Marko Elez, what a shocker!

Nothing good can come of a social climate that forces people to keep their opinions hidden

I didn’t really want to know anything about Marko Elez. Obviously Elon Musk has staff, who obviously do his bidding. What more is there to understand?

But The Guardian thought I should know more, why else would it have published “Elon Musk reinstates ‘Doge’ worker linked to openly racist social media account”, on 7 February? Fool that I am, I read it.

Musk has been allowing Elez, a 25-year-old US software engineer with a surname that sounds Croatian/Balkan, to rummage around in US government computer systems on his behalf.

Elez used to have a Twitter/X account on which he had posted supposedly racist comments. There was a court case about Elez’ access to the US government records, which the government won, but shortly after that Elez resigned. Musk has stated that he will be reinstated.

Apparently the X account is now deleted, but “luckily” The Guardian can still offer us a sprinkling of “racist” comments from it. I was particularly struck by the comment that: “You could not pay me to marry outside of my ethnicity.”

Obviously “ethnicity” could turn out to be a tricky word, so let’s look it up in the dictionary: it means “racial status or distinctiveness”. This refers back to “ethnic”, defined as “relating to or having a common race or cultural tradition”.

I reckon I am fairly good at spotting prejudiced comments (for some reason “stupid and white” comes to mind), but having turned Elez’ remark over and over in my mind I cannot see it as anything more than a strongly-held personal preference.

Nothing derogatory is said against any ethnicity, and no ethnicities are specifically mentioned. Elez expresses an allegiance to his own ethnicity – which is hard to see as a bad thing in itself – but does not say what that ethnicity is. When you think about it, the only reason for wanting to know what his ethnicity is would be so that you could judge him generically on the basis of it. And that definitely would be prejudicial.

Also, in this statement no individuals or groups are criticised by Elez, or even mentioned.

If Elez’ statement is racist, what would be the parallel PC statement that would be permissible? To apropos of nothing declare yourself as willing to accept a partner from any ethnicity? PC objectors to the statement would be wanting what? A guarantee that you were available to them irrespective of their ethnicity? To me that sounds kind of incelly. Where would be the free personal choice in the matter?

Let’s try a little thought experiment. Someone who knows that they only want a partner from their own ethnicity, or at least entertains that idea, keeps their opinions to themselves but partners with someone from their own ethnicity. Does that attract any criticism? No, of course not. Possibly half the people in the world have done that. It is commonplace.

However, if you behave in exactly the same way, but preface what you do with a statement explaining what you are doing, then you have done something bad and you are a racist. Certainly as far as The Guardian and at least some of its readers are concerned.

Now the distinction can be clearly seen. If you do the thing but don’t talk about it then you won’t be criticised. But if you talk about it before you do it then you will be punished, because you might influence others. Clearly this is an attempt to control speech. And controlling speech is an attempt to control thought and consequent behaviour.

Opinions never hurt anyone, I want to say, but that would be downright callous, not to mention factually inaccurate. Even so, a ban on the expression of opinion certainly hurts us all. As does a chilling social climate that pressures or forces people to keep their opinions hidden. Nothing good can come of that.