My dad, Frank, was a good and loving man. Yet, for much of my upbringing, he harbored deep-seated racist and anti-Semitic beliefs. This was perplexing, considering he was married to my mother, a Black woman. Despite their happy marriage, Frank owned a copy of Hitler’s Mein Kampf and would often quote it during his tirades against Jewish people.
Frank’s animosity wasn’t limited to Jews; at times, it extended to Black and Asian folks as well. It was a bewildering contradiction—his love for my mother juxtaposed with his hateful rhetoric. My mom, Maryellen, tirelessly tried to help Frank see the misplacement of his anger and hatred, but he persisted in his derogatory outbursts toward whichever group he was upset with that week.
In the 1970s and early 1980s, Frank’s disdain for Jews was particularly intense. The slurs he used at home were so vile they could make water boil. This was the reality I witnessed growing up. When I confronted him about his hatred, Frank would deny it, insisting that I was misinterpreting his words.
Huh?
Gaslighters in Charge
In today’s media landscape, spin doctors often attempt to convince us that what we’re witnessing isn’t what we think it is. We see them every day and night on CNN and Fox News. Chewing up the scenery, gaslighting us that we aren’t seeing what our eyes are witnessing.
Remember the “Unite the Right” rally in Charlottesville, Virginia? It was a horrifying sight as White torch-bearing nationalists chanted “Jews will not replace us,” a phrase steeped in antisemitic conspiracy theories. The rally turned deadly when a neo-Nazi drove his car into a crowd of counter-protesters, killing Heather Heyer and injuring many others.
But according to the Fox News to then-President Trump, that’s not what we saw. In response to the violence, Trump stated, “You also had people that were very fine people, on both sides.”
Again, what?
Some defenders argued that Trump’s comments were taken out of context, but the impact of his words was undeniable.
Fast forward to January 6, 2021, when, I watched in shock from my Hollywood apartment, hundreds of Trump supporters violently storm the U.S. Capitol. To me, it was an insurrection. The news called it an “Insurrection.” Yet, Trump would later describe that day as one of “love” and “peace.” While it’s unsurprising for Trump to make such claims, what’s troubling is the number of people who believe him. He even issued blanket pardons to many of the insurrectionists, referring to them as “hostages.”
To be clear, those who stormed the Capitol and threatened the lives of elected officials belong behind bars.
From Musk ‘Til Dawn
Now, we have Elon Musk. The SpaceX and Tesla CEO appeared onstage at President Donald Trump’s inauguration rally and made a gesture that many interpreted as a Nazi salute—not once, but twice. I didn’t need the media to compare his actions to Adolf Hitler. I am well-versed in the salute. I can say Musk’s movement was so emphatic and reminiscent of that notorious gesture that it was hard not to think: Wow, that tech billionaire just did a Nazi salute… twice!
Musk’s defenders point out that he said, “My heart goes out to you!” suggesting he was strangely expressing sentiment. However, he said this after the salute, and in the context of his speech, the line doesn’t quite fit. “This one really mattered,” Musk said of the election. “I just want to say thank you for making it happen. Thank you!” [The salute and a pause.] “My heart goes out to you! It is thanks to you that the future of civilization is assured.”
Elon, unsurprisingly, brushed off the controversy. “Frankly, they need better dirty tricks,” he wrote on X, dismissing the uproar. “The ‘everyone is Hitler’ attack is sooo tired.” Musk’s penchant for making odd gestures onstage is well-documented, and even the Anti-Defamation League (ADL) stepped in to defend him. “It seems that @elonmusk made an awkward gesture in a moment of enthusiasm, not a Nazi salute,” the ADL noted. “But again, we appreciate that people are on edge. In this moment, all sides should give one another a bit of grace.”
Now, we have a debate swirling around whether what we saw is what we actually saw.
For those who view Trump as a fascist figure, Musk’s actions might look deliberate, especially in light of recent context. Musk has publicly supported far-right political parties in Germany, Italy, and the U.K., including Germany’s AfD, which has faced accusations of using Nazi-inspired rhetoric.
Under Musk’s leadership, Twitter (now X) has reportedly become a breeding ground for an alarming rise in racist and antisemitic content. Against this backdrop, it’s easy to see why some interpret Musk’s gesture as intentional—particularly when performed at a rally for a politician with a sizable extremist following. Given these factors, one might expect Musk to be extra cautious about any moves that could resemble Third Reich symbolism.
On the flip side, if you’re part of the MAGA crowd, you probably see this as another overreaction by critics eager to pile onto Musk. After all, the media’s track record of anti-Trump bias, coupled with years of “Hitler” accusations, might make this appear like another instance of sensationalism.
Ultimately, much of this debate centers on Musk’s intentions—something we can’t definitively know. But perhaps his intentions aren’t the point. I was taught in college in one of my Communications courses that the responsibility for clarity lies with the source, not the audience. Even if Musk meant no harm, the fact remains that his gesture wasn’t interpreted as benign by many. That ambiguity, compounded by his refusal to unequivocally clarify his actions, leaves room for extremist interpretations.
Like, If I’m teaching a screenwriting class and emphatically grab my crotch at the class, many will be offended and probably complain to the school. And I’ll be fired. It doesn’t matter if I didn’t intend that.
Thankfully, my dad eventually let go of his hate. He threw out Mein Kampf and became a man who adored his Jewish granddaughters. Time, love, and exposure to a different way of thinking helped him see that his prejudices had been not only harmful but absurd.
What I saw from Frank back then was real, even when he denied it. It was hurtful, even when he didn’t mean it to be. And ultimately, it was something he had to confront and change to become better.
Time will tell what we just saw from Musk and how it will be remembered. But as a society, we can’t afford to let moments like this pass unexamined. Sometimes, what we see is exactly what we see.
And when what we see carries the weight of history, we owe it to ourselves—and to future generations—to confront it head-on.
Colin Costello is the West Coast Editor of Reel 360. Contact him at colin@reel360.com or follow him on Twitter at @colinthewriter1
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