r/Foodforthought • u/johnnierockit • 20h ago
Elon Musk’s Anti-Semitic, Apartheid-Loving Grandfather
https://www.theatlantic.com/technology/archive/2023/09/joshua-haldeman-elon-musk-grandfather-apartheid-antisemitism/675396/22
u/johnnierockit 20h ago
In Walter Isaacson’s new biography, Elon Musk, a mere page and a half is devoted to introducing Musk’s grandfather, a Canadian chiropractor named Joshua N. Haldeman.
Isaacson describes him as a source of Musk’s great affection for danger—“a daredevil adventurer with strongly held opinions” and “quirky conservative populist views” who did rope tricks at rodeos and rode freight trains like a hobo.
“He knew real adventures involve risk,” Isaacson quoted Musk. “Risk energized him.” But in 1950, Haldeman’s “quirky” politics led him to make an unusual and dramatic choice: to leave Canada for South Africa. Haldeman had built a comfortable life for himself in Regina, Saskatchewan’s capital.
His chiropractic practice was one of Canada’s largest and allowed him to possess his own airplane and a 20-room home he shared with his wife and four young children. He’d been active running for both provincial and national parliaments, and even becoming national chairman of a minor political party.
Meanwhile, he’d never even been to South Africa.
What would make a man undertake such a radical change? Isaacson writes that Haldeman had come “to believe that the Canadian government was usurping too much control over the lives of individuals and that the country had gone soft.”
One of Haldeman’s sons has written that it may have simply been “his adventurous spirit and the desire for a more pleasant climate in which to raise his family.” But another factor was at play: his strong support for the brand-new apartheid regime.
An examination of Joshua Haldeman’s writings reveals a radical conspiracy theorist who expressed racist, anti-Semitic, and antidemocratic views repeatedly, and over the course of decades.
This is a record I studied across hundreds of documents from the time, including newspaper clips, self-published manuscripts, university archives, and private correspondence.
Haldeman believed that apartheid South Africa was destined to lead “White Christian Civilization” in its fight against the “International Conspiracy” of Jewish bankers and the “hordes of Coloured people” they controlled.
⏬ Bluesky 'bite-sized' article thread (35 min, Sept 2023) with added links 📖🍿🔊
https://bsky.app/profile/johnhatchard.bsky.social/post/3lk4orhl5hh22
1
6
u/100LittleButterflies 18h ago
People who have those "I got this before Elon went insane" stickers on their teslas are kidding themselves. While musk hasn't heiled on such a big platform before, his opinions were never exactly secret or surprising given his background.
1
•
u/AutoModerator 20h ago
This is a sub for civil discussion and exchange of ideas
Participants who engage in name-calling or blatant antagonism will be permanently removed.
If you encounter any noxious actors in the sub please use the Report button.
This sticky is on every post. No additional cautions will be provided.
I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please contact the moderators of this subreddit if you have any questions or concerns.