Althouse: Elon Musk passes along this satire featuring the phrase "Grow a Pair."

February 13, 2025

Elon Musk passes along this satire featuring the phrase "Grow a Pair."

pic.twitter.com/UttRIsbq7S
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) February 13, 2025

The balls-focused discourse is undignified... quite intentionally.

In the workplace, I think this would be considered evidence of sexual harassment.

64 comments:

RCOCEAN II said...: Anyone who talked like that in Corporate America would get a call from HR, unless they were the CEO.; 2/13/25, 10:18 AM
RideSpaceMountain said...: "In the workplace, I think this would be considered evidence of sexual harassment."

Not if the workplace was 100% men, then your only problem would be too much time spent laughing in the break room instead of getting work done.; 2/13/25, 10:18 AM
RCOCEAN II said...: Of course, the news media is different. At CNN you can whip your dick out in a meeting and whack off in front of your female collegues, and everyone's cool with it. Different strokes...; 2/13/25, 10:20 AM
Kate said...: One minute is too long for this joke. At 20 seconds they'd landed it.; 2/13/25, 10:21 AM
n.n said...: A pair of breasts nurture our Posterity and are an iconic symbol of the feminine gender. The "big bang" originated in a pair of testicles, then progressed in a womb with an egg that evolved to become a female with breasts or a male with testicles. Grow a pair with loving.; 2/13/25, 10:21 AM
Enlighten-NewJersey said...: Reminds me of Saturday Night Live. Do they still do spoof commercials?; 2/13/25, 10:23 AM
Gusty Winds said...: They deserve to be mocked. We've been listening to liberal shrieking for decades. And all the while as US Citizens we were living a brainwashed lie. The liberal portion of the country susceptible to brainwashing needs to wake up and grow a pair.; 2/13/25, 10:24 AM
Mike (MJB Wolf) said...: If I was a stinking leftist I think "Libtard" would be more objectionable. Hell, you can say "Grow a pair!" on network TV without drawing FCC scowls.; 2/13/25, 10:27 AM
Peachy said...: "smaller man boobs" made me LOL.; 2/13/25, 10:28 AM
Peachy said...: "The devil hates to be mocked"

Lets keep it up - shall we?
The Corrupt Democratic Soviets have nothing but lies. Maddow tears and lies. As they ARE lying liars who lie. In lockstep - they all doubtfully supported Senile Burisma Crook Joe and his horrid money grubbing coke head family. Mocking will not stop.; 2/13/25, 10:30 AM
The Vault Dweller said...: I loathe the term "Adulting" and I am happy it was used derisively in this bit.; 2/13/25, 10:31 AM
Bob Boyd said...: Sorry for the off-topic question, but is anybody else having a hard time signing in to comment since the comment format changed again?
I have to go through a frustrating rigamarole that doesn't seem to be in any way consistent.
When I click the sign in button it usually takes me to a Blogger reading list page which shows I am already signed in. If I go to Althouse from there I am not signed in. If I click home at the bottom, sometimes I'll be signed in, but usually not. Sometimes it will take me to a sign in box, other times it won't. After going around and around enough times I find myself just magically signed in.
What am doing wrong?; 2/13/25, 10:33 AM
Iman said...: Breaking News… this just in:

DOGE is abolishing the IRS and GAO and will combine them into one new department.

Led by BIG Balls, the new agency is the Tax Evaluation And Bureau For Accountable Government… or TEABAG.; 2/13/25, 10:33 AM
Eva Marie said...: “ In the workplace, I think this would be considered evidence of sexual harassment. ”
Did she produce the video at her workplace? If she did, she should get back to work or get fired - not for sexual harassment but for not doing her job.; 2/13/25, 10:34 AM
The Vault Dweller said...: "RCOCEAN II said...
Anyone who talked like that in Corporate America would get a call from HR, unless they were the CEO."

People ought not have a cause of action against their employer because they are uncomfortable at hearing language in the workplace that isn't uncommon outside the workplace.; 2/13/25, 10:34 AM
Caroline said...: I would say balls-focused discourse has evolved: from run of the mill guy speak that dominated the male workplace— same guys who would never dream of talking smack in front of a lady — to run of the mill guy speak which it was supposed the Womyn would naturally embrace since they just want to be one of the guys, to…a Human Resources violation that requires mandatory sensitivity training…to F*@7 the eggshells! I have to put up with pussyhats!; 2/13/25, 10:35 AM
RideSpaceMountain said...: Your security settings might be set too high Bob, and also you need to allow cookies from blogger or reduce your cookie rejection settings. You can fine tune it by going to advance settings and specifically allowing cookies from althouse.blogspot.com.; 2/13/25, 10:37 AM
The Vault Dweller said...: @Bob Boyd said...
Sorry for the off-topic question, but is anybody else having a hard time signing in to comment since the comment format changed again?

I had some problems, and I had to make sure I specifically allow 3rd party cookies for this site. I use Chrome as a browser and I did this by going to the Althouse blog homepage and then clicking on the little eyeball icon that is on the right end of the url bar at the top of the browser window.; 2/13/25, 10:38 AM
Ann Althouse said...: "Libtard" — I remember back in 2016 when I schooled The New Yorker about its use of the phrase "Rush Limbaugh’s favorite epithet 'libtard.'" Not only wasn't that Rush Limbaugh’s favorite epithet, he didn't use the word at all.

https://althouse.blogspot.com/search?q=libtard+rush+limbaugh; 2/13/25, 10:39 AM
Jaq said...: LOL, good one! The left is getting tea bagged by Big Balls! As Bart would say, "The ironing is delicious!"; 2/13/25, 10:43 AM
Mike (MJB Wolf) said...: Bob Boyd I only had to sign in once after the change-back. However, because I have a Google account Google automatically signs me into any page in their family. It's free and relatively noninvasive to sign up to Google, probably because they hoover up all my web viewing anyway.

My TV runs on Google TV which would have seemed horrific years ago, but I have a lot of YouTube channels I like (automatically added!) and GTV gave me the whole range of channels I used to pay DirecTV for at about 1/4th the cost.; 2/13/25, 10:44 AM
rhhardin said...: Sexual Harassment was HR moving in to take over the company.; 2/13/25, 10:44 AM
The Vault Dweller said...: "Libtard" is overly mean and probably pushes more people away from the message than it attracts. This is a common mistake the Right makes where they say something at the level of a 7 or an 8 because they feel very strongly about it, but really they should say it at a level of a 4.; 2/13/25, 10:45 AM
Jaq said...: ""Libtard" is overly mean and probably pushes more people away from the message than it attracts."

It's been shown, not sure if it's been replicated, but it's been shown that calling a politician Hitler increases sympathy for him, due to the obvious unreasonableness of the charge, with only theoretical exceptions.; 2/13/25, 10:49 AM
Peachy said...: RFK Jr. - IN.
(prog Soviet Maddow/Sludge tabloid tears - yum!)
Now - lets get Fauci and the Chi-Com-Fauci Dog torture - shut it down.; 2/13/25, 10:49 AM
Gusty Winds said...: The Vault Dweller said..."Libtard" is overly mean and probably pushes more people away from the message than it attracts.

Libtards can call all MAGA voters Nazis, sexists, racists etc.. but we are supposed to be sensitive about calling them libtards??? Bullshit. Perhaps it doesn't change the minds of true libtards (who cares???) but those on the fence probably don't want to be associated with it.; 2/13/25, 10:52 AM
Wince said...: Notice the video starts with a close-up of AOC's face.

Maybe the video is payback for when the left called the Tea Party a bunch of "Tea Baggers"?; 2/13/25, 10:57 AM
mikee said...: Alinsky Rules, again. I for one note that Alinsky decided way back in the 1960s that he was an existentialist, and supported individuality. Select an individual, isolate them, ridicule them. Gains you nothing, really, but it damages the heck out of them. If this is the game we must play, in order to restore our politics to support of individual rights and liberties over collectivist, class based privileges, bring on the jokes, the jesters, and get on with the disrespect of the opposition.; 2/13/25, 10:59 AM
Gusty Winds said...: "Stupid is as stupid does" - For decades while the right knew the press was corrupt, and now it is being proven that the MSM was nothing more than government funded propaganda, Libtards held on to the the NYTs, WaPo, and all the rest as gospel. It was even worse during COVID when the "fact checker" bullshit emerged. They actually believed HCQ and Ivermectin were poison. The donned their masks as a virtue signal. And they stuck dangerous mRNA into children.

It's not my fault "highly educated" liberals swallowed the propaganda. And it's not my fault they acted holier than thou, and looked down their noses at everyone while they were, and still are, swallowing bullshit.

If the shoe fits, wear it. Even if you have a Phd.; 2/13/25, 11:02 AM
The Vault Dweller said...: Libtards can call all MAGA voters Nazis, sexists, racists etc.. but we are supposed to be sensitive about calling them libtards??? Bullshit.

I'm not trying to make a point about fairness just what the effect is. Lots of people, especially women, and people in the middle, don't want to be a part of the 'mean people' group. Using Libtard feels mean to many, and it absolutely affects people's leanings. This is why that one piece was ran that tried to call the young Trump supporters "The Cruel Kids." The authors of that perceived, accurately, that lots of people are swayed by that perception. The Left coming off as the cliquish mean girls is what has turned a lot of folks away from them. It doesn't mean mockery and ridicule aren't effective but if the Right employs it, it should feel more like The Miller's Tale rather than The Reeve's Tale form Canterbury Tales.; 2/13/25, 11:03 AM
David53 said...: In the workplace, is calling someone a "dick" considered evidence of sexual harassment?

Anderson Cooper wants to know.; 2/13/25, 11:06 AM
Mike (MJB Wolf) said...: Notice the video starts with a close-up of AOC's face.

The still photo caught my attention. I thought it was a beautiful brunette I didn't know yet. Then the disappointment set in immediately when I realized it was her. Her attractiveness is very surface level and knowing it's her vaporizes it for me. Instantly.; 2/13/25, 11:07 AM
Limited blogger said...: So much winning; 2/13/25, 11:08 AM
gilbar said...: RCOCEAN II said...
" Of course, the news media is different. At CNN you can whip your dick out in a meeting and whack off in front of your female collegues"..

and, of course; the Democrats in DC are different Too!
They can stage and film Gay Porn in Government Office rooms.. ON Government Office Desks..
And THAT, is JUST FINE. They have a LEGAL RIGHT to do it, and to film it (AND to sell the footage)..
Of course; they are Democrats, and the rules do NOT apply to them; 2/13/25, 11:14 AM
rhhardin said...: "Dick" evolved from "dickhead," which is from German dick = think, for stupid. It shares space with calling somebody a prick, which is more a nasty person; calling somebody a dick is a lower degree, maybe just some form of social stupidity.; 2/13/25, 11:16 AM
rhhardin said...: thick not think; 2/13/25, 11:16 AM
rehajm said...: Why try to draw some sort of equivalence to the workplace? This is politics. Politics is rough. Grow a pair…; 2/13/25, 11:23 AM
rehajm said...: I’m most disturbed their fake USAid recipients aren’t as bad as the real ones…; 2/13/25, 11:30 AM
Enigma said...: Why does this bring to mind Truck Nuts? Human body comments and jokes cannot be avoided by anyone with a human body.

"You wanna arrest me for hanging a chunk of plastic behind my car?"

Then, people put a pair of pool/fishing floats behind their trucks.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Truck_nuts; 2/13/25, 11:31 AM
Arashi said...: Just go look at the political cartoons from the 1860's if you want to be 'triggered'. As others have said, grow up. You are not in kindergarten or grade school anymore. The real world is harsh. Get used to it.; 2/13/25, 11:33 AM
Jupiter said...: "Notice the video starts with a close-up of AOC's face."
I was thinking, that maybe the problem AOC has with Musk is that she wants to date him, and he's not interested.; 2/13/25, 11:37 AM
Jersey Fled said...: “ Anyone who talked like that in Corporate America would get a call from HR, unless they were the CEO.”

Boy, I don’t know about that. I worked at the corporate headquarters for a Fortune 500 company for 15 years. The language there would make a sailor blush. I often said I spoke two languages; one for work and one for home.; 2/13/25, 11:39 AM
Jupiter said...: "Her attractiveness is very surface level and knowing it's her vaporizes it for me. Instantly."
Really? Seriously? Hell, a babe is a babe, and AOC is a babe. She's an attractive young woman, and it's just a shame she is such a mental case. But if I had wandered into her bar, back in the day, I'm sure I would have overtipped like a grinning idiot.; 2/13/25, 11:40 AM
Jupiter said...: "In the workplace, I think this would be considered evidence of sexual harassment."
It's not altogether clear, to me at least, what this exhibit is evidence of. It's clear Musk did not produce this artifact. Did he copy and embed it? Arguably, this posting is in the workplace. Musk is working for the President, and his public utterances must be considered in that light. But which sex is being harassed? The one with man-boobs?; 2/13/25, 11:46 AM
Skeptical Voter said...: Ma! They started it first! Ranting about Big Balls.; 2/13/25, 12:21 PM
Kirk Parker said...: Althouse, RCOCEAN,

It's not harassment if you're Tom Brady!

Jupiter,

YM obviously Vs, but to my mind AOC is indeed quite attractive right up until she opens her mouth and you see those donkey choppers. But that is nothing, nothing compared with the thought of spending any amount of time in company with her aggressive airheadedness.; 2/13/25, 12:39 PM
Rocco said...: “Notice the video starts with a close-up of AOC's face.”

Thus depriving Alex Stein of a butt shot.; 2/13/25, 1:14 PM
gilbar said...: Mike (MJB Wolf) said...
" The still photo caught my attention. I thought it was a beautiful brunette I didn't know yet"

The Facts Of The Matter Are:
* Sandy was hot enough in her youth to be a TV Actress (for BU)
* Sandy was hot enough to be a successful Barmaid
* Sandy was hot enough to win the casting call by Brand New Congress
* Sandy's ENTIRE career is based on her hotness; 2/13/25, 1:17 PM
Amexpat said...: The other day, for some reason, I imagined Trump at a news conference getting irritated at a whining reporter and saying:
"Grow a pair, upstairs or downstairs. I don't care where, just grow a pair".; 2/13/25, 1:42 PM
JIM said...: I remember when Obama used the term - "T bagging" to describe what he had done to his political opposition.; 2/13/25, 1:46 PM
wendybar said...: RideSpaceMountain said...
Your security settings might be set too high Bob, and also you need to allow cookies from blogger or reduce your cookie rejection settings. You can fine tune it by going to advance settings and specifically allowing cookies from althouse.blogspot.com.

That's exactly what I had to do. It worked.; 2/13/25, 1:58 PM
n.n said...: Great [Big] Balls of Fire; 2/13/25, 2:09 PM
Bruce Hayden said...: “When I click the sign in button it usually takes me to a Blogger reading list page which shows I am already signed in. If I go to Althouse from there I am not signed in. If I click home at the bottom, sometimes I'll be signed in, but usually not. Sometimes it will take me to a sign in box, other times it won't.”

Hit this for awhile. Then ran into a more insidious problem. I was running under Google’s Chrome. It wasn’t going to let me use anything except for my Google account to sign on. Which would be fine - except that my Google account uses an non-Gmail email account hosted by Google, that I have been using for a quarter century now. It’s for a professional engineering society, and I was a long term member and chaired its IP committee. We were up in arms about it, given that Google wouldn’t assure us that they wouldn’t look at our email. Didn’t matter. Decision was made by the international HQ, and US law was irrelevant. In any case, whenever I sign on, I have to go through the society’s logon page. Google provides us with a number of (pretty worthless) applications and the like. One they don’t provide is Blogger. So, I ultimately created a new Gmail account just for Blogger. Except that Chrome insists on just using my official Google account - which doesn’t have Blogger access. So, I now use Safari instead just for Blogger (I.e. Althouse).

What’s interesting to me (as a retired attorney) is that Google engages in just the same sort of antitrust that got Microsoft sued by the DOJ (and the owner of DR Dos) a quarter century ago. Each time I started Blogger on a new machine in Safari, they strongly suggested that I use Chrome. Almost identical to me, to Windows 95/98 detecting that it was running over DR-Dos, and should switch to MS-Dos. Know the guy in Salt Lake who got access to the source code, through court order, and found the smoking gun code.

Back to the original discussion. It took me a couple days to make the new template, etc work with my new Gmail account. Now, I get signed off a lot, but sign back in by just hitting “Sign In”, with Safari remembering my credentials.; 2/13/25, 2:11 PM
n.n said...: She said "man-boobs". Haha.; 2/13/25, 2:48 PM
Bob Boyd said...: Thanks a lot for the tech support. Really appreciate it. I'll try those suggestions.; 2/13/25, 3:07 PM
MadTownGuy said...: Ann Althouse said...

"Libtard" — I remember back in 2016 when I schooled The New Yorker about its use of the phrase "Rush Limbaugh’s favorite epithet 'libtard.'" Not only wasn't that Rush Limbaugh’s favorite epithet, he didn't use the word at all."

Which of these two epithets came first - "rightard" or "leftard"? I've seen both, for years, and the former seems like a normal construction, but the latter seems forced. It seems to me that "rightard probably came first, then "leftard," and from there, "libtard." The Dictionary of American Slang wasn't much help, nor Webster's, nor American Heritage.; 2/13/25, 3:08 PM
Bob Boyd said...: Her attractiveness is very surface level and knowing it's her vaporizes it for me. Instantly.

But dem jugs doh...; 2/13/25, 3:10 PM
jim said...: Perhaps off subject, perhaps not: Wall St. seems to LOVE appeasement (let those ukies die in vain, we want low oil and interest rates.) Talk about needing to grow a pair.; 2/13/25, 3:22 PM
chuck said...: Hitler has only got one ball,
Göring has two but very small,
Himmler is rather sim'lar,
But poor old Goebbels has no balls at all.; 2/13/25, 3:46 PM
Lazarus said...: Basketweaving still gets no respect.; 2/13/25, 3:58 PM
Jaq said...: "let those ukies die in vain, we want low oil and interest rates."

Anybody else gets in a war with their neighbor based on the word of a corrupt sleezebag like Joe Biden can expect the same.; 2/13/25, 4:07 PM
Lazarus said...: It's funny, though I can't help thinking that it was already a Greg Gutfeld bit. Memes do oversimplify. Not everybody who voted for Trump has big balls, and when progs really do man up and grow a pair it may not be pretty.; 2/13/25, 4:09 PM
Jaq said...: I have seen a couple of cases of sexual harassment in places where I worked, and it shouldn't be trivialized like this. It can go way beyond Miss Moneypenny's sexual harassment of James Bond.; 2/13/25, 4:09 PM
Lazarus said...: "Libtard" does seem to be an accepted usage. "Leftard" and "Rightard" sound as awkward as "dotard". It all depends on who uses it first, or at the right moment. It's similar to how when someone says "wingnut" or "moonbat" we know who they're talking about and who they aren't talking about (spell check recognizes "wingnut" but not "moonbat" -- of course). With all these phrases, there are contexts where you can use them and contexts where you shouldn't.; 2/13/25, 4:17 PM