What’s Elon Musk Got To Do With Riots in Britain? Nothing, but Starmer Needs a Scapegoat

Monkey see, monkey do? Just as Democrats seek to cast Donald Trump as a bigot for calling out Kamala Harris for playing the race card, the new leftist prime minister of Great Britain, Keir Starmer, is shifting the blame for an eruption of violence over the public’s exasperation with the migrant crisis on to anyone’s shoulders but his own. Now in his sights is the American billionaire and high-tech entrepreneur Elon Musk.Mr. Musk commented on the social media network he owns, X, that in the wake of the ongoing violent protest “civil war is inevitable” in Britain. He paired that remark with a video of rioters lobbing firecrackers at police officers. A representative for the prime minister then stated that there “is no justification for comments like that” and “anyone who is whipping up violence online will face the full force of the law.”Was Mr. Musk’s opinion, while arguably glib, really “whipping up” violence in the streets of Britain? Does it mean he could now face prosecution at the Old Bailey? In any case, the Tesla tycoon is not one to be easily cowed — after Mr. Starmer stated that “we will not tolerate attacks on mosques or on Muslim communities” Mr. Musk countered with “Shouldn’t you be concerned about attacks on all communities?”Elon Musk at Berlin on December 1, 2020. Hannibal Hanschke/pool via AP, FfileBritain has been wracked by several days of urban violence triggered by the murder of three young girls who were attending a Taylor Swift-themed dance class on July 29. The alleged perpetrator of the knife attack, a 17-year-old black teenager named as Axel Rudakubana, whose parents immigrated to Britain from Rwanda, was apprehended and is reportedly now in police custody.Social media has played a part, albeit not the only part, in the ensuing violent protests at London, Manchester, Hartlepool, Rotherham, South Yorkshire, Middlesbrough, Sunderland, and elsewhere. Long-simmering tensions over the mounting cost to the public of asylum-seekers, many thousands of whom arrived in Britain illegally aboard small boats that set off from France, have boiled over. Much of the public feels unfairly burdened by the cost.Considerable rage has been directed against police stationed outside hotels that are hosting asylum seekers. Some of the asylum seekers presumably come from Muslim-majority countries. A noteworthy figure from the far right has also reportedly been stirring violence; he is 41-year-old Tommy Robinson, founder of the anti-immigration English Defense League. The EDL has been inactive since 2018, but Mr. Robinson is still an influential figure. Police officers face protesters at Rotherham, England, August 4, 2024. Danny Lawson/PA via APBritish police have said that the EDL was among the parties responsible for injuring more than 50 police officers in recent protests. Mr. Robinson, who has been imprisoned on four occasions, was for a time banned from X, formerly known as Twitter. However, Elon Musk in recent months again permitted him to use the platform, which he has apparently been doing while on holiday in Cyprus.It was enough for some to carp that “the resurgence of far right violence in the U.K. is partly due to Elon Musk’s decision to allow figures such as Tommy Robinson back on to the social media platform X.” Mr. Robinson has previously stated that “Islam is a fascist and violent religion.” He has stated that “we can bring people together and enter a new era in Europe where everyone will unite against the Islamization of our countries.”Yet on X, his statements have been more restrained: “British people are angry and betrayed by their government,” he wrote in one post, adding that “the media is lying to us” and “the safety of our children has been taken away from us.” According to the Times of London, Mr. Robinson departed Britain on July 28 and is “enjoying his holidays with his children while continuing to promote further protests this week.”Reform UK MPs, left to right, Lee Anderson, Nigel Farage, Richard Tice, and Rupert Lowe, arrive at the House of Commons, July 9, 2024. Maja Smiejkowska/PA via APWhile the new Labor government struggles to solve the problem of migrant hotels filling up across Britain, Mr. Robinson has proffered his own solution: “Mass deportations now,” he’s stated. In the meantime, former Brexiteer and current leader of Reform UK, Nigel Farage, has called for Parliament to be recalled.Mr. Farage’s hard-fought-for new seat in the House of Commons is still warm. So now his newfound nemesis Mr. Starmer has little choice but to lend him an ear — which he might just do once he takes a break from beating up on Mr. Musk.

What’s Elon Musk Got To Do With Riots in Britain? Nothing, but Starmer Needs a Scapegoat

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