In-reply-to » @prologic I didn't think too much of him previously; didn't dislike him any more than I dislike billionaires generally. He just seemed like a run of the mill rich guy con artist who happened to appeal to a certain type of tech guy. But, the other day he tweeted something about his first born child dying in his arms and how he felt the last heartbeat. But then his ex-wife tweeted that no, in fact the child had suffered from SIDS and died in her arms. And that soured me on him completely forever. He's the sort of self-important narcissist who would make up something about a dying baby to try to score points in an online argument. That's so pathetic and contemptible.

@prologic@twtxt.net he grew up in apartheid South Africa to parents who made their money from emerald mining. He’s long been part of “the PayPal Mafia” that includes outspoken bad actors like Peter Thiel and David Sacks. He’s always been this way. He’s a narcissist and has carefully crafted a cult of personality and legion of fanboys and followers who launder his reputation on his behalf.

I think, as a matter of self protection, we collectively need to stop idolizing rich tech people. They are, almost to a one, bad actors and not worthy of our time let alone our adulation. Given the opportunity they will do bad stuff. Just think of all the people over decades, like Bill Gates, Jeff Bezos, and Elon Musk who initially were propped up as some kind of unsung tech genius, only to finally reveal themselves as nothing more than greedy money hoarders who won’t hesitate to harm people. This is a feature, not a bug, and we need to be better at identifying it sooner.

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