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Bill Gates had bonds with Epstein. His multi decade marriage fell after the fact became public. He didn't get 1% the flak that Stallman had for commenting about

Bill Gates had bonds with Epstein. His multi decade marriage fell after the fact became public. He didn't get 1% the flak that Stallman had for commenting about a word to describe Marvin Minsky.

philwelch 3y ago
The amount of social grace you get for being a powerful billionaire is a lot more than you get for being a weird nerd.
VagueMag 3y ago
[flagged]
- tivert 3y ago
  This is in reply to the GP, which was inappropriately flag-killed. The difference is probably that Stallman has no money or power, so he's an easy, safe target to attack.
  - ethbr0 3y ago
    The difference is that Gates pays his PR company a lot more than Stallman does his.
    - actionfromafar 3y ago
      Not sure Stallman would even listen to a PR team if he had one.
  - Gigachad 3y ago
    Stallman also likely has autism and can't manage his public appearance nearly as well as Gates.
    - fsckboy 3y ago
      Gates likely has autism--he's even famous for rocking--but the rest of your statement is correct.
kenjackson 3y ago
Bill Gates didn't say much about it, except he didn't know about any of the "bad stuff" and was deceived. Stallman said a bunch of to try to either claim that the victims weren't victims. Or to try to downplay what happened. Those are huge differences.
- deleted 3y ago
  [deleted]
- mindslight 3y ago
  The difference - one is naively engaging with the topic to try and defend his friend, while the other is saying the predictable politically correct thing that gets attention off him the quickest.
- pessimizer 3y ago
  Bill Gates is connected enough to Epstein to be suspected of participating in it. Of course he isn't talking about it.
  - kenjackson 3y ago
    I haven't seen a single credible claim that Gates participated in anything inappropriate. The biggest red flag IMO is that his wife divorced him over it.
    - Alupis 3y ago
      Given how open of a secret this apparently was in Hollywood circles, it's a little hard to believe someone as well connected as Bill Gates wouldn't have any shred of an idea...
    - twelve40 3y ago
      why would he go and hang out at an infamous convicted felon's house when it was a widely publicized story by that time? like, how did he even end up there? > Gates first met face to face on the evening of Jan. 31, 2011, at Mr. Epstein's townhouse on the Upper East Side (nyt)
say_it_as_it_is 3y ago
Conspiracy theory about Epstein or something other than a 4chan source of proof?
deleted 3y ago
[deleted]
npteljes 3y ago
The difference is them managing their PR - ability and opportunity. Bill's achievement is not avoiding the flak from this latest thing. He was able to completely rebrand himself from ruthless businessman to an affable philanthropist.
prepend 3y ago
I expect Gates has a PR firm tasked with reducing this kind of stuff. And I am cynical enough to believe it includes astroturfing any social media or site (including HN) to disinfo it away. RMS doesn’t have Gates’ resources.
user6723 3y ago
[flagged]
michael1999 3y ago
Bill Gates is a billionaire, guarded by assistants, PR consultants, and crisis management consultants. RMS is an awkward nerd, one step up from couch surfing. Easy targets are easy targets.

Bill Gates had bonds with Epstein. His multi decade marriage fell after the fact became public. He didn't get 1% the flak that Stallman had for commenting about a word to describe Marvin Minsky.

philwelch 3y ago

The amount of social grace you get for being a powerful billionaire is a lot more than you get for being a weird nerd.

VagueMag 3y ago

[flagged]

tivert 3y ago
This is in reply to the GP, which was inappropriately flag-killed. The difference is probably that Stallman has no money or power, so he's an easy, safe target to attack.
- ethbr0 3y ago
  The difference is that Gates pays his PR company a lot more than Stallman does his.
  - actionfromafar 3y ago
    Not sure Stallman would even listen to a PR team if he had one.
- Gigachad 3y ago
  Stallman also likely has autism and can't manage his public appearance nearly as well as Gates.
  - fsckboy 3y ago
    Gates likely has autism--he's even famous for rocking--but the rest of your statement is correct.

kenjackson 3y ago

Bill Gates didn't say much about it, except he didn't know about any of the "bad stuff" and was deceived. Stallman said a bunch of to try to either claim that the victims weren't victims. Or to try to downplay what happened. Those are huge differences.

deleted 3y ago
[deleted]
mindslight 3y ago
The difference - one is naively engaging with the topic to try and defend his friend, while the other is saying the predictable politically correct thing that gets attention off him the quickest.
pessimizer 3y ago
Bill Gates is connected enough to Epstein to be suspected of participating in it. Of course he isn't talking about it.
- kenjackson 3y ago
  I haven't seen a single credible claim that Gates participated in anything inappropriate. The biggest red flag IMO is that his wife divorced him over it.
  - Alupis 3y ago
    Given how open of a secret this apparently was in Hollywood circles, it's a little hard to believe someone as well connected as Bill Gates wouldn't have any shred of an idea...
  - twelve40 3y ago
    why would he go and hang out at an infamous convicted felon's house when it was a widely publicized story by that time? like, how did he even end up there? > Gates first met face to face on the evening of Jan. 31, 2011, at Mr. Epstein's townhouse on the Upper East Side (nyt)

say_it_as_it_is 3y ago

Conspiracy theory about Epstein or something other than a 4chan source of proof?

deleted 3y ago

[deleted]

npteljes 3y ago

The difference is them managing their PR - ability and opportunity. Bill's achievement is not avoiding the flak from this latest thing. He was able to completely rebrand himself from ruthless businessman to an affable philanthropist.

prepend 3y ago

I expect Gates has a PR firm tasked with reducing this kind of stuff. And I am cynical enough to believe it includes astroturfing any social media or site (including HN) to disinfo it away. RMS doesn’t have Gates’ resources.

user6723 3y ago

[flagged]

michael1999 3y ago

Bill Gates is a billionaire, guarded by assistants, PR consultants, and crisis management consultants. RMS is an awkward nerd, one step up from couch surfing. Easy targets are easy targets.