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Not specifically a big fan of Uncle Jeff but gotta admit it takes some guts to publish such a thing. Sneaky edit : I'm sure one could not ignore his massive ba

Not specifically a big fan of Uncle Jeff but gotta admit it takes some guts to publish such a thing. Sneaky edit : I'm sure one could not ignore his massive balls on any of the selfies AMI allegedly got their hands on ;)

abraae 8y ago
Yeah, and he makes a great point - if he can't fight back against this sort of thing, then who the heck ever could?
- ergothus 8y ago
  Exactly - I'm trying to imagine being in his place and being open about all of this...and it's HARD. It's easy for me to want HIM to do it, but as much as I think being disgustingly wealthy would be great...I'm sure I'd still be really nervous about pressing that button. And it's easy for us to say "Well I wouldn't be in that place to begin with", but as I much as I not be in this EXACT place, most of us have made mistakes that we deeply regret and fear getting out, or at least have the capability to. I don't have to assume I'd do this particular set of bad acts to be vulnerable. And once socially vulnerable, would money make it go away? No, not entirely, not enough. So how hard must it be for people who AREN'T disgustingly wealthy? Or even wealthy? Or even well-off? Heck, with the quality of "deepfakes" or whatever now-a-days, all you need to do is find someone vulnerable to BEING vulnerable, and they don't even have to have done wrong. One marriage that has had no infidelity but is struggling, one person with a child/spouse who is suffering from serious depression/anxiety/suicidal/related issues. "hey, I have these pictures, and if you do X they don't have to see the light of day. You can deny them being real all you want...do you think that will really help?" Or take the gross spectacle of releasing celebrity sex pics, or even just non-celebrity revenge pics. The only answer is for (1) we as a society to reject attempts to abuse this info and (2) to be less puritanical and judgmental about the victims here. To the Bezos example, one person can do wrong and we can oppose another using it to do wrong against them without condoning any of the original wrong. Bezos has a hard time doing this, and it's far, far easier for him than for anyone else. I didn't care about his personal life before (note: Not the same as saying it doesn't matter) and I still don't, but even if I did I can find the blackmail efforts repugnant without letting adulterers off the hook. ...but that's hard too. Just not nearly as hard.
  - jupp0r 8y ago
    > most of us have made mistakes that we deeply regret and fear getting out Agreed, probably Jeff Bezos has made those mistakes as well. However I fail to see any mistakes of his threatened to be revealed.
    - munificent 8y ago
      > However I fail to see any mistakes of his threatened to be revealed. Cheating on his wife?
      - rhizome 8y ago
        During what appears to be an amicable divorce? With an age-appropriate woman? I'm not sure that rises to the level of "mistake," and certainly not to blackmailable acts. AMI way overplayed their hand here, and we may yet find that they had gone all-in.
        deleted 8y ago
        [deleted]
      - doktrin 8y ago
        This isn't the 1950s. The conservative candidate in the last election is literally a serial philanderer. We're way past the point where the public at large is going to wring their hands about hum drum infidelity.
    - Digory 8y ago
      Jeff was using company money and contracts to keep his mistress happy. The pictures keep that in the spotlight. And despite the letter, does anyone think he isn’t spending a big chunk of time on this? Most Fortune 500 CEOs would be gone or forced into retirement.
      - jupp0r 8y ago
        > Jeff was using company money and contracts to keep his mistress happy. That would mean he literally committed fraud. What's your source for that info? > And despite the letter, does anyone think he isn’t spending a big chunk of time on this? Why shouldn't he spend his time on whatever he wants?

abraae 8y ago

Yeah, and he makes a great point - if he can't fight back against this sort of thing, then who the heck ever could?

ergothus 8y ago
Exactly - I'm trying to imagine being in his place and being open about all of this...and it's HARD. It's easy for me to want HIM to do it, but as much as I think being disgustingly wealthy would be great...I'm sure I'd still be really nervous about pressing that button. And it's easy for us to say "Well I wouldn't be in that place to begin with", but as I much as I not be in this EXACT place, most of us have made mistakes that we deeply regret and fear getting out, or at least have the capability to. I don't have to assume I'd do this particular set of bad acts to be vulnerable. And once socially vulnerable, would money make it go away? No, not entirely, not enough. So how hard must it be for people who AREN'T disgustingly wealthy? Or even wealthy? Or even well-off? Heck, with the quality of "deepfakes" or whatever now-a-days, all you need to do is find someone vulnerable to BEING vulnerable, and they don't even have to have done wrong. One marriage that has had no infidelity but is struggling, one person with a child/spouse who is suffering from serious depression/anxiety/suicidal/related issues. "hey, I have these pictures, and if you do X they don't have to see the light of day. You can deny them being real all you want...do you think that will really help?" Or take the gross spectacle of releasing celebrity sex pics, or even just non-celebrity revenge pics. The only answer is for (1) we as a society to reject attempts to abuse this info and (2) to be less puritanical and judgmental about the victims here. To the Bezos example, one person can do wrong and we can oppose another using it to do wrong against them without condoning any of the original wrong. Bezos has a hard time doing this, and it's far, far easier for him than for anyone else. I didn't care about his personal life before (note: Not the same as saying it doesn't matter) and I still don't, but even if I did I can find the blackmail efforts repugnant without letting adulterers off the hook. ...but that's hard too. Just not nearly as hard.
- jupp0r 8y ago
  > most of us have made mistakes that we deeply regret and fear getting out Agreed, probably Jeff Bezos has made those mistakes as well. However I fail to see any mistakes of his threatened to be revealed.
  - munificent 8y ago
    > However I fail to see any mistakes of his threatened to be revealed. Cheating on his wife?
    - rhizome 8y ago
      During what appears to be an amicable divorce? With an age-appropriate woman? I'm not sure that rises to the level of "mistake," and certainly not to blackmailable acts. AMI way overplayed their hand here, and we may yet find that they had gone all-in.
      - deleted 8y ago
        [deleted]
    - doktrin 8y ago
      This isn't the 1950s. The conservative candidate in the last election is literally a serial philanderer. We're way past the point where the public at large is going to wring their hands about hum drum infidelity.
  - Digory 8y ago
    Jeff was using company money and contracts to keep his mistress happy. The pictures keep that in the spotlight. And despite the letter, does anyone think he isn’t spending a big chunk of time on this? Most Fortune 500 CEOs would be gone or forced into retirement.
    - jupp0r 8y ago
      > Jeff was using company money and contracts to keep his mistress happy. That would mean he literally committed fraud. What's your source for that info? > And despite the letter, does anyone think he isn’t spending a big chunk of time on this? Why shouldn't he spend his time on whatever he wants?