6 ms·

The majority of comments here being sad about Shkreli kinda reaffirms my views about HN, I have to say. Shkreli always seemed like a personified 4chan teenager

by tpush 9y ago

The majority of comments here being sad about Shkreli kinda reaffirms my views about HN, I have to say. Shkreli always seemed like a personified 4chan teenager "memelord" with money. Good to see that playing out your delusions of grandeur and arrogance toward the justice system is met with consequences. Maybe in prison he will mature a bit.

rainieri 9y ago
He already is quite mature. The media brought him to the stage and he gave a little show. You should see one of his videos shutting down people like you who read 3 or 4 articles and formed an opinion based on that.
- deleted 9y ago
  [deleted]
hartator 9y ago
> delusions of grandeur and arrogance I don't think delusions qualify as crimes. However, bending laws to judge someone on actions outside of the scope of a trial is a crime.
BenSahar 9y ago
I think his fan club is hilarious. That they picked such a whiney troll to follow speaks volumes about their character.
- rainieri 9y ago
  Nobody is actually following him as you describe. Most of people that side with him do so because they are amazed at the unfounded witch hunt that he received and at the amount of people who demonize him 95% because of the Daraprim drama and 5% for his actual conviction. And of that 5% - 0.5% might have an idea of what they are talking about. See his videos. You wouldn't stand a chance debating him unless you were a lawyer or pharmaceutical exec. You are coming from emotions rather than facts. Really. His troll persona is only a small portion of his character. https://www.forbes.com/sites/matthewherper/2018/03/09/you-hate-martin-shkreli-thats-sort-of-the-problem/#3adfbfa86238 https://www.forbes.com/sites/matthewherper/2018/03/09/you-ha...
  - BenSahar 9y ago
    >See his videos. You wouldn't stand a chance debating him unless you were a lawyer or pharmaceutical exec. I have. He's seemingly a intelligent guy with some personality issues that have gotten him into trouble. I hope he takes time during his sentence to seek help because he seemingly has more to offer the world than trolling and unethical professional behavior. Beside that, I don't care about Shkreli himself or the silly trolling (Wu Tang, Hillary Hair, etc). I have a fascination with fan club that feels the need to hand wave his behavior every time their is a discussion about him. Yes, it's awful that we forgot about the pharmaceutical industry's price gouging schemes. Yes, it's awful that people get away with worse financial crimes than Shkreli has been convicted of. Yes, there are much worse people in the world than this small-time pharma player turned troll/media sensation. None of that excuses the fact that he committed fraud and the handwaving of his behavior doesn't do anything to highlight the other injustices. People that defend him may think that they are being profound by sticking up for him and possibly highlighting injustice. In reality, they appear to be diminishing the seriousness of unethical behavior and justifying self-indulgent and childish behavior.
    - rainieri 9y ago
      > I have. He's seemingly a intelligent guy with some personality issues that have gotten him into trouble. I hope he takes time during his sentence to seek help because he seemingly has more to offer the world than trolling and unethical professional behavior. Good point. Let's leave it at that because him helping the world is all that really matters. Wouldn't you agree that his childish behavior is a response to the unfair reporting he received? Some people can actually see through that behavior and find more about the truth[1][2]. Would you like to receive thousands of calls every day? death threats? being told that you are are responsible for killing children in Africa? You see that he's smart and mature yet you focus on his OBVIOUS childish acting. Yeah. A little hand waving is fine by me. [1] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WLP-2jD1eH0 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WLP-2jD1eH0 [2] https://www.forbes.com/sites/matthewherper/2018/03/09/you-hate-martin-shkreli-thats-sort-of-the-problem/ https://www.forbes.com/sites/matthewherper/2018/03/09/you-ha...
      - 9y ago
archagon 9y ago
Seems like a pretty even split to me. I'm glad the community is healthy enough to have this kind of debate even though I'm very much on the anti-Shkreli side.
verylittlemeat 9y ago
I think you're going for the low hanging fruit by judging HN that way. The more interesting thing is that the majority of comments are shocked by the 7 year sentence rather than the minority who think he was "an ok guy." I keep seeing this naive understanding of the law over and over again in tech circles. The justice system is made up of several people with a ton of leeway on how laws are applied. The letter of the law is just a small part of what "illegal" means. Being clever or cute about only breaking the spirit of the law will not save you in court, in fact many times trying to only break the spirit is what will get you convicted on the letter of the law. I hate to say it but I think Aaron Schwartz fell victim to this fallacy and in recent memory so did those flight sim guys who put a keylogger in pirated software. I've spent a lot of time around lawyers and judges and I can tell you they have absolutely no tolerance for the kind of "well, actually" smart-asses that the tech community excels at churning out. edit: I just want to add this exchange from the movie Blow which I think really sums up how I feel about the whole thing. >Judge: George Jung, you stand accused of possession of six hundred and sixty pounds of marijuana with intent to distribute. How do you plead? >George: Your honor, I'd like to say a few words to the court if I may. >Judge: Well, you're gonna have to stop slouching and stand up to address this court, sir. >George: [stands] Alright. Well, in all honesty, I don't feel that what I've done is a crime. And I think it's illogical and irresponsible for you to sentence me to prison. Because, when you think about it, what did I really do? I crossed an imaginary line with a bunch of plants. I mean, you say I'm an outlaw, you say I'm a thief, but where's the Christmas dinner for the people on relief? Huh? You say you're looking for someone who's never weak but always strong, to gather flowers constantly whether you are right or wrong, someone to open each and every door, but it ain't me, babe, huh? No, no, no, it ain't me, babe. It ain't me you're looking for, babe. You follow? >Judge: Yeah... Gosh, you know, your concepts are really interesting, Mister Jung. >George: Thank you. >Judge: Unfortunately for you, the line you crossed was real and the plants you brought with you were illegal, so your bail is twenty thousand dollars.
- DoreenMichele 9y ago
  I can tell you have they have absolutely no tolerance for the kind of "well, actually" smart-asses that the tech community excels at churning out. Or perhaps it merely attracts them.
bromuro 9y ago
Yeah it’s 2018 and still we send people in prison.

by tpush 9y ago

rainieri 9y ago

He already is quite mature. The media brought him to the stage and he gave a little show. You should see one of his videos shutting down people like you who read 3 or 4 articles and formed an opinion based on that.

deleted 9y ago
[deleted]

hartator 9y ago

> delusions of grandeur and arrogance I don't think delusions qualify as crimes. However, bending laws to judge someone on actions outside of the scope of a trial is a crime.

BenSahar 9y ago

I think his fan club is hilarious. That they picked such a whiney troll to follow speaks volumes about their character.

rainieri 9y ago
Nobody is actually following him as you describe. Most of people that side with him do so because they are amazed at the unfounded witch hunt that he received and at the amount of people who demonize him 95% because of the Daraprim drama and 5% for his actual conviction. And of that 5% - 0.5% might have an idea of what they are talking about. See his videos. You wouldn't stand a chance debating him unless you were a lawyer or pharmaceutical exec. You are coming from emotions rather than facts. Really. His troll persona is only a small portion of his character. https://www.forbes.com/sites/matthewherper/2018/03/09/you-hate-martin-shkreli-thats-sort-of-the-problem/#3adfbfa86238 https://www.forbes.com/sites/matthewherper/2018/03/09/you-ha...
- BenSahar 9y ago
  >See his videos. You wouldn't stand a chance debating him unless you were a lawyer or pharmaceutical exec. I have. He's seemingly a intelligent guy with some personality issues that have gotten him into trouble. I hope he takes time during his sentence to seek help because he seemingly has more to offer the world than trolling and unethical professional behavior. Beside that, I don't care about Shkreli himself or the silly trolling (Wu Tang, Hillary Hair, etc). I have a fascination with fan club that feels the need to hand wave his behavior every time their is a discussion about him. Yes, it's awful that we forgot about the pharmaceutical industry's price gouging schemes. Yes, it's awful that people get away with worse financial crimes than Shkreli has been convicted of. Yes, there are much worse people in the world than this small-time pharma player turned troll/media sensation. None of that excuses the fact that he committed fraud and the handwaving of his behavior doesn't do anything to highlight the other injustices. People that defend him may think that they are being profound by sticking up for him and possibly highlighting injustice. In reality, they appear to be diminishing the seriousness of unethical behavior and justifying self-indulgent and childish behavior.
  - rainieri 9y ago
    > I have. He's seemingly a intelligent guy with some personality issues that have gotten him into trouble. I hope he takes time during his sentence to seek help because he seemingly has more to offer the world than trolling and unethical professional behavior. Good point. Let's leave it at that because him helping the world is all that really matters. Wouldn't you agree that his childish behavior is a response to the unfair reporting he received? Some people can actually see through that behavior and find more about the truth[1][2]. Would you like to receive thousands of calls every day? death threats? being told that you are are responsible for killing children in Africa? You see that he's smart and mature yet you focus on his OBVIOUS childish acting. Yeah. A little hand waving is fine by me. [1] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WLP-2jD1eH0 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WLP-2jD1eH0 [2] https://www.forbes.com/sites/matthewherper/2018/03/09/you-hate-martin-shkreli-thats-sort-of-the-problem/ https://www.forbes.com/sites/matthewherper/2018/03/09/you-ha...
    - 9y ago

archagon 9y ago

Seems like a pretty even split to me. I'm glad the community is healthy enough to have this kind of debate even though I'm very much on the anti-Shkreli side.

verylittlemeat 9y ago

I think you're going for the low hanging fruit by judging HN that way. The more interesting thing is that the majority of comments are shocked by the 7 year sentence rather than the minority who think he was "an ok guy." I keep seeing this naive understanding of the law over and over again in tech circles. The justice system is made up of several people with a ton of leeway on how laws are applied. The letter of the law is just a small part of what "illegal" means. Being clever or cute about only breaking the spirit of the law will not save you in court, in fact many times trying to only break the spirit is what will get you convicted on the letter of the law. I hate to say it but I think Aaron Schwartz fell victim to this fallacy and in recent memory so did those flight sim guys who put a keylogger in pirated software. I've spent a lot of time around lawyers and judges and I can tell you they have absolutely no tolerance for the kind of "well, actually" smart-asses that the tech community excels at churning out. edit: I just want to add this exchange from the movie Blow which I think really sums up how I feel about the whole thing. >Judge: George Jung, you stand accused of possession of six hundred and sixty pounds of marijuana with intent to distribute. How do you plead? >George: Your honor, I'd like to say a few words to the court if I may. >Judge: Well, you're gonna have to stop slouching and stand up to address this court, sir. >George: [stands] Alright. Well, in all honesty, I don't feel that what I've done is a crime. And I think it's illogical and irresponsible for you to sentence me to prison. Because, when you think about it, what did I really do? I crossed an imaginary line with a bunch of plants. I mean, you say I'm an outlaw, you say I'm a thief, but where's the Christmas dinner for the people on relief? Huh? You say you're looking for someone who's never weak but always strong, to gather flowers constantly whether you are right or wrong, someone to open each and every door, but it ain't me, babe, huh? No, no, no, it ain't me, babe. It ain't me you're looking for, babe. You follow? >Judge: Yeah... Gosh, you know, your concepts are really interesting, Mister Jung. >George: Thank you. >Judge: Unfortunately for you, the line you crossed was real and the plants you brought with you were illegal, so your bail is twenty thousand dollars.

DoreenMichele 9y ago
I can tell you have they have absolutely no tolerance for the kind of "well, actually" smart-asses that the tech community excels at churning out. Or perhaps it merely attracts them.

bromuro 9y ago

Yeah it’s 2018 and still we send people in prison.