My point: (Off-Topic)

by cheapLEY , Wednesday, February 07, 2018, 09:43 (2479 days ago) @ Ragashingo

Yes, we must keep an eye on the powerful because power does corrupt, but, at the same time, live is not worth living if we let ourselves be dragged down so much that we can't see the fun in stunts like this.

I guess that’s the heart of the issue. I cannot see it as a fun stunt. Whatever the intention, and I have no doubt that it’s strictky nefarious, I read it as an attempt to garner positive attention and an attempt to be seen as fun, while pushing the ethical issues of the actual company under the table.

It’s like the Wendy’s twitter account (and every other company) being snarky and funny on twitter to make people feel good about Wendy’s rather than considering the actual company policy about worker treatment. It’s just marketing. And yes, I know, calling it just marketing is vastly underselling the actual accomplishment here, and I don’t mean to do that. This is a separate issue from the actual accomplishment, but the nature of it means they can’t actually fully be separated. Rather than focusing on that accomplishment he (or they, as Kermit rightly pointed out) chose to put a car in it. If anyone wants to read that as inspirational, they can be my guest, but I certainly cannot view it that way.

Let me be clear: I realize this is all hypocritical. There literally is no ethical consumption in our society. Every product I’ve ever bought is made by a company that undoubtedly has exploited workers and bad policies somewhere. It’s just the society we live in. I can’t just look at and appreciate the fun stunt while ignoring the realities of the companies involved. That’s what those companies want you to do, that’s why stuff like this happens. Just like Dodge using a MLK speech to sell trucks, in a misguided attempt to connect his legacy to their brand. I don’t think putting a Tesla in a rocket and sending to space is on that level of ridiculousness, but it’s approaching my actual problem with this stunt, as I’ll call it.

I fear that I actually am not making myself clear. I don’t know exactly how to articulate my feelings here, and there are a lot of separate (although connected) issues at play, which makes it even more difficult to do so.

I don’t hate SpaceX. Contrary to what it may seem from this thread, I don’t hate Elon Musk. I just find it impossible to separate the awesome accomplishment of this launch with the gross feeling I get in my gut when I see that fucking picture of the Tesla in front of Earth. It makes Tesla the focus, and it doesn’t need to be there, and it bugs me that it is there, and it bugs me even more that someone can see it and think “Cool, a car in space!” rather than “But why?” Being in space on its own is worthy of attention, we don’t need to put a Tesla there to make it inspiring.

Again, contrary to what this thread would make it seem, I don’t fault anyone for being excited about this with no caveat. It’s exciting! I just can’t ignore the other side of it in the name of having fun.