Published Oct. 31, 2023

I’m not going to call Elon Musk the devil. He’s closer to being the person who runs into the store to buy the devil some cigarettes.

But he’s dangerous.

I won’t waste your time going into why he’s so obsessed with transgender people, but it’s hard for me to believe he’s this ignorant about the term “cis” or “cisgender.” It has nothing to do with sexuality. I think even some of the most uninformed people who oppose trans rights or queer rights know cis is not about sexuality.

But I’ll cite my sources just in case someone who doesn’t know finds this blog post. Here’s a simple explanation from the Trans Journalists Association.

Healthline has an informative discussion of “cis” being about gender and not sexuality.

The biologist who coined the term goes into detail in this February 2023 column. Some key passages:

I never believed that adding the word to the lexicon caused problems ― it only revealed them. Whatever the fate of the word, I feel compelled to speak out against the idea that it is hateful.”

I am disheartened that a term I only intended to improve the precision of the English language may have become a divisive tool in today’s toxic landscape of exclusion and violence. But language abhors a vacuum. I do not lay claim to coining the term cisgender as an inventive act as much as an outcome of the inevitable evolution of a living vocabulary. I am convinced the word cisgender was needed, even if the emotion and fear it evokes for some may overshadow its potential to advance understanding.”

History is full of examples of how quickly society can pivot against a minority group, sometimes with devastating consequences. I would like to think that understanding will change the climate for trans people. But the stamina of racism, Jim Crow, and misogyny makes me realize that hate has the power to endure.”

Musk’s post on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter and now his microphone to the world, had been viewed 34.9 million times in the 11 hours between its posting and when I took a screenshot of it. That’s a long reach. He has enormous influence, even after the many public examples of his … what? I’m not sure what to call what he does. I’m not sure anyone is as incompetent and ignorant as this person’s persona in acting out has been the past couple of years.

And who does that remind me of most? I’ll bet you can figure that one out. He’s still a threat, still dangerous, and still a puzzle to me in some ways. But I am certain he, too, does not believe much of what he says. He says it for his audience, for an intended effect and outcome. I am inclined to think much of Musk’s ranting is the same, but I have not been paying attention to him for decades, reading hundreds of stories about his past, like I have done with the other guy.

Laugh at him, mock him if you’re so inclined, but don’t dismiss him or underestimate him. He has the power to do great harm. He already has.

He is dangerous.

Devil silhouette by arda savasciogullari via Shutterstock.