Boy, I Hope I Don’t Get Sued
You Get What You Get In Life
No matter our level of intelligence, we all do dumb things once in a while. No one makes the smart, rational choice every time. Making a mistake or saying something wrong on occasion is not necessarily a sign of stupidity. Sometimes, smart people do stupid things. It is simply a sign of being human. None of us are perfect.
This means it is difficult to accurately assess another person’s true levels of intelligence and competence. Most of our judgments are made on very small sample sizes. Sometimes those judgments are wrong or unfair. I guess we have to arrive at the best decisions we can, based on what we know and learn, and hope for the best.
It is very easy to take potshots at famous people for behaving badly and doing stupid things. I know I could not handle my private life being in the public domain, with photographers following me everywhere, and my screwups and wrong-headed blatherings splashed all over the news and the internet. However, it can be said, that is part of the deal when seeking fame and fortune.
So, with that rather ramble-y preamble out of the way, I’m going to take a few potshots at a couple of famous people for behaving badly and doing stupid things. Hope I don’t get sued.
Let’s start with NFL quarterback, Aaron Rodgers. He apparently has an ongoing beef with late night talk show host, Jimmy Kimmel. Recently, Rodgers intimated that Kimmel was somehow linked to infamous sex trafficker, Jeffrey Epstein. In response, Kimmel delivered a scathing takedown of Rodgers, suggesting, among other things, that Aaron suffers from something called “The Dunning–Kruger Effect”. According to Wikipedia, this “is a cognitive bias in which people with limited competence in a particular domain overestimate their abilities.” I have never heard of this, but based on what is publicly known about Rodgers, it sounds about right.
In my opinion, Aaron Rodgers is one of those guys who believes, because he has been successful in one field, he is naturally superior in other fields, too. Because he’s good at football, he apparently believes he knows more science than the scientists. By scanning the internet, listening to podcasts, and watching YouTube videos, he believes he has the perspicacity to recognize the vast conspiracies determined to cause the elimination of our freedoms as Americans.
In December 2023, he encouraged speculation that he was going to come back to play for the New York Jets less than four months after rupturing his Achilles tendon in September, when a complete recovery from such a devastating injury generally takes 9-12 months for an NFL player. But, being the great Aaron Rodgers, super genius, he wanted everyone to believe his giant brain and superhuman powers of healing would not be bound by the same constraints as mere mortals. He began making noises about returning to the lineup before the season was over. It was all bullshit, of course. He did not come back, and did not lead the Jets to the playoffs. People thought he might, though, so presumably he was happy.
When I waste my precious brain cells thinking about Aaron Rodgers, I see him as an anti-vax, blowhard, conspiracy theorist who is desperate to be noticed for his self-identified superior intellect, and who just might have a slipping grip on reality. I suppose amongst the MAGAs he probably is made to feel like the super genius he believes he is.
Heck, for all I know, he might be a pretty bright guy (although I seriously doubt it). However, I would not take medical or scientific or any other kind of advice from an NFL quarterback, except for, perhaps, advice on the footwork required to complete a screen pass.
I especially would not listen to this particular science-denying NFL quarterback. Why? Well, for me, Rodgers checks a lot of boxes. Narcissistic? Check. Addlebrained? Check. Liar? Check. Anyone who has read my stuff knows how I feel about narcissistic, addlebrained liars.
I don’t know a lot about Elon Musk. But, there are a few things I do know. I know he is very wealthy. I know he used to talk about a harebrained scheme to colonize Mars. I know in November 2023, he re-posted an antisemitic tweet with the comment, “You have said the actual truth.” (He subsequently apologized.) I know he recently endorsed a tweet suggesting black students at Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) have lower IQs and shouldn't become pilots. I know there are people who agree with him. I know he will have difficulty explaining away such blatant racism.
I know he is the co-founder and chief executive of Tesla. I know he claimed in 2016 that Teslas could “drive autonomously with greater safety than a person. Right now.” I know that quote about his self-driving cars was either a lie or a mistake. I know that here in 2024, Teslas are still not capable of full self-driving without human supervision. I know he made a great deal of money from the lie, or mistake, as the stock price of Tesla skyrocketed after his 2016 pronouncement.
I know that sometimes Elon Musk has no idea what he is talking about. Want a specific example? He recently tweeted, “Arizona clearly states that no proof of citizenship is required for federal elections”, insinuating to his 168.9 million Twitter followers that Arizona voter rolls are full of non-citizens destroying the integrity of any federal elections in the state. He is absolutely right about Arizona not requiring proof of citizenship to vote in federal elections. But, guess what? No state does! The Supreme Court of the United States ruled it illegal by a 7-2 vote in 2013! Federal law says that potential voters only need to certify, under penalty of perjury, that they are citizens. Arizona has procedures and safeguards in place to ferret out non-eligible voters, such as separate ballots for voters lacking citizenship proof, and cross-checking government records with available data. I would guess the other states have safeguards, too. However, there can be no requirement for voters to show proof of citizenship to cast a vote in a federal election. Because it would be illegal. In every state in the union.
Laurie Roberts of The Arizona Republic wrote a very informative article about this in January 2024, after Elon’s tweet.
And, by the way, as Roberts mentioned in her article, 49 of the 50 states do not even require proof of citizenship for their state elections. Care to guess which state does require proof of citizenship for state elections? Why, it’s the Grand Canyon State, Elon, you silly goose! That is something he could have learned if he had ordered one of his minions to do even a minimal bit of research on the Google.
Instead, he tweeted out of his ass on a subject he knew nothing about.
Perhaps Elon Musk is, in fact, brilliant. I am suspicious, though, of someone who presents himself as smarter than everyone else, thus having all the answers. He might have all the answers about becoming the richest man on Earth, but that’s of little meaning to most of humanity. To me, he’s just another self-serving, attention-seeking, super-rich, racist white guy with a messiah complex.
So.
Do I feel good about blasting two men who are far above me in just about every measurable way? Yeah, I do, actually. I think it is important to point out that having wealth and fame is not a reliable indicator of being a good person. Or a genius. Or a person worthy of respect and adulation.
It is not my intent to offend fans of these two individuals. Reasonable people can disagree with the stuff I write. But, as the old saying goes, “I calls ‘em as I sees ‘em.”
You get what you get in life. And, it ain’t always fair. There is often no reward for being a good person, and no penalty for being an asshole.
There are many people in the world who are intelligent, decent human beings, who are worthy of respect. And, there are many people in the world who are ignorant jerks. Look around at our society and see all the proof you could ever need that intelligence, decency, humility, and honesty are not requirements for power, wealth, influence, and fame.
Unfortunately.