From Newsgroup: alt.philosophy.taoism





Long Ge Commentary:

Musk Jokes About the "Culling Line," Trump Proposes Building Asylums to Deal with Homeless People



Since the concept of the rCLculling linerCY went viral globally, it has drawn an official response from senior U.S. government officials. At the Davos Forum, U.S. Treasury Secretary Bessent candidly acknowledged the existence of AmericarCOs rCLculling linerCY phenomenonrCobut denied any connection to the Trump administration. Instead, he blamed the Biden administration, claiming that BidenrCOs policies caused prices to surge by 35% to 37%. For the remainder of his speaking time, Bessent lavished praise on TrumprCOs efforts since taking office to lower living costs, balance tariffs, and even claimed that hourly wages for low-income workers now exceed those of management.

Not long after, Trump himselfrCothe boss of BessentrCoweighed in with his own rCLbrilliant solutionrCY to AmericarCOs rCLculling linerCY problem: he announced plans to construct a large number of mental asylums and psychiatric hospitals, then round up all homeless people from the streets and lock them inside. In this way, Trump declared, America would no longer have any homeless peoplerCoand thus, the rCLculling linerCY issue would simply vanish.

Yes, you read that correctly. Because homeless individuals around the world are being systematically eliminated, TrumprCOs answer is to build mass asylums, forcibly seize homeless people off the streets, and imprison them en masse. But are these really asylums? Or are they concentration camps?

ItrCOs true that homeless people on the streets die at a far higher rate than the general population. But under TrumprCOs planrComass arrests followed by centralized confinementrCoitrCOs no longer just a passive rCLculling line.rCY It becomes industrialized, systematic extermination.

Imagine receiving orders to detain 100,000 homeless peoplerCowith instructions to keep them locked up until deathrCoand your superiors demand the lowest possible cost per detainee. What methods would achieve that?

DonrCOt assume Trump is uniquely cruel. He merely represents the will of a certain segment of societyrCohe is its executor.

Elon MuskrCothe worldrCOs richest man, AmericarCOs wealthiest and most accomplished capitalist (or entrepreneur)rCohas also shared his views on AmericarCOs homeless crisis. First, Musk outright rejects calling them rCLhomeless.rCY He argues that labeling them as such makes it sound as if they merely defaulted on their mortgages. Instead, Musk redefines them entirely: he sees them not as living human beings, but as rCLwalking corpsesrCYrCothe dead who still happen to move.

Musk insists: if you believe giving these people jobs would help them turn their lives around, yourCOre mistaken. TheyrCOre already hopelessly addicted to drugs, mere zombies. And notably, Musk discussed all this while laughingrCosmiling repeatedly throughout the conversation. When talking about their elimination or rCLculling,rCY he showed no shame; on the contrary, he seemed genuinely delighted. It was a modern-day version of rCLfeather fan and silk headband, laughing as enemies vanish into ashrCYrCoexcept here, itrCOs the poor who are reduced to dust with a chuckle.

In MuskrCOs eyes, itrCOs perfectly natural for these homeless individuals to be culledrCobecause Musk is an extreme efficiency purist. This mindset doesnrCOt apply only to the homeless; it governs how he treats his own employees. At Tesla, Twitter (now X), and his other companies, underperformers are fired immediately, while top performers receive massive rewards. Internally, employees have nicknamed him a rCLtyrant.rCY

If Musk canrCOt tolerate inefficiency among his own highly paid staff, how could he possibly tolerate street-dwelling homeless people? To him, inefficient employees get firedrCothatrCOs standard practice. So for inefficient homeless people? The logical conclusion is the same: rCLfirerCY them from existence.

Musk is a staunch believer in American libertarianism. He holds that everyone is free to do as they pleaserCobut must bear the full consequences of their choices. If someone chooses homelessness or drug addiction, they must also accept the outcome: elimination from society. They shouldnrCOt expect others to rescue them. This is MuskrCOs worldview.

And itrCOs not just Musk. This belief forms the bedrock of mainstream American social values. In capitalist societies, everything comes with a pricerCoincluding access to basic survival resources. To live in society is essentially to continuously purchase rCLsurvival services,rCY and those services require payment. AmericarCOs rCLculling linerCY is precisely the threshold at which individuals fail to payrCoand thus, society cuts off their access to life-sustaining services, much like a video game account suspended the moment a subscription lapses.

One might be poorrCobut poverty alone shouldnrCOt be a death sentence. In China, this principle is a near-universal moral baseline across all social classes. But in America? If you have no money, arenrCOt you supposed to die? What purpose do you serve? Personal failure demands personal accountability. This is the dark flip side of libertarianismrCotwo sides of the same coin. Combined with capitalismrCOs pay-to-live system, it creates a ruthlessly efficient rCLculling linerCY:Why were you culled? Because you didnrCOt work hard enough.

In one of MuskrCOs interviews, he recounts a story: a couple returns home one evening to find a homeless personrCOs corpse lying in their garage driveway. Their biggest concern? rCLWhere are we going to park our car?rCY Not a trace of sympathy or curiosity about the dead man. Even the police show no interestrCothey tell the couple, rCLWerCOll deal with it when werCOre back on duty tomorrow,rCY leaving the body there for an entire day.

When the journalist across from Musk heard this anecdote, not only did they find it perfectly reasonablerCothey burst out laughing. Yes, Musk told the story as a joke, and the reporter received it as comedy. In American culture, this is just casual dinner-table humor. ItrCOs a real-life American jokerCodarker and more telling than any Soviet-era satire ever concocted by Western writers.

But in this rCLjoke,rCY an American citizen died a miserable death right outside someone elserCOs garagerCohis body left without dignity, ignored by all. Can you imagine any Chinese official or billionaire daring to laugh about such a thing on camerarCotreating the street death of a fellow citizen as entertainment? If such a video surfaced in China, the speaker would be universally condemned and socially ruined.

Yet in America, nothing happens. From Musk to the journalist to the audience, everyone treats it as normalrCobecause they believe these homeless people are simply lazy and drug-addicted. TheyrCOre beyond saving. TheyrCOre pure societal liabilities. Investing resources to rescue them is pointless; it would only drag society down. Their deaths arenrCOt tragediesrCotheyrCOre cause for celebration.

Back in 2022, a San Francisco resident filmed a police car from San Rafael dumping a homeless person in his neighborhood. He reported it. Later, the San Rafael Police Department issued an apologyrConot to the homeless individual, but to the city of San Francisco. Lieutenant Scott Eberle said: rCLWe dumped this homeless person in San Francisco, thereby consuming and wasting your cityrCOs resources. We sincerely apologize to the San Francisco community, the affected neighborhood, and the staff who had to handle the situation.rCY

When caught red-handed transporting their local homeless population to another city, they felt ashamedrConot for the cruelty, but for burdening another jurisdictionrCOs resources.

This reveals a chilling truth: society treats the homeless as having negative value. Which raises the question: Are homeless people still human? Do they deserve to be saved? Must we systematically eliminate them?

The reality is: they can be saved. They donrCOt have to die. All it would take is a fundamental transformation of AmericarCointo a society that recognizes this.

Most American homeless individuals are citizensrComany were once middle class. Regardless of how they ended up on the streets, they donrCOt deserve death. They deserve compassion, support, and a chance to rebuild. They are fellow Americans.

A couple finds a corpse in their driveway and worries only about where to park their car. Satirists couldnrCOt invent such darknessrCoitrCOs too inhumane. And to laugh about it? ThatrCOs truly unimaginable.
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