Billionaire tech mogul Elon Musk launched a powerful statement on X Tuesday by replying “No more White guilt” to a viral post that argued Generation Z is rejecting the culture of historical shame. Musk’s comment, which built on his earlier post demanding “No more anti-White propaganda,” swiftly gained momentum, accumulating over 131,000 likes and 9.2 million views as of Tuesday evening.
The exchange began with influencer Mario Nawfal, who posted a lengthy thread titled “WHITE GUILT IS DEAD: GEN Z IS DONE APOLOGIZING FOR HISTORY THEY DIDN’T WRITE.” Nawfal contended that young white people, particularly men, are fatigued by being blamed for colonialism, slavery, and systemic inequality in educational, media, and workplace environments. He argued that they are “tired of being treated like the villain in a movie they weren’t even alive to watch,” and criticized “woke institutions” for celebrating every identity except theirs while redefining diversity as the exclusion of white people.
Musk’s forceful reply, coupled with his earlier demand for “No more anti-White propaganda,” highlights a growing public figure stance against racial and historical shaming in contemporary American culture.
Generational Attitudes on Race and Guilt
Musk’s statement taps into a significant shift in generational demographics and political perspectives on historical responsibility.
A 2023 Brookings Institute analysis indicated that Gen Z will be the last U.S. generation with a white majority, highlighting a “racial generation gap” in their views on issues like affirmative action and race education. The study noted that the younger population is far more diverse than older age groups, a trend that is not “race neutral” and substantially influences their outlook.
Further complicating the issue, a 2022 AP-NORC poll revealed that while Gen Z is broadly more progressive on anti-discrimination policies, the generation is sharply divided by ideology on race. The poll found that Gen Z liberals are more accepting of diverse representation, such as all-Black executive teams and casts on TV shows, than their conservative peers. Conversely, Gen Z conservatives are more accepting of all-white executive teams than Gen Z liberals. This ideological split on race, mirroring older generations, means there is no single consensus on identity or historical responsibility within the generation.
Studies on Gen Z’s approach to historical tragedies suggest they feel “freed from any sense of personal guilt” regarding the past. They differentiate between historical actions and modern accountability, indicating a desire to understand history impartially without feeling personally accused, while emphasizing their responsibility for addressing present-day issues.