5 ms·

I can't figure out why anybody would think Epstein's previous criminal conviction was irrelevant to the matter of Epstein's reputation. I'm trying to assume go

I can't figure out why anybody would think Epstein's previous criminal conviction was irrelevant to the matter of Epstein's reputation. I'm trying to assume good faith, but it's not easy.

nexuist 7y ago
Not everyone works from the same knowledge base. OP could have heard about Epstein in passing, per se, and not known about his extensive criminal history or previous arrest/trial. I only know about these things from Reddit posters and not much else. There is probably a whole host of information you and I do not know about him; it's important to be aware of your blind spots but also the blind spots of others.
- liability 7y ago
  Well in assuming good faith I assume he read the article, which should have cleared up any such misunderstandings...
  - nf8nnfufuu 7y ago
    I've read about the first half, which didn't mention that Epstein was already convicted for sex trafficking by the time he arrived at MIT in that story. It didn't occur to me that he would be walking around freely doing deals if he had already been convicted. I didn't have the information that he was let off the hook and there was also no indication I should google for something like that. What search term should I have used?
    - liability 7y ago
      You read the first half of what exactly? From the subtitle of the article you responded to: > New documents show that the M.I.T. Media Lab was aware of Epstein’s status as a convicted sex offender, and that Epstein directed contributions to the lab far exceeding the amounts M.I.T. has publicly admitted. What did you think "Epstein’s status as a convicted sex offender" meant? Are you earnestly confused, or are you trying to get a rise out of me?
      - hackinthebochs 7y ago
        Sex offender and sex trafficker are in entirely different ballparks.
      - nf8nnfufuu 7y ago
        I read the first half of this: https://www.nytimes.com/2019/09/07/business/mit-media-lab-jeffrey-epstein-joichi-ito.html# https://www.nytimes.com/2019/09/07/business/mit-media-lab-je... That is the original article this while comment thread is attached to. It doesn't mention existing convictions in the first half. I didn't read the article the comment I replied to linked to. I am not a robot. I can not simply recursively read the whole internet. I was curious about the supposedly "damning paragraph", not about the whole article. The paragraph was quoted in the comment, so why should I read that article? What exactly are you implying, anyway? What game do you assume I am playing?
        liability 7y ago
        Do everybody else in this discussion a favor and read this article: https://www.newyorker.com/news/news-desk/how-an-elite-university-research-center-concealed-its-relationship-with-jeffrey-epstein https://www.newyorker.com/news/news-desk/how-an-elite-univer... You already responded to a comment about that article, so you owe it to others, if not yourself, to actually read it.
        nf8nnfufuu 7y ago
        My interest here was in how people judge other people, not in Epstein's exploits specifically. I don't see what I would gain from reading that article. I would be interested in what made the Media Lab guy do it. I suppose many people are confronted with an opportunity for "unethical gains" some time in their lives. Maybe the Media Lab guy simply weighted things in his mind and thought it was worth it, to keep the research going, finance his researchers, or whatever. I would be interested if it would be wrong in all cases. Like maybe (hopefully) Bill Gates is clean, and via shady Epstein MIT could get clean Gates money. OK or not OK?
    - tP5n 7y ago
      literally, 'epstein' would have been enough
      - nf8nnfufuu 7y ago
        I know about Epstein (superficially at least), I wanted to know what was damning about the quoted paragraph. Those are different things.
- readme 7y ago
  Yeah, it's not like you're on the Internet where someone who didn't know something, could just google it real quick.
  - nf8nnfufuu 7y ago
    Like what - what should I have googled for? "Why did MIT staff suspect Epstein's assistants to be sex trafficked"? I was replying to the comment about the "damning paragraph", so I assumed the damning parts would be in the paragraph, not in the back story. Therefore, I didn't see the need to Google.

I can't figure out why anybody would think Epstein's previous criminal conviction was irrelevant to the matter of Epstein's reputation. I'm trying to assume good faith, but it's not easy.

nexuist 7y ago

Not everyone works from the same knowledge base. OP could have heard about Epstein in passing, per se, and not known about his extensive criminal history or previous arrest/trial. I only know about these things from Reddit posters and not much else. There is probably a whole host of information you and I do not know about him; it's important to be aware of your blind spots but also the blind spots of others.

liability 7y ago
Well in assuming good faith I assume he read the article, which should have cleared up any such misunderstandings...
- nf8nnfufuu 7y ago
  I've read about the first half, which didn't mention that Epstein was already convicted for sex trafficking by the time he arrived at MIT in that story. It didn't occur to me that he would be walking around freely doing deals if he had already been convicted. I didn't have the information that he was let off the hook and there was also no indication I should google for something like that. What search term should I have used?
  - liability 7y ago
    You read the first half of what exactly? From the subtitle of the article you responded to: > New documents show that the M.I.T. Media Lab was aware of Epstein’s status as a convicted sex offender, and that Epstein directed contributions to the lab far exceeding the amounts M.I.T. has publicly admitted. What did you think "Epstein’s status as a convicted sex offender" meant? Are you earnestly confused, or are you trying to get a rise out of me?
    - hackinthebochs 7y ago
      Sex offender and sex trafficker are in entirely different ballparks.
    - nf8nnfufuu 7y ago
      I read the first half of this: https://www.nytimes.com/2019/09/07/business/mit-media-lab-jeffrey-epstein-joichi-ito.html# https://www.nytimes.com/2019/09/07/business/mit-media-lab-je... That is the original article this while comment thread is attached to. It doesn't mention existing convictions in the first half. I didn't read the article the comment I replied to linked to. I am not a robot. I can not simply recursively read the whole internet. I was curious about the supposedly "damning paragraph", not about the whole article. The paragraph was quoted in the comment, so why should I read that article? What exactly are you implying, anyway? What game do you assume I am playing?
      - liability 7y ago
        Do everybody else in this discussion a favor and read this article: https://www.newyorker.com/news/news-desk/how-an-elite-university-research-center-concealed-its-relationship-with-jeffrey-epstein https://www.newyorker.com/news/news-desk/how-an-elite-univer... You already responded to a comment about that article, so you owe it to others, if not yourself, to actually read it.
        nf8nnfufuu 7y ago
        My interest here was in how people judge other people, not in Epstein's exploits specifically. I don't see what I would gain from reading that article. I would be interested in what made the Media Lab guy do it. I suppose many people are confronted with an opportunity for "unethical gains" some time in their lives. Maybe the Media Lab guy simply weighted things in his mind and thought it was worth it, to keep the research going, finance his researchers, or whatever. I would be interested if it would be wrong in all cases. Like maybe (hopefully) Bill Gates is clean, and via shady Epstein MIT could get clean Gates money. OK or not OK?
  - tP5n 7y ago
    literally, 'epstein' would have been enough
    - nf8nnfufuu 7y ago
      I know about Epstein (superficially at least), I wanted to know what was damning about the quoted paragraph. Those are different things.
readme 7y ago
Yeah, it's not like you're on the Internet where someone who didn't know something, could just google it real quick.
- nf8nnfufuu 7y ago
  Like what - what should I have googled for? "Why did MIT staff suspect Epstein's assistants to be sex trafficked"? I was replying to the comment about the "damning paragraph", so I assumed the damning parts would be in the paragraph, not in the back story. Therefore, I didn't see the need to Google.