5 ms·

Holy smokes. Bob was the money-man at a place I worked, long long ago. He wasn't a billionaire then, just a measly little millionaire I think. He always was a

Holy smokes. Bob was the money-man at a place I worked, long long ago. He wasn't a billionaire then, just a measly little millionaire I think. He always was a blown-back-hairdo phony. One example: he at one point decided to read some inspirational business text to the whole company. Some jabber about productiveness, etc. While the rest of us dozing off to these empty phrases, he got so inspired that was moved to extemporize "Straight! Like a laser!" into it. That phrase, "Straight! Like a laser!" became an office joke after that. Now I really need to go read this article.

ilrwbwrkhv 5y ago
- alex_young 5y ago
  Is there something wrong with making fun of billionaires?
  - ffhhj 5y ago
    First we lost respect for millonaires, and they became billonaires. Now we will make fun of them, so they can become trillonaires! Nobody disrespects a trillonaire, EVER.
    - tkmunzwa 5y ago
      > Nobody disrespects a trillonaire, EVER. Former Zimbabwean quadrillionare here - just chiming in to say you're very wrong; that depends entirely on the currency :)
- plankers 5y ago
  we make fun of him _because_ he's a billionaire, you rube
- newsclues 5y ago
  Billionaires are many things but even the oligarchs with murderous goons are not beyond the reach of mockery of the common man.
pessimizer 5y ago
In Scientology, low productiveness (being "downstat" iirc) means that you're either committing secret crimes against the organization, harboring resentments against the organization that you don't acknowledge yourself ("overts" and "coverts") or that you're connected to someone who is. The people committing overts and coverts are the famous "suppressives", and the only way to detect them is through investigating incidents of low productivity. This process of rooting out suppressives is euphemistically referred to as "ethics." Any person who shows low productivity is labeled a "potential trouble source." This is central to the group. The flip side of this is the fact that people who consistently outperform and bring in cash for the organization ("upstat"?) are not to be questioned. Achievement is its own justification. So Scientology produces a lot of scammers and hucksters. Also a lot of chiropractors for some reason. edit: an animated version at https://www.dailymotion.com/video/x6hu3ca https://www.dailymotion.com/video/x6hu3ca
- creamynebula 5y ago
  Maybe scamming weighs a lot on your spine?
  - jmcgough 5y ago
    or that chiropracty is mostly pseudoscience
    - pessimizer 5y ago
      I don't think you're supposed to call it "chiropracty", I think you call it "chiropractic." It's one of those scams so powerful that it bends grammar, like "blockchain." edit: I noticed this because of my expertise in mathematic.
      - alisonkisk 5y ago
leohamelthrwawy 5y ago
Similar experience with a local jeweler high up in the church. Employees would have to sit with a coworker and stare at each for like 20 minutes or something. This in the early 2000's. In 2019 the place was raided and the owner Leo Hamel and a San Diego sheriff's captain and two others were arrested for running a gun trafficking ring after a raid by the FBI turned up over 200 firearms and 100,000 round of ammunition in the jewelry shop that the police officer was giving him.[0] [0] https://www.nbcsandiego.com/news/local/jeweler-leo-hamel-guilty-plea-federal-charges-aiding-former-san-diego-sheriffs-captain-marco-garmo-illegal-off-roster-firearms-trafficking-ring/2178913/ https://www.nbcsandiego.com/news/local/jeweler-leo-hamel-gui...

ilrwbwrkhv 5y ago

alex_young 5y ago
Is there something wrong with making fun of billionaires?
- ffhhj 5y ago
  First we lost respect for millonaires, and they became billonaires. Now we will make fun of them, so they can become trillonaires! Nobody disrespects a trillonaire, EVER.
  - tkmunzwa 5y ago
    > Nobody disrespects a trillonaire, EVER. Former Zimbabwean quadrillionare here - just chiming in to say you're very wrong; that depends entirely on the currency :)
plankers 5y ago
we make fun of him _because_ he's a billionaire, you rube
newsclues 5y ago
Billionaires are many things but even the oligarchs with murderous goons are not beyond the reach of mockery of the common man.

pessimizer 5y ago

In Scientology, low productiveness (being "downstat" iirc) means that you're either committing secret crimes against the organization, harboring resentments against the organization that you don't acknowledge yourself ("overts" and "coverts") or that you're connected to someone who is. The people committing overts and coverts are the famous "suppressives", and the only way to detect them is through investigating incidents of low productivity. This process of rooting out suppressives is euphemistically referred to as "ethics." Any person who shows low productivity is labeled a "potential trouble source." This is central to the group. The flip side of this is the fact that people who consistently outperform and bring in cash for the organization ("upstat"?) are not to be questioned. Achievement is its own justification. So Scientology produces a lot of scammers and hucksters. Also a lot of chiropractors for some reason. edit: an animated version at https://www.dailymotion.com/video/x6hu3ca https://www.dailymotion.com/video/x6hu3ca

creamynebula 5y ago
Maybe scamming weighs a lot on your spine?
- jmcgough 5y ago
  or that chiropracty is mostly pseudoscience
  - pessimizer 5y ago
    I don't think you're supposed to call it "chiropracty", I think you call it "chiropractic." It's one of those scams so powerful that it bends grammar, like "blockchain." edit: I noticed this because of my expertise in mathematic.
    - alisonkisk 5y ago

leohamelthrwawy 5y ago

Similar experience with a local jeweler high up in the church. Employees would have to sit with a coworker and stare at each for like 20 minutes or something. This in the early 2000's. In 2019 the place was raided and the owner Leo Hamel and a San Diego sheriff's captain and two others were arrested for running a gun trafficking ring after a raid by the FBI turned up over 200 firearms and 100,000 round of ammunition in the jewelry shop that the police officer was giving him.[0] [0] https://www.nbcsandiego.com/news/local/jeweler-leo-hamel-guilty-plea-federal-charges-aiding-former-san-diego-sheriffs-captain-marco-garmo-illegal-off-roster-firearms-trafficking-ring/2178913/ https://www.nbcsandiego.com/news/local/jeweler-leo-hamel-gui...