03:42:09Z")
> [@Randolph](#): > > And the rest of us can draw our own conclusions as to the content of your character. “The rest of us”? Whom do you think you’re speaking for here? Personally, I am just as valid a representative of “The Rest of Us” as you are, having never once referred to Elon Musk by the nickname “Elmo”, or been particularly tempted to do so. And my take on the use of that nickname on anonymous messageboards is that it’s a totally negligible instance of mild juvenile disparagement of a widely despised public figure. I don’t think there are any useful conclusions at all to be drawn from that practice about “the content of [the] character” of anyone who engages in it. There’s nothing impressive about it, but there’s nothing untoward or unethical about it either. I mean, in a forum where (to pick just one of hundreds of thousands of examples of obscene and scatological invective) a former US President is routinely referred to as the “Orange Shitgibbon”, the thing that grinds your gears to the point of actively complaining about it is that some people call Elon Musk “Elmo”? Really? ---
**Author:** ![Cervaise](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cervaise/32/16693_2.png) [@Cervaise](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cervaise)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2024, 5:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/now-that-elon-musk-has-bought-twitter-now-the-pit-edition-part-2/1005634/335 "2024-09-18T05:14:00Z")
> [@Randolph](#): > > And the rest of us can draw our own conclusions as to the content of your character. (points and laughs at the dummy) ---
**Author:** ![kaylasdad99](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kaylasdad99/32/3398_2.png) [@kaylasdad99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kaylasdad99)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2024, 5:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/now-that-elon-musk-has-bought-twitter-now-the-pit-edition-part-2/1005634/336 "2024-09-18T05:36:13Z")
> [@Randolph](#): > > Re: This “Elmo” shit > > If you draw some kind of pleasure from calling someone names behind their back, I believe that your opinions can be readily dismissed, and will just skip to the next post. > > If I wanted petty juvenile bullshit I’d be on Reddit. What’s your take on _America-hating fuckstick_ wrt 45? ---
**Author:** ![Atamasama](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/atamasama/32/12961_2.png) [@Atamasama](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Atamasama)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2024, 7:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/now-that-elon-musk-has-bought-twitter-now-the-pit-edition-part-2/1005634/337 "2024-09-18T07:18:09Z")
> [@Randolph](#): > > You Internet Tough Guys who insist, “I’d say it to his face!” are missing the point. You’re _not_ saying it to his face. You’re calling him names behind his back. That’s not true at all. It’s not behind his back at all. It’s nowhere near his back. Do you even know what that phrase **means** , and why your accusations are amusingly inaccurate? Talking behind someone’s back is what happens when you are acquainted with someone, and say negative things about them to other acquaintances outside of their presence. When you’re talking about someone that doesn’t know you to other people that the person doesn’t know, that phrase doesn’t apply and is meaningless. You must have mixed up your medication and started hallucinating that we’re all working at Tesla and talking smack about the boss after we finish a videoconference with him. These are anonymous people on a message board that Musk has never heard of and has no interest in. ---
**Author:** ![not\_what\_you\_d\_expect](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/not_what_you_d_expect/32/3246_2.png) [@not\_what\_you\_d\_expect](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/not_what_you_d_expect)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2024, 8:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/now-that-elon-musk-has-bought-twitter-now-the-pit-edition-part-2/1005634/338 "2024-09-18T08:23:58Z")
And we’re allowed to talk about him. That’s free speech, just ask Elon. ---
**Author:** ![Jihi](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jihi/32/17768_2.png) [@Jihi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jihi)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2024, 8:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/now-that-elon-musk-has-bought-twitter-now-the-pit-edition-part-2/1005634/339 "2024-09-18T08:56:47Z")
> [@Atamasama](#): > > When you’re talking about someone that doesn’t know you to other people that the person doesn’t know, that phrase doesn’t apply and is meaningless. Exactly. There is a reason that libel and slander laws apply differently to celebrities and other public figures then they do to private individuals. A public figure is inviting people to talk about them. That’s the entire point of being a celebrity or a public figure. If people aren’t talking about you you’re not famous. And that includes ridiculing them. By the same standard we couldn’t talk about Donald Trump or Kamala Harris or anyone else in the public eye unless we are personally associated with them. I will continue to call Elmo whatever name I feel like as long as it’s funny enough and fits the situation. And Elmo has earned this treatment from me by being a public figure who acts like a public ass. ---
**Author:** ![Gyrate](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gyrate/32/3588_2.png) [@Gyrate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gyrate)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2024, 9:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/now-that-elon-musk-has-bought-twitter-now-the-pit-edition-part-2/1005634/340 "2024-09-18T09:13:54Z")
> [@Randolph](#): > > So what do you get out of it? Mild amusement, mostly. > [@](#): > > Maybe you think you’re impressing other Internet Tough Guys. Hell, you probably are. And if that’s what gets y’all going, then go on with your bad-ass selves. Don’t be mad. Don’t get defensive. Be proud of who you are. That certainly seems to be your motivation for chastising us. Do you feel better about yourself now? [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/now-that-elon-musk-has-bought-twitter-now-the-pit-edition-part-2/1005634.md?page=16) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/now-that-elon-musk-has-bought-twitter-now-the-pit-edition-part-2/1005634.md?page=18)