4 ms·

He's self-made and not afraid to express his opinions even if they aren't politically correct. People like him should be applauded as they are increasingly rare

He's self-made and not afraid to express his opinions even if they aren't politically correct. People like him should be applauded as they are increasingly rare in today's society.

kevincrane 8y ago
Alternatively, we could not applaud racist assholes.
- NotAnEconomist 8y ago
  We are in the middle of applauding the Microsoft CEO for supporting racism against whites and Asians. I don't think that works as a theory for how to respond to this, unless we're just going to dislike everyone.
- yters 8y ago
  All I've found regarding notch's racist comments is this GQ article: https://www.gq.com/story/notch-whiteness-tweets https://www.gq.com/story/notch-whiteness-tweets I would probably not interpret his comments as racist, at least not in an obvious definition of the word. I've also read his twitter feed a fair amount, and have not spotted any clearly racist statements. I've also heard he is anti semitic, but haven't seen any citations. As for the links in the parent article, saying transwomen aren't women sounds like an opinion, not hate speech. Calling women the c word is very rude, and That could be grounds for disinviting notch. But if so, I hope MS is consistent and bars people who call men the d word, african americans the n word, and so on. Believing in conspiracy theories seems pretty innocuous. Hardly grounds for disinviting someone, unless again MS is consistent.
  - beart 8y ago
    > Believing in conspiracy theories seems pretty innocuous. Sorry - Aren't we in the middle of a measles outbreak (U.S.A)?
    - mullen 8y ago
      Don't forget the guy who went to Pizza Restaurant and shot the gun into the ceiling because he said there were kid sex dungeons.
    - yters 8y ago
      How is this related to conspiracy theories?
      - beart 7y ago
        Misinformation driven in part by conspiracy theories has increased the spread of measles back into areas where it was thought to be eradicated. > An unfounded fear of vaccines has spread around the world in recent years, with childhood vaccination rates reportedly declining in several countries as a result. Nothing in the belief system of Orthodox Jews makes them any more likely to oppose vaccines, and several Orthodox rabbinical organizations have called on parents to vaccinate their children. But Hasidic Jews are prey to the same misinformation that has affected others, and some ultra-Orthodox rabbis have come out against vaccines. https://www.nytimes.com/2019/03/29/nyregion/measles-jewish-community.html https://www.nytimes.com/2019/03/29/nyregion/measles-jewish-c...
        yters 7y ago
        The article is paywalled. So, there is a documented decline in vaccination, but is there a documented link between that and spread of measles?
  - kevincrane 8y ago
    https://twitter.com/notch/status/22330335379333120 https://twitter.com/notch/status/22330335379333120
    - yters 8y ago
      Alright, notch is a racist. Best case he was saying that for shock effect, and that's no excuse. So, I have to agree with Microsoft banning him from the anniversary, and it's too bad he's gone this way. I guess you can't judge a game by its developer.
    - torstenvl 8y ago
      Since you posted this comment, the tweet has been completely deleted. http://web.archive.org/web/20190430104624/https:/twitter.com/notch/status/22330335379333120 http://web.archive.org/web/20190430104624/https:/twitter.com...
- deleted 8y ago
  [deleted]
rcxdude 8y ago
Do you think the reasons most people don't express opinions like the ones notch has expressed recently is due to a fear of backlash over being considered 'un-PC' as opposed to not actually holding those opinions? This rhetoric plays into a common theme among extremists which is quite dangerous: "Everyone actually thinks the same way I do, they are just afraid to say it".
- NotAnEconomist 8y ago
  > Do you think the reasons most people don't express opinions like the ones notch has expressed recently is due to a fear of backlash over being considered 'un-PC' as opposed to not actually holding those opinions? Repeated surveys show that the identitarian left accounts for about 8% of the population, and that their views are over represented in media, while people are genuinely afraid of being publicly lynched for saying the wrong thing. The entire #walkaway movement started because of that.
  - apta 8y ago
    And you're being downvoted, ironically (or maybe not ironically).
- malvosenior 8y ago
  Yes, I know many, many people who don't express their non-far left opinions for fear of losing their jobs. They are not extremists, quite the opposite, they view the current cultural zeitgeist of tech companies to be extremist but can't speak up against it.
- temp1831 8y ago
  Look at the character assassinations that have happened in the media recently. Jordan Peterson is an excellent example, not only because so many left-leaning journalists have tried to defame him by deliberately misinterpreting what he says, but also because he has successfully defended himself against this attempted assassination. Peterson has a good reason to fear the backlash you describe, but he has a stronger backbone than all of his attackers. The current zeitgeist in the media is that past some fuzzy line, it is acceptable to defame somebody for having an opinion that is not politically correct. It is possible to cross this line by expressing facts or opinions that are entirely reasonable. The fear of backlash is real.
snuxoll 8y ago
Anyone can express their beliefs within reason (the US courts have put some limits on what falls under the first amendment, of course) - you just can’t be surprised when there are consequences for your public expression. Notch obviously doesn’t care what people think of him anymore, that’s not something I personally feel we should be applauding. It’s one thing if you’re using “fuck you money” to speak against the status quo, it’s another to just be a bigoted jerk on Twitter.
belltaco 8y ago
Saying "Pizzagate is real" or that Q is legit isn't an opinion, it's making up false facts. And that statement has been used to push Pizzagate among the masses.
- 99_00 8y ago
  I haven't been following him and his comments. And I agree it's important to call out false statements. But believing in and promoting demonstratively false and damaging ideas is much more common than people realize. For example, many good people who are more important and educated than game developer falsely believe that President Trump said that white nationalists and neo-nazis are fine people.
  - pwinnski 8y ago
    Reporter: "The neo-Nazis started this. They showed up in Charlottesville to protest --" Trump: "Excuse me, excuse me. They didn’t put themselves -- and you had some very bad people in that group, but you also had people that were very fine people, on both sides. You had people in that group. Excuse me, excuse me. I saw the same pictures as you did. You had people in that group that were there to protest the taking down of, to them, a very, very important statue and the renaming of a park from Robert E. Lee to another name." https://www.politifact.com/truth-o-meter/article/2019/apr/26/context-trumps-very-fine-people-both-sides-remarks/ https://www.politifact.com/truth-o-meter/article/2019/apr/26...
    - 99_00 8y ago
      Does that prove something? I'm not sure what your point is. Here is the rest of the exchange where Trump explicitly says he isn't talking about neo-nazis and white nationalists when he says 'fine people' and explicitly condemns neo-Nazis and white nationalists from the article you linked to. Reporter: "George Washington and Robert E. Lee are not the same." Trump: "George Washington was a slave owner. Was George Washington a slave owner? So will George Washington now lose his status? Are we going to take down -- excuse me, are we going to take down statues to George Washington? How about Thomas Jefferson? What do you think of Thomas Jefferson? You like him?" Reporter: "I do love Thomas Jefferson." Trump: "Okay, good. Are we going to take down the statue? Because he was a major slave owner. Now, are we going to take down his statue? "So you know what, it’s fine. You’re changing history. You’re changing culture. And you had people -- and I'M NOT TALKING ABOUT THE NEO-NAZIS AND THE WHITE NATIONALISTS -- BECAUSE THEY SHOULD BE CONDEMNED TOTALLY But you had many people in that group other than neo-Nazis and white nationalists. Okay? And the press has treated them absolutely unfairly.
mcphage 8y ago
> He's self-made Well, Microsoft made him a billionaire—and they're also the ones choosing not to include him in the Minecraft event.

He's self-made and not afraid to express his opinions even if they aren't politically correct. People like him should be applauded as they are increasingly rare in today's society.

kevincrane 8y ago

Alternatively, we could not applaud racist assholes.

NotAnEconomist 8y ago
We are in the middle of applauding the Microsoft CEO for supporting racism against whites and Asians. I don't think that works as a theory for how to respond to this, unless we're just going to dislike everyone.
yters 8y ago
All I've found regarding notch's racist comments is this GQ article: https://www.gq.com/story/notch-whiteness-tweets https://www.gq.com/story/notch-whiteness-tweets I would probably not interpret his comments as racist, at least not in an obvious definition of the word. I've also read his twitter feed a fair amount, and have not spotted any clearly racist statements. I've also heard he is anti semitic, but haven't seen any citations. As for the links in the parent article, saying transwomen aren't women sounds like an opinion, not hate speech. Calling women the c word is very rude, and That could be grounds for disinviting notch. But if so, I hope MS is consistent and bars people who call men the d word, african americans the n word, and so on. Believing in conspiracy theories seems pretty innocuous. Hardly grounds for disinviting someone, unless again MS is consistent.
- beart 8y ago
  > Believing in conspiracy theories seems pretty innocuous. Sorry - Aren't we in the middle of a measles outbreak (U.S.A)?
  - mullen 8y ago
    Don't forget the guy who went to Pizza Restaurant and shot the gun into the ceiling because he said there were kid sex dungeons.
  - yters 8y ago
    How is this related to conspiracy theories?
    - beart 7y ago
      Misinformation driven in part by conspiracy theories has increased the spread of measles back into areas where it was thought to be eradicated. > An unfounded fear of vaccines has spread around the world in recent years, with childhood vaccination rates reportedly declining in several countries as a result. Nothing in the belief system of Orthodox Jews makes them any more likely to oppose vaccines, and several Orthodox rabbinical organizations have called on parents to vaccinate their children. But Hasidic Jews are prey to the same misinformation that has affected others, and some ultra-Orthodox rabbis have come out against vaccines. https://www.nytimes.com/2019/03/29/nyregion/measles-jewish-community.html https://www.nytimes.com/2019/03/29/nyregion/measles-jewish-c...
      - yters 7y ago
        The article is paywalled. So, there is a documented decline in vaccination, but is there a documented link between that and spread of measles?
- kevincrane 8y ago
  https://twitter.com/notch/status/22330335379333120 https://twitter.com/notch/status/22330335379333120
  - yters 8y ago
    Alright, notch is a racist. Best case he was saying that for shock effect, and that's no excuse. So, I have to agree with Microsoft banning him from the anniversary, and it's too bad he's gone this way. I guess you can't judge a game by its developer.
  - torstenvl 8y ago
    Since you posted this comment, the tweet has been completely deleted. http://web.archive.org/web/20190430104624/https:/twitter.com/notch/status/22330335379333120 http://web.archive.org/web/20190430104624/https:/twitter.com...
deleted 8y ago
[deleted]

rcxdude 8y ago

Do you think the reasons most people don't express opinions like the ones notch has expressed recently is due to a fear of backlash over being considered 'un-PC' as opposed to not actually holding those opinions? This rhetoric plays into a common theme among extremists which is quite dangerous: "Everyone actually thinks the same way I do, they are just afraid to say it".

NotAnEconomist 8y ago
> Do you think the reasons most people don't express opinions like the ones notch has expressed recently is due to a fear of backlash over being considered 'un-PC' as opposed to not actually holding those opinions? Repeated surveys show that the identitarian left accounts for about 8% of the population, and that their views are over represented in media, while people are genuinely afraid of being publicly lynched for saying the wrong thing. The entire #walkaway movement started because of that.
- apta 8y ago
  And you're being downvoted, ironically (or maybe not ironically).
malvosenior 8y ago
Yes, I know many, many people who don't express their non-far left opinions for fear of losing their jobs. They are not extremists, quite the opposite, they view the current cultural zeitgeist of tech companies to be extremist but can't speak up against it.
temp1831 8y ago
Look at the character assassinations that have happened in the media recently. Jordan Peterson is an excellent example, not only because so many left-leaning journalists have tried to defame him by deliberately misinterpreting what he says, but also because he has successfully defended himself against this attempted assassination. Peterson has a good reason to fear the backlash you describe, but he has a stronger backbone than all of his attackers. The current zeitgeist in the media is that past some fuzzy line, it is acceptable to defame somebody for having an opinion that is not politically correct. It is possible to cross this line by expressing facts or opinions that are entirely reasonable. The fear of backlash is real.

snuxoll 8y ago

Anyone can express their beliefs within reason (the US courts have put some limits on what falls under the first amendment, of course) - you just can’t be surprised when there are consequences for your public expression. Notch obviously doesn’t care what people think of him anymore, that’s not something I personally feel we should be applauding. It’s one thing if you’re using “fuck you money” to speak against the status quo, it’s another to just be a bigoted jerk on Twitter.

belltaco 8y ago

Saying "Pizzagate is real" or that Q is legit isn't an opinion, it's making up false facts. And that statement has been used to push Pizzagate among the masses.

99_00 8y ago
I haven't been following him and his comments. And I agree it's important to call out false statements. But believing in and promoting demonstratively false and damaging ideas is much more common than people realize. For example, many good people who are more important and educated than game developer falsely believe that President Trump said that white nationalists and neo-nazis are fine people.
- pwinnski 8y ago
  Reporter: "The neo-Nazis started this. They showed up in Charlottesville to protest --" Trump: "Excuse me, excuse me. They didn’t put themselves -- and you had some very bad people in that group, but you also had people that were very fine people, on both sides. You had people in that group. Excuse me, excuse me. I saw the same pictures as you did. You had people in that group that were there to protest the taking down of, to them, a very, very important statue and the renaming of a park from Robert E. Lee to another name." https://www.politifact.com/truth-o-meter/article/2019/apr/26/context-trumps-very-fine-people-both-sides-remarks/ https://www.politifact.com/truth-o-meter/article/2019/apr/26...
  - 99_00 8y ago
    Does that prove something? I'm not sure what your point is. Here is the rest of the exchange where Trump explicitly says he isn't talking about neo-nazis and white nationalists when he says 'fine people' and explicitly condemns neo-Nazis and white nationalists from the article you linked to. Reporter: "George Washington and Robert E. Lee are not the same." Trump: "George Washington was a slave owner. Was George Washington a slave owner? So will George Washington now lose his status? Are we going to take down -- excuse me, are we going to take down statues to George Washington? How about Thomas Jefferson? What do you think of Thomas Jefferson? You like him?" Reporter: "I do love Thomas Jefferson." Trump: "Okay, good. Are we going to take down the statue? Because he was a major slave owner. Now, are we going to take down his statue? "So you know what, it’s fine. You’re changing history. You’re changing culture. And you had people -- and I'M NOT TALKING ABOUT THE NEO-NAZIS AND THE WHITE NATIONALISTS -- BECAUSE THEY SHOULD BE CONDEMNED TOTALLY But you had many people in that group other than neo-Nazis and white nationalists. Okay? And the press has treated them absolutely unfairly.

mcphage 8y ago

> He's self-made Well, Microsoft made him a billionaire—and they're also the ones choosing not to include him in the Minecraft event.