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Tech billionaires are plotting sweeping, secret plans to boost Joe Biden

corty 6y ago
Maybe stupid question from an outsider: Does Biden really look like a bumbling old man, seen from the US? Is that just the Internet propaganda bubble? And if so, could he ever stand a chance? Is Trump so bad that this doesn't matter and he might be elected anyways? Sorry if this looks like flamebait, politics is a problematic topic to talk about, especially if all one hears is internet rumours.
- aspenmayer 6y ago
  Joe Biden, in an interview with Charlamagne Tha God, "If you have a problem figuring out whether you’re for me or Trump, then you ain’t black.”[1] That's frighteningly out of touch. Compared to Bernie Sanders hanging out with Killer Mike[2], Biden looks like he is a guy who wants to help, but can't speak effectively. He alienates as many people as he resonates with. [1] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jhcgmwj3NAc https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jhcgmwj3NAc [2] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LCnrQZbqIQU https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LCnrQZbqIQU
  - avmich 6y ago
    > That's frighteningly out of touch. Interesting how differently the same phrase can be perceived. Somebody would say it's a perfectly reasonable, well balanced utterance, but there always will be someone else who thinks the opposite.
    - aspenmayer 6y ago
      Disclosure: I'm white. Anybody who saw me would also assume I'm white. I don't have any special insight into being black, so these are just my opinions. That being said, I don't think Biden is of this era. He talks like my grandpa, who is 85 or so. Nothing wrong with being old; I love my grandpa, and likewise, I don't have any personal bad feelings toward Biden. Biden made the miscalculation that Trump is so bad, that it's tantamount to being a race traitor to not oppose him, actively and often. I honestly don't see how his statement could mean anything else. He's saying if you're African American and don't help defeat Trump in the election, you're an Uncle Tom.[1] It's my opinion and belief that this kind of equivocation is not good for reasoned debate or America. It's arguable that it's a good political strategy, but if you have to offend me and make me not like you to win, how is Biden any better than Trump? I happen to think that Biden would be better for America for Trump, but I also believe that Bernie Sanders would have been a better candidate than Biden. Any of the other former Democratic Presidential candidates would be better than Biden, in my opinion. He's just not "presidential" in the post-truth Trump era. He can't hack it. Trump thrives in this kind of chaos, and feeds off it. Biden appears lost and pleading, not compelling. He falls flat, which is a shame for all involved. America deserves better candidates. I blame the Democratic Party proper for delivering another win for the R's. [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Uncle_Tom#Epithet https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Uncle_Tom#Epithet
      - ThrowawayR2 6y ago
        > "He's saying if you're African American and don't help defeat Trump in the election, you're an Uncle Tom. It's my opinion and belief that this kind of equivocation is not good for reasoned debate or America." And yet people here on HN say, unselfconsciously, "If only people would stop voting against their own interests" all the time, which is pretty much the same thing. Offensive though it is, it seems to be what he and a lot of his base are thinking.
  - gnusty_gnurc 6y ago
    It's a dumb, racist thing to say - but it's practically the logical conclusion of a lot of the rhetoric that's passed around on the left (even far-left). If Trump is Hitler/a white supremacist/etc., it'd be insane to even express hesitance about voting for Biden.
    - aspenmayer 6y ago
      I disagree that this is a problem with the left. This is a problem with the Democratic Party.
    - avmich 6y ago
      > It's a dumb, racist thing to say Really? His statement is logically (practically) equivalent to "all blacks have problem with Trump". How is that racist?
      - gnusty_gnurc 6y ago
        it's racial essentialism?
      - bleah1000 6y ago
        That statements assumes that all black people have a problem with Trump, which is definitely not true. So what about the black people that support Trump, are they stupid, are they bad people? It also implies all black people are the same, which is also patently false, and seems pretty racist. We don't generally like someone judging people based on an immutable characteristic like their skin color, and Biden is doing that. Now you could make the argument that is was supposed to be a joke, but then it comes off as offensive and maybe not that racist. Just the casual racism of an old person who grew up in a different era. It certainly doesn't provide much confidence in him as president though.
        avmich 6y ago
        Just don't read "all" as a logical operator. I believe the vast majority of blacks had their problems increased with Trump, so the Biden's "all" can be easily understood. In case somebody's words can be ambiguous we assume the variant which makes sense is valid, right?
sunstone 6y ago
I can just imagine Peter Thiel leading the parade on this.

Maybe stupid question from an outsider: Does Biden really look like a bumbling old man, seen from the US? Is that just the Internet propaganda bubble? And if so, could he ever stand a chance? Is Trump so bad that this doesn't matter and he might be elected anyways? Sorry if this looks like flamebait, politics is a problematic topic to talk about, especially if all one hears is internet rumours.

aspenmayer 6y ago
Joe Biden, in an interview with Charlamagne Tha God, "If you have a problem figuring out whether you’re for me or Trump, then you ain’t black.”[1] That's frighteningly out of touch. Compared to Bernie Sanders hanging out with Killer Mike[2], Biden looks like he is a guy who wants to help, but can't speak effectively. He alienates as many people as he resonates with. [1] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jhcgmwj3NAc https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jhcgmwj3NAc [2] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LCnrQZbqIQU https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LCnrQZbqIQU
- avmich 6y ago
  > That's frighteningly out of touch. Interesting how differently the same phrase can be perceived. Somebody would say it's a perfectly reasonable, well balanced utterance, but there always will be someone else who thinks the opposite.
  - aspenmayer 6y ago
    Disclosure: I'm white. Anybody who saw me would also assume I'm white. I don't have any special insight into being black, so these are just my opinions. That being said, I don't think Biden is of this era. He talks like my grandpa, who is 85 or so. Nothing wrong with being old; I love my grandpa, and likewise, I don't have any personal bad feelings toward Biden. Biden made the miscalculation that Trump is so bad, that it's tantamount to being a race traitor to not oppose him, actively and often. I honestly don't see how his statement could mean anything else. He's saying if you're African American and don't help defeat Trump in the election, you're an Uncle Tom.[1] It's my opinion and belief that this kind of equivocation is not good for reasoned debate or America. It's arguable that it's a good political strategy, but if you have to offend me and make me not like you to win, how is Biden any better than Trump? I happen to think that Biden would be better for America for Trump, but I also believe that Bernie Sanders would have been a better candidate than Biden. Any of the other former Democratic Presidential candidates would be better than Biden, in my opinion. He's just not "presidential" in the post-truth Trump era. He can't hack it. Trump thrives in this kind of chaos, and feeds off it. Biden appears lost and pleading, not compelling. He falls flat, which is a shame for all involved. America deserves better candidates. I blame the Democratic Party proper for delivering another win for the R's. [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Uncle_Tom#Epithet https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Uncle_Tom#Epithet
    - ThrowawayR2 6y ago
      > "He's saying if you're African American and don't help defeat Trump in the election, you're an Uncle Tom. It's my opinion and belief that this kind of equivocation is not good for reasoned debate or America." And yet people here on HN say, unselfconsciously, "If only people would stop voting against their own interests" all the time, which is pretty much the same thing. Offensive though it is, it seems to be what he and a lot of his base are thinking.
- gnusty_gnurc 6y ago
  It's a dumb, racist thing to say - but it's practically the logical conclusion of a lot of the rhetoric that's passed around on the left (even far-left). If Trump is Hitler/a white supremacist/etc., it'd be insane to even express hesitance about voting for Biden.
  - aspenmayer 6y ago
    I disagree that this is a problem with the left. This is a problem with the Democratic Party.
  - avmich 6y ago
    > It's a dumb, racist thing to say Really? His statement is logically (practically) equivalent to "all blacks have problem with Trump". How is that racist?
    - gnusty_gnurc 6y ago
      it's racial essentialism?
    - bleah1000 6y ago
      That statements assumes that all black people have a problem with Trump, which is definitely not true. So what about the black people that support Trump, are they stupid, are they bad people? It also implies all black people are the same, which is also patently false, and seems pretty racist. We don't generally like someone judging people based on an immutable characteristic like their skin color, and Biden is doing that. Now you could make the argument that is was supposed to be a joke, but then it comes off as offensive and maybe not that racist. Just the casual racism of an old person who grew up in a different era. It certainly doesn't provide much confidence in him as president though.
      - avmich 6y ago
        Just don't read "all" as a logical operator. I believe the vast majority of blacks had their problems increased with Trump, so the Biden's "all" can be easily understood. In case somebody's words can be ambiguous we assume the variant which makes sense is valid, right?

sunstone 6y ago

I can just imagine Peter Thiel leading the parade on this.