What’s great about this, and Stephen Fry is brilliant, is not that he’s absolving Musk, or that he’s criticizing Tesla, but that it is an argument likely leading to Elon Musk protesting,

‘No, my cars are good enough that I can be a Nazi!’

    • @Fuckfuckmyfuckingass@lemmy.world
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      1073 months ago

      Exactly this. My grandmother lived under the Nazis and she said they were fucking idiots. Exactly the same type of incompetent blowhards. The whole hyper scientific ubermensch BS in the cultural zeitgeist is so frustrating. I blame all the WWII video games and movies that played up the myth to have more interesting villains than the sleazy shit stains that they actually were.

      • @Eatspancakes84@lemmy.world
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        263 months ago

        The strength of the Germans was that I.) they had a really good industrial base, and ii.) the traditions within the army meant they had extremely well trained soldiers. Both of these predate nazi-rule. For instance, Germans also arguably had the best (equipped) army in WW1.

        • @WalnutLum@lemmy.ml
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          3 months ago

          Early Nazis also galvanized a young working force with actual socialist policies that guaranteed them good jobs and housing (before Hitler’s multiple violent party purges, scrapping most of it for a fascist-capitalist junta)

          • @Eatspancakes84@lemmy.world
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            33 months ago

            Two things can be true at the same time. German soldiers were incredibly cruel in non-combat situations, and at the same time highly competent in combat.

        • @Gammelfisch@lemmy.world
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          63 months ago

          Not entirely. You should read the scathing after action reports from Wehrmacht generals who lead the Polish campaign. Basically, they wanted to postpone all offensive operation for at least 3 years because of the high armor losses and correct the deficiencies. The fucktard, Hitler, sent his best generals to desk jobs and replaced them with yes people to continue the war. This is what Bush did during the build up against Iraq and Afghanistan and exactly what Orange Nero wants to do too.

      • @Gammelfisch@lemmy.world
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        83 months ago

        My Oma survived WWII and the bastard Nazis. Opa , was a Wehrmacht Landser, survived the Eastern Front, including Stalingrad, and was later KIA at Monte Cassino. He warned Oma, while on leave from the Eastern Front, that we are going to lose war and you better head west when the Russians enter Germany. She was 3-days ahead of them, just missed the Dresden bombings and somehow survived the Battle of Berlin. Now the USA has the same incompetent blowhards running the USA straight into the ground. She warned me it could happen anywhere and she was 100% correct.

    • @halcyoncmdr@lemmy.world
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      403 months ago

      Hitler was a drug addict and the trains didn’t run on time.

      German trains still don’t run on time. Can’t blame that one on the Nazis, that’s just a German thing.

          • @yonder@sh.itjust.works
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            23 months ago

            In Canada, we have Via rail. They line you up like you’re at an airport and check your ticket before you board the train, and also check your ticket once you’re on the train. They also have enforced weight restrictions on baggage. The trains share tracks with freight, meaning that the train has to stop every once in a while to let a freight train pass. All this to take longer than driving and cost alot as well.

          • @Kratzkopf@discuss.tchncs.de
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            23 months ago

            Sounds like one of those people who prefer standing in a 20 minute traffic jam instead of giving a chance to public transit. If you actually use the german trains from time to time, you will notice how well used they are. They are admittedly often late though.

    • @vga@sopuli.xyz
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      3 months ago

      That’s just ignoring history. There are plenty of good reasons to hate the Nazis without needing to do that.

      In the similar way, it’s not necessary to dismiss Soviet Union’s early modernization successes in order to blame them for their crimes against humanity.

        • @vga@sopuli.xyz
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          3 months ago

          Honestly, this shit needs to stop. Acknowledging that some fascists have been good at something at some point does not detract in any way from being anti-fascist.

          If you claim that fascist are dumb, stupid and can achieve nothing, what do you think the masses will think about your message when the fascists turn out to be competent? They will wonder what other things you are wrong about.

          So I say to you: stop being a fascist enabler.

            • @vga@sopuli.xyz
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              3 months ago

              I seem to have struck a nerve. I wonder why this bothers you so much?

              Well first of all, xkcd.com/386. And also: because I don’t like fascism or promoting the spread of fascism.

              Obviously that’s not the image they present to population of the regions they take. But you knew what I was claiming they are incompetent at.

              There’s a saying that reading history may help prevent repeating the mistakes of history. You should try some of that.

              To reiterate: the reason to be anti-fascist has absolutely nothing to do with how good they are at doing things and I don’t see any good reasons to hide this fact.

    • @Melvin_Ferd@lemmy.world
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      3 months ago

      This is why the left can’t have nice things.

      Like this isn’t the point here. You don’t need to be pointing out this stuff. Just dog pile

    • @Melatonin@lemmy.dbzer0.comOP
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      -393 months ago

      A small country took on the ENTIRE FUCKING WORLD (TWICE) and very nearly won. The second time with a lunatic at the helm.

      What does it take to impress you? To what would you assign their disturbing success?

      • Eugene V. Debs' Ghost
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        153 months ago

        Nazis took on world in one war, and lost.

        “WE ARE THE GREATEST COUNTRY IN THE WORLD! THE PUREST OF THE PURE! STRONGEST OF THE STRONG!”

        [Fights one (1) war]

        “Guess we’ll shoot ourselves in a bunker and lose in a big lopsided defeat.”

      • @Maggoty@lemmy.world
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        At no point did they “nearly win” against the world. In World War 1 they made desperate attempts to break out of trench warfare because the blockade was obliterating their wartime economy. In World War 2 they were cooked the second they invaded the USSR and the USA landed in the UK. Those were unwinnable areas for them. Even if they eventually managed to wear down the British, the Americans were right behind them manufacturing 100 tanks a day and 15 Aircraft Carriers in 1943 alone. Which means all of those tanks are getting to the European theater.

        And once the USSR got it’s production under way the Germans were on the defensive all the way back to Berlin.

      • davel [he/him]
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        73 months ago

        What is this, the Übermensch Expanded Universe? Maybe actually learn history.

      • @gift_of_gab@lemmy.world
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        53 months ago

        To what would you assign their disturbing success?

        I have to ask: What success? They did typical fascist bullshit: They had an economy so bad they had to invade new countries just to loot them to pay for their horrific economy. They picked fight after fight of the smallest kids in the neighbourhood they could find until they met those kids big brothers and sisters. They required fucking slave labour to try to meet their wartime goals because they grossly underestimated just about every single facet of running a country. They privatized state-owned industries, crippling longterm wealth for their people, they instituted tariffs (sound familiar?). Pay remained as bad as they it had been in the depression because while their wages were raised, they were forced to constantly work overtime for no additional pay. Their military was the majority of their economic spending, and they used deficit spending because they were going to literally plunder the countries around them to pay for it. Sound like solid long-term planning? They killed or jailed anyone in the trade unions, and due to their insane tariffs and you know, generally being the worst people in history, lacked incoming trade so things like poultry or clothing was in short supply for the average person.

        Then it took thirty five days for the Nazi German army, along with the Serbian and Soviet armies, to conquer Poland. For every success in the early war they had embarrassing fumbles. They lost entirely because of how fascists work: they need to invade more countries to pay for their insane military spending, make bigger and bigger enemies, then get beat by those enemies, then later people claim they ‘could have if…’

        Yeah, they could have done just fine if they hadn’t been fascist. All of their failings fall to being fascist.

        And the first world war, are you kidding me? Are you seriously suggesting their insistence on investing in overseas colonies while fighting against the British was a brilliant plan? In both wars they were led by colossal morons who constantly underestimated their opponents, while in the second world war in particular having the worst spy agency of any nation. Their insistence on torturing, raping, and murdering everyone they came into contact with meant they just got the answers they wanted to hear, instead of the actual truth, and were constantly on the back foot. Their evil, cruel, and twisted nature was their own downfall; the insistence of their superiority, as you are doing now, is the very reason they failed.

      • Sonori
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        43 months ago

        Do Japan and Italy just not count as part of the world? I mean Japan took over half of Asia and the Pasific while Italy took the Mediterranean countries. Germany took over part of northern Europe and helped a bit of North Africa.

        • @Melatonin@lemmy.dbzer0.comOP
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          I was arguing that there was a terrible war, and the enemy was dangerous and capable. Many of our and other country’s soldiers died to destroy them, and it wasn’t easy.

          They weren’t “Colonel Klink” from “Hogan’s Heroes”, they were efficient at killing, rounding up and killing millions while fighting on a number of fronts.

          My grandfather fought in World war I, and my uncles fought in World war II. From what I heard the Germans were not incompetent bumbling idiots. They were a very competent and difficult enemy.

          I don’t know what history everybody’s been reading, but there sure as heck are some major changes to history interpretation that have taken place in the last 40-50 years. Probably peer-to-peer instruction, rather than accounts from those who endured it

          • Unruffled [they/them]
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            43 months ago

            Ok fair enough, I accept the explanation you provided. Folks are taking issue with the following comment in particular.

            What does it take to impress you? To what would you assign their disturbing success?

            In isolation, this sounds a little too close to admiration for the Nazis, which is why we got some reports about it. It seems to me it’s just unfortunate phrasing, because together with the explanation you just provided, it sounds like a reasonable take for you not to want to paint them like some hapless foe that was easily defeated, because that discounts the difficulties faced by those who fought the bastards.

            • @Melatonin@lemmy.dbzer0.comOP
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              13 months ago

              I wanted to clarify, but there were so many comments coming in, I didn’t see how I could do it effectively. And not seem like I was what some people thought I was

              • Unruffled [they/them]
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                13 months ago

                I know, it’s difficult when people pile on with bad faith takes. Anyway don’t worry, I think it’s clear what you meant now.

  • comfy
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    1063 months ago

    Headlines are being headlines, I get it, but Fry was repeating a joke:

    “I heard a very good joke yesterday,” the QI host, 67, told Stig Abell on Times Radio on Thursday.

    “Someone said, ‘Musk is not a Nazi… Nazis made really good cars,’” he went on, before bursting out laughing.

  • @Hobbes_Dent@lemmy.world
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    553 months ago

    Still a Nazi.

    Just America shrinkflated Nazism so the intelligence had to go. Still 100% of the hate and malice America loves to eat though.

    • Orbituary
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      Yes. He’s still a Nazi. You’re not getting the point.

      Fry is trying to provoke Musk into saying, “yes, they’re good enough,” turning it an admission that he is indeed a Nazi.

  • @rational_lib@lemmy.world
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    393 months ago

    The cybertruck is exactly the sort of thing Nazis would come up with. It’s the King Tiger of trucks - impressive specs and appeals to insecure men, but way the fuck too big and designed for unrealistic situations instead of practical reality.

    • yeehaw
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      123 months ago

      It can’t realistically tow heavy loads cause the hitch breaks off, and it can’t travel far with heavy loads. Definitely not the king tiger of trucks.

    • @dx1@lemmy.ml
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      43 months ago

      I think RAMs or similar win in that category by being as actively harmful as possible. And having the huge blindspot where you run over kids without noticing.

    • @rottingleaf@lemmy.world
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      03 months ago

      Before King Tiger and Tiger they had a few very good tanks.

      Just when T-34 (which were clearly superior to German tanks once some bugs were ironed out, different class even) production went out of control, Hitler started making more decisions involved in what kind of machines is going to be developed and built.

  • @Rookwood@lemmy.dbzer0.com
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    3 months ago

    Not apologizing and then immediately giving a speech to AfD about not being ashamed of “cultural purity” beg to differ. Either way, him being an actual Nazi is irrelevant. There are 2 options:

    1. He is an actual Nazi and believes in the ideology, which makes him a fucking Nazi. It should be noted that his grandfather was an extremely anti-semitic politician who moved to South Africa because he admired Apartheid…

    2. He did it as a troll. In which case, at a POTUS inauguration he decided to behave like a teenage boy as the richest man in the world and make light of something that saw 6 million Jews slaughtered and remains as a threat to the security of Jews around the world to this day. Which makes him a colossal piece of shit.

  • @RangerJosey@lemmy.ml
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    183 months ago

    I’d imagine Jeremy Clarkson might have said this on old top gear before he outed himself as a massive asshole.

    • Victor
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      33 months ago

      What did he do to out himself, out of curiosity?

      • @Buddahriffic@lemmy.world
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        43 months ago

        He punched a guy in 2015 over available food options, which got him fired from BBC. His popularity didn’t take that much of a hit from this incident despite him clearly being in the wrong (Hammond and May both left BBC with him and they started a new show The Grand Tour, which wasn’t as popular as Top Gear, but was still popular.

        Then, in 2022, he wrote an opinion piece for the Sun about how much he hates Megan Merkle and included a bit where he said she should be paraded naked through the town. Amazon decided to not start any new projects with him after this, though they continued with the plans to wind down The Grand Tour which had already been established.

        He’s got a farming show now, so he wasn’t cancelled over this, despite burning some bridges.

        • Victor
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          23 months ago

          Well that’s a pretty disgusting thing to say about someone. I don’t know what Merkle did to – in his view – deserve such comments, but I can’t imagine the comments were warranted.

        • Victor
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          23 months ago

          Then all’s well, I guess. Just like Hitler. Who was he? ANYWAY let’s get some froghurt…

    • dual_sport_dork 🐧🗡️
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      13 months ago

      I think James May got there quicker. The first episode of his Cars Of The People miniseries explores (in part) the driving idea behind the Beetle and its origin, including its proceeds funding the Nazi war machine.

  • Hanrahan
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    113 months ago

    Fry used to be on Mastodon, not sure if he’s still there ?

  • @soumerd_retardataire@lemmygrad.ml
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    One day he’s criticized for saying that Hitler was a communist, the other for apparently assuming his love of nazis.
    There’s an old series of books by Terry Goodkind that i’ve read as a child, named the Sword of Truth, each book has a wizard’s rule, and here’s the first one :

    People are stupid. They believe things mainly because they either want them to be true or fear them to be true.

    I’m not particularly fond of these books nor do i agree with this rule, but if you’re political then you’re judging real political actions, such as enacted laws, like adults do, or you’re eventually discussing assumed theories, but not unfair little excerpts regretted afterwards by the one who did them, and we can hopefully both agree that we should not explain our worldview or vote based on the latter, its ‘just for fun’/‘not serious’.
    At least most journalists know that it’s only about influencing his future decisions, but you don’t if you believe it was ‘a coming out’/‘something to be discussed seriously’.
    That’s just my two cents, thanks for reading my insults towards ~you, and let’s continue not changing.