A businesswoman on LinkedIn expressed her disgust at Elon Musk’s Nazi salute. Musk’s defenders immediately and predictably jumped in, warning her to stay silent lest her business suffers AND gaslighting her with claims that she misinterpreted what was clearly seen.
This isn’t new—it’s a pattern. Dismiss, deflect, and then make those who call it out question their reality. This playbook is designed to exhaust and disorient, but there’s a way to fight back. Grey rocking is a strategy where you intentionally remain emotionally unresponsive and uninterested in taking the bait. Disengaging emotionally and refusing to feed their narrative is one of the most effective tools we have. It allows us to hold our ground without being drawn into a back-and-forth game of justification.
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In an age where misinformation and manipulation often thrive unchecked, staying grounded in the truth has never been more important.
We saw what we saw. It was what it was. And Musk, for his part, seems to think it’s funny.
To be clear, Musk has not issued a formal denouncement of Nazis, nor has he specifically denied the interpretation of his gesture as a Nazi salute. His responses have primarily focused on criticizing the accusations and making light of the situation through humor.
In response to the condemnation of his Nazi salute, Musk issued a non-denial/denial stating on X, "The 'everyone is Hitler' attack is sooo tired."
Again, he did not bother to explicitly deny that the gesture was a Nazi salute but criticized the accusations as politicized attacks. Subsequently, Musk posted a series of puns referencing Nazi figures, condemned as "inappropriate" and "highly offensive." by the ADL.
The ADL had initially tried to give him Musk a graceful out, suggesting perhaps he had done it accidentally. However, after Musk's subsequent comments and jokes, even the ADL criticized his behavior, emphasizing the seriousness of invoking Nazi references.
So yes, it is time to hone our grey rock skills.
Grey rocking means disengaging emotionally, refusing to feed the narrative, and standing firm in the truth without being baited into a losing battle. We don’t have to argue or convince anyone who is determined to distort what is plainly visible.
We saw what we saw. It was what it was. It means what it means.
Instead of feeding the cycle, we can redirect our energy to holding Musk - and others like him - accountable. His behavior isn’t a joke, and the implications aren’t trivial. By staying grounded in the truth, we ensure that these moments are not memory-holed but remain part of a larger, necessary conversation about responsibility, power, and the cost of normalizing hate.
Wide Awake America with Nadine Smith is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.
I guess you missed my response on BlueSky. There is only one response we need to make, because what he meant is not up for debate. "The Fourteen Words" he spoke just before he gave the Nazi salute makes it very clear what he meant, as those words "We must secure the existence of our people and a future for white children," have long "served as a rallying cry for militant white nationalists internationally."
Thanks for this. I have been engaging in pushback against some of the anti-DEI crowd that seems to be emboldened on Linked In - getting a lot of similar warnings not to be “so political.” At first people just seemed uninformed, but then it became clear many of them don’t WANT to be informed. They’ve adopted a false idea of what DEI is (one that doesn’t require them to question their own biases) and they don’t want to acknowledge that DEI is not only ethical and in line with American values, it is actually a competitive benefit to companies. Yeah, I’m job hunting, but I can’t stay totally silent; I see what I see and I know what I know. If somebody is going to not hire me bc I mention facts, well I guess we won’t work together. Thanks for explaining grey-rocking. Love your posts.
I guess you missed my response on BlueSky. There is only one response we need to make, because what he meant is not up for debate. "The Fourteen Words" he spoke just before he gave the Nazi salute makes it very clear what he meant, as those words "We must secure the existence of our people and a future for white children," have long "served as a rallying cry for militant white nationalists internationally."
"The Fourteen Words"
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fourteen_Words
Thanks for this. I have been engaging in pushback against some of the anti-DEI crowd that seems to be emboldened on Linked In - getting a lot of similar warnings not to be “so political.” At first people just seemed uninformed, but then it became clear many of them don’t WANT to be informed. They’ve adopted a false idea of what DEI is (one that doesn’t require them to question their own biases) and they don’t want to acknowledge that DEI is not only ethical and in line with American values, it is actually a competitive benefit to companies. Yeah, I’m job hunting, but I can’t stay totally silent; I see what I see and I know what I know. If somebody is going to not hire me bc I mention facts, well I guess we won’t work together. Thanks for explaining grey-rocking. Love your posts.