I’ve always admired principled people who aren’t afraid to color outside the lines, say it like it is, and step on toes, when necessary — without giving a damn who likes it and who doesn’t. Elon Musk is one of those people. And when you’re the world’s richest dude, you can put a whole lot of money where your mouth is.

On Saturday night, Musk did just that.

If you were unfairly treated by your employer due to posting or liking something on this platform, we will fund your legal bill. No limit. Please let us know.

Is that a perfect example of the gist of my first paragraph, or what? Principled people do principled things.

If you were unfairly treated by your employer due to posting or liking something on this platform, we will fund your legal bill.

No limit.

Please let us know.

— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) August 6, 2023

Ninety minutes later, Musk posted an extra added attraction, further vowing to go after boards of directors.

And we won’t just sue, it will be extremely loud and we will go after the boards of directors of the companies too.

Ouch — and awesome!

And we won’t just sue, it will be extremely loud and we will go after the boards of directors of the companies too

— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) August 6, 2023

Musk’s offer to employees — and threat to employers — came on the heels of NASCAR’s indefinite suspension of rookie driver Noah Gragson on Saturday for “liking an insensitive meme with a photo of George Floyd’s face.”

Gragson later addressed the discipline on “X” (formerly Twitter) in a response to his racing team Legacy Motor Club, which he joined earlier this year. In its statement, Legacy Motor Club noted that Gragson has been suspended over actions that “do not represent the values of our team.”

Gragson wrote:

I am disappointed in myself for my lack of attention and actions on social media. I understand the severity of this situation. I love and appreciate everyone. I try to treat everyone equally no matter who they are. I messed up plain and simple.

The rookie driver perhaps made a mistake — but he owned it. Besides, statements like the above always strike me as not dissimilar to forced letters from hostages.

I am disappointed in myself for my lack of attention and actions on social media.
I understand the severity of this situation.
I love and appreciate everyone.
I try to treat everyone equally no matter who they are. I messed up plain and simple. https://t.co/PCX6iMJxRF

— Noah Gragson (@NoahGragson) August 5, 2023

One (this one, anyway) wonders if the violent actions of Black Lives Matter and Antifa activists after the death of Floyd “represent the values” of Legacy Motor Club — and I’m not a fan of whataboutism — but how many times have we seen the left attack conservative reactions to left-wing actions, while ignoring the actions themselves?

While I’m not suggesting Gragson’s “liking” of the meme, which I haven’t seen, was an example of the above, the hypocrisy and ridiculous double standards that exist on the left couldn’t be more blatant.

In related news, X filed a lawsuit last week against a non-profit organization accusing it of unlawfully accessing private data and cherry-picking posts in an obvious attempt to suggest an increase in hate speech on the social media platform under Musk’s ownership. I know; try to control your shock and amazement.

Here’s more:

Filed in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California, the social media company formerly known as Twitter claims the Center for Countering Digital Hate (CCDH) — a British non-profit that researches so-called online hate and disinformation — orchestrated a “scare campaign to drive away advertisers from the X platform” by publishing so-called hate speech reports.

CCDH has done this by engaging in a series of unlawful acts designed to improperly gain access to protected X Corp. data, needed by CCDH so that it could cherry-pick from the hundreds of millions of posts made each day on X and falsely claim it had statistical support showing the platform is overwhelmed with harmful content,” the lawsuit reads.

CCDH’s website ironically reads:

Our mission is to protect human rights and civil liberties online.

Social media companies erode basic human rights and civil liberties by enabling the spread of online hate and disinformation.

Social Media companies deny the problem, deflect the blame, and delay taking responsibility.

CCDH holds them accountable and responsible for their business choices by highlighting their failures, educating the public, and advocating change from platforms and governments to protect our communities.

It gets better.

The Center for Countering Digital Hate works to stop the spread of online hate and disinformation through innovative research, public campaigns, and policy advocacy.

The hypocritical irony is almost mind-blowing.

As with “tolerance,” “inclusion,” and various other code words of the left, “hate speech” — in the collective minds of the left — applies only to words or statements from those of us who oppose true hate speech, intolerance, and exclusion of the left itself.

These people are either wholly incapable of seeing their hypocrisy, or they don’t give a damn about it, one way or the other.

Actually, now that I think about it, both assumptions are correct.