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This article had me cringing. Peter Theil was right to criticize Google cozying up to China. But rather than respond to that point, this guy calls him a hypoc

This article had me cringing. Peter Theil was right to criticize Google cozying up to China. But rather than respond to that point, this guy calls him a hypocrite for backing a seasteading company and gaining dual citizenship in another country. Why argue with his original point when you can just throw ad hominem attacks around? Plus all of the dog whistles in this article are below the NY Times. Implying that Zuckerberg speaks Mandarin and therefore can't be trusted on China is beyond ridiculous. Or that Google is "rallying around the flag" just because they met with Trump once (I mean, he's the president... ignoring him isn't exactly an option.)

bduerst 7y ago
Ad hom attacks are not fallacious when calling into question the motive and hypocrisy of the speaker. Thiel is making broad, jingoist claims about Google being treasonous without evidence and while google.com isn't even accessible inside the country [1]. This is after Sheryl Sandberg (also on the FB board) hired an agency to spread George Soros conspiracies about critics [2], so this pattern of stirring-the-pot behavior from Facebook isn't quite so uncommon. The author here is right to call Thiel's motive and behavior into question. [1] https://www.axios.com/peter-thiel-says-fbi-cia-should-probe-google-9846a042-e689-49bc-bdc7-595988ce5d8c.html https://www.axios.com/peter-thiel-says-fbi-cia-should-probe-... [2] https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2018/nov/21/facebook-admits-definers-pr-george-soros-critics-sandberg-zuckerberg https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2018/nov/21/facebook-...
jakelazaroff 7y ago
> Implying that Zuckerberg speaks Mandarin and therefore can't be trusted on China is beyond ridiculous. This is a straw man; the actual argument is that he has been trying to cozy up with the Chinese government to gain a competitive advantage. The full quote: > Mr. Zuckerberg, who speaks Mandarin, is an odd choice to lead the charge against China. He has spent much of the last decade trying desperately to curry favor with the Chinese government in hopes of getting Facebook’s apps — which are banned there — permission to operate in one of the world’s most lucrative markets. Mr. Zuckerberg even reportedly offered to let Xi Jinping, the Chinese president, name his second child. (Mr. Xi declined.)
rconti 7y ago
I'm sorry, I fail to see how critiquing his attempts to move his billions offshore and gain citizenship abroad is an "ad hominem attack" rather than "legitimate criticism of his alleged patriotism"
gHosts 7y ago
You seem to like Theil... can you please take him back...? He is not the sort we want hanging around NZ.

bduerst 7y ago

Ad hom attacks are not fallacious when calling into question the motive and hypocrisy of the speaker. Thiel is making broad, jingoist claims about Google being treasonous without evidence and while google.com isn't even accessible inside the country [1]. This is after Sheryl Sandberg (also on the FB board) hired an agency to spread George Soros conspiracies about critics [2], so this pattern of stirring-the-pot behavior from Facebook isn't quite so uncommon. The author here is right to call Thiel's motive and behavior into question. [1] https://www.axios.com/peter-thiel-says-fbi-cia-should-probe-google-9846a042-e689-49bc-bdc7-595988ce5d8c.html https://www.axios.com/peter-thiel-says-fbi-cia-should-probe-... [2] https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2018/nov/21/facebook-admits-definers-pr-george-soros-critics-sandberg-zuckerberg https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2018/nov/21/facebook-...

jakelazaroff 7y ago

> Implying that Zuckerberg speaks Mandarin and therefore can't be trusted on China is beyond ridiculous. This is a straw man; the actual argument is that he has been trying to cozy up with the Chinese government to gain a competitive advantage. The full quote: > Mr. Zuckerberg, who speaks Mandarin, is an odd choice to lead the charge against China. He has spent much of the last decade trying desperately to curry favor with the Chinese government in hopes of getting Facebook’s apps — which are banned there — permission to operate in one of the world’s most lucrative markets. Mr. Zuckerberg even reportedly offered to let Xi Jinping, the Chinese president, name his second child. (Mr. Xi declined.)

rconti 7y ago

I'm sorry, I fail to see how critiquing his attempts to move his billions offshore and gain citizenship abroad is an "ad hominem attack" rather than "legitimate criticism of his alleged patriotism"

gHosts 7y ago

You seem to like Theil... can you please take him back...? He is not the sort we want hanging around NZ.