Blame the Challenger

In the café’s warm hum, Jess stirred her brew,

Eyes sharp as daggers, her anger still true.

Across sat Soren, calm as a breeze,

Navigating her storm with practiced ease.

Jess:

“Elon Musk! Ugh, I can’t stand his face.

A narcissist wrecking this entire place.

His rockets, his cars—it’s grotesque and obscene,

He’s literally why things have turned so mean.”

Soren:

“That’s quite the charge—he’s ruined it all?

One man responsible for society’s fall?”

Jess:

“Not all of it, but he’s made it worse.

With his billions, flaunting power like a curse!

And don’t get me started on those stupid rockets.

SpaceX is just him stuffing cash in his pockets!”

Soren:

“Attribution bias, Jess—you leap to that,

Pinning the world’s woes on his wallet fat.

Sure, he’s flawed, sure, he’s loud,

But all this destruction? Isn’t that a bit proud?”

Jess:

“Oh, c’mon, I saw it on YouTube—he’s fake.

All that money was handed to him, for heaven’s sake!

He didn’t earn his fortune, it’s clear as day.

The guy’s a leech, always finding a way.”

Soren:

“So you trust YouTube for your source of truth?

Is that where we measure a billionaire’s youth?

Sounds like you’re buying into the halo effect,

Where anything bad just sticks with no respect.”

Jess:

“Don’t get smart with me! Look at Twitter—er, X.

He bought it and turned it into a wreck.

Now it's a cesspool, worse than before.

How can you defend that? It’s rotten to the core.”

Soren:

"Scapegoating, I think, is at play.

Twitter wasn’t a paradise back in the day.

But sure, he made moves that feel too rough—

Yet blaming him for all that’s wrong? Isn’t that enough?”

Jess:

“He fired half the staff with no regard!

How can you not see that as reckless, hard?

Why should I care about his ‘nuanced' ways?

People lost their jobs—what more can I say?”

Soren:

“That’s outcome bias—you're judging the result,

Without weighing the reason or where it’s at fault.

It’s brutal, yes, but was Twitter fine?

Or was it already on a steep decline?”

Jess:

“Why even bother? People suffered, they lost!

It’s greed, it’s power, and they paid the cost.

I don’t need to ‘debate’ or look for grey—

He’s reckless and ruthless, that’s all I can say.”

Soren:

“Ah, black-and-white thinking strikes again.

Life’s not so clean, Jess, now and then.

Dismissing nuance, it’s an easy path—

But don’t you find it cuts the depth in half?”

Jess:

“Here we go—you’re saying I’m too emotional now?

That my argument's weak, that I’m taking a bow?

You’re defending him because, let’s be real,

You think Musk is a hero of steel.”

Soren:

“Well, confirmation bias—you see what you want,

You hear my words and think I’m on his jaunt.

But challenging your view isn’t the same

As hoisting Musk up in some golden frame.”

Jess:

“Alright, fine! But what about AI?

The guy’s reckless—he’s going to fry

Everything with that tech—it’s out of control!

How can you sit there, so calm, so whole?”

Soren:

“Funny thing, that—he’s warned of AI’s risk,

Cognitive dissonance, now that’s a twist.

He builds it, fears it—so what’s your take?

Does it still fit your ‘reckless Musk’ mistake?”

Jess:

“Oh please, it’s all a billionaire’s con.

Build the fire, then cry, ‘What’s gone wrong?’

Classic move—create the mess,

Then act like you’re part of the fix, I guess.”

Soren:

“Or maybe he’s human, like the rest,

Doing some good, making some mess.

It’s fundamental attribution error, clear as day -

You blame his motives, come what may.”

Jess:

(throwing her hands up)

“You always do this! You grey what’s black!

Can’t I just hate him without your attack?”

Soren:

“You can, Jess, but where’s the thrill in that?

Intellectual laziness? Where’s the combat?

It’s more fun when we wrestle the grey,

Rather than hate and call it a day.”

And so they sat, the café lights dimmed,

Jess still fuming, her coffee untouched, brimmed.

Soren, amused, sipped his drink with grace,

Leaving biases floating, still in their place.