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> African American artist mother I had no idea Alex Karp was black. Anyhow: > On CNBC’s Squawk Box, he shook both fists simultaneously as he railed against s

> African American artist mother I had no idea Alex Karp was black. Anyhow: > On CNBC’s Squawk Box, he shook both fists simultaneously as he railed against short sellers betting against Palantir, whose share price has climbed nearly 600% in the past year: “It’s super triggering,” he complained. “Why do they have to go after us?” This and a few other sections make me wonder how much introspection the guy has and whether he ever concedes that he is wrong.

_yb2s 1y ago
> This and a few other sections make me wonder how much introspection the guy has and whether he ever concedes that he is wrong. Our culture is currently at a moment where it confuses the faux confidence of narcissism with strength, and promotes those people to positions of leadership. However, it's pretty much the opposite of that, it is escaping into an imaginary persona with faux infinite confidence, because you are too afraid to be a real person that has faults like everyone else.
- graemep 1y ago
  Not only one culture or moment in history. There have always been weird people in positions of power. Look at Alexander the Great, for example, or Mao or Idi Amin.. A few more examples here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TCahA0MP_G0 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TCahA0MP_G0
  - _yb2s 1y ago
    I don't think it's appropriate to conflate having an antisocial personality disorder with just generally being "weird." Especially in the current context, where authoritarians are especially adverse to non-conformity. However, while it's absolutely not a new thing that people with these personality traits rise to positions of power, e.g. see "The Prince" by Machiavelli, it ignores the uniqueness of the current moment. We have a widespread far-right movement right now that has a particular ideal of strength and masculinity, which is exactly the symptoms of narcissism, and has formed a cult of personality around a particular malignant narcissist. This is something new that has formed over the past 10-15 years, starting out of certain internet communities including 4chan, 8chan, and "the manosphere" and is a marked cultural departure from how things were ~20 years ago.
rsynnott 1y ago
Quite a lot of tech CEOs get weirdly over-emotional about short-sellers. Musk does this, too, say. I get the impression that it's appealing to a certain audience, and may be performative. Like, if you're trying to recapture the demented retail magic of the Gamestop moment, and I think a lot of these meme-aligned stocks are, then railing against short-sellers is probably a good way to endear yourself to that crowd.
- close04 1y ago
  > Quite a lot of tech CEOs get weirdly over-emotional about short-sellers. They just can't picture themselves ever being in the wrong. They are genuinely convinced they are the hero. Logically any opposition comes from villains. With the ego of people like Musk and other idiosyncratic, autocratic, and sociopathic CEOs, I think there needs to be a rational strategy behind it.
  - rsynnott 1y ago
    So, that's definitely a possibility, but there's also the possibility that they're just trying to attract the attentions of the Gamestop crowd (who, as a class, have peculiar beliefs about short sellers).
- terminalshort 1y ago
  It's not a new thing. CEOs have always hated short sellers. It's just that nobody ever heard about it since before meme stocks 90% of the general public didn't even know what a short seller is.
- torginus 1y ago
  Doesn't the success of a short come down to crowd psychology? If there's a company with a given stock price, and somebody convinces a significant portion of investors to short it, on the other side the CEO and other shareholders tries foil the short by using their free cash to buy up the new shares. The success or failure of the short hinges on which side is manages to convince/intimidate/sway the majority stockholders regardless of fundamentals. If the short sellers manage to recruit more stockholders (by value) - they win (in terms of value), if the company's supporters are move more money - the price doesn't go down and the short sellers are left with the bills.
Huster 1y ago
[flagged]
- andsoitis 1y ago
  > If you looked at the other side of his ancestry, you'd understand where the pathological victim-complex comes from. Tell us more?
leoh 1y ago
> This and a few other sections make me wonder how much introspection the guy has and whether he ever concedes that he is wrong. Quite a bit introspective and humble actually?? These are arguably defining qualities of Karp. See for example https://youtu.be/ChwSTuDa9RY https://youtu.be/ChwSTuDa9RY.
- pseudalopex 1y ago
  What in the video did you interpret to show introspection or humility? Karp interpreted the question if he regretted working with ICE as a question if he had suffered because of it. This was self centered. He implied it had caused conflict between him and his family. He complained employees he liked left. He complained about protests. This was what he called suffering. He said protesters protested him. Not Palantir. Not his work. This was self centered. Were you impressed he said he asked himself if he would protest if younger and a student? Knowing your political views changed requires not much introspection and no humility. The interviewer asked what was protesters' most valid criticism. Karp asked if 1 instance of injustice tarnished all instances of justice. But this was not protesters' criticism.
DeathArrow 1y ago
>I had no idea Alex Karp was black. He looks pretty white to me. I haven't find an image of this mother.
treetalker 1y ago
The poor, helpless victim! Won't someone please think of the multi-billion-dollar corporations and ultra-high-net-worth individuals actively working to eliminate the tattered remains of our privacy and to install still-greater systems of surveillance and social control?

_yb2s 1y ago

> This and a few other sections make me wonder how much introspection the guy has and whether he ever concedes that he is wrong. Our culture is currently at a moment where it confuses the faux confidence of narcissism with strength, and promotes those people to positions of leadership. However, it's pretty much the opposite of that, it is escaping into an imaginary persona with faux infinite confidence, because you are too afraid to be a real person that has faults like everyone else.

graemep 1y ago
Not only one culture or moment in history. There have always been weird people in positions of power. Look at Alexander the Great, for example, or Mao or Idi Amin.. A few more examples here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TCahA0MP_G0 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TCahA0MP_G0
- _yb2s 1y ago
  I don't think it's appropriate to conflate having an antisocial personality disorder with just generally being "weird." Especially in the current context, where authoritarians are especially adverse to non-conformity. However, while it's absolutely not a new thing that people with these personality traits rise to positions of power, e.g. see "The Prince" by Machiavelli, it ignores the uniqueness of the current moment. We have a widespread far-right movement right now that has a particular ideal of strength and masculinity, which is exactly the symptoms of narcissism, and has formed a cult of personality around a particular malignant narcissist. This is something new that has formed over the past 10-15 years, starting out of certain internet communities including 4chan, 8chan, and "the manosphere" and is a marked cultural departure from how things were ~20 years ago.

rsynnott 1y ago

Quite a lot of tech CEOs get weirdly over-emotional about short-sellers. Musk does this, too, say. I get the impression that it's appealing to a certain audience, and may be performative. Like, if you're trying to recapture the demented retail magic of the Gamestop moment, and I think a lot of these meme-aligned stocks are, then railing against short-sellers is probably a good way to endear yourself to that crowd.

close04 1y ago
> Quite a lot of tech CEOs get weirdly over-emotional about short-sellers. They just can't picture themselves ever being in the wrong. They are genuinely convinced they are the hero. Logically any opposition comes from villains. With the ego of people like Musk and other idiosyncratic, autocratic, and sociopathic CEOs, I think there needs to be a rational strategy behind it.
- rsynnott 1y ago
  So, that's definitely a possibility, but there's also the possibility that they're just trying to attract the attentions of the Gamestop crowd (who, as a class, have peculiar beliefs about short sellers).
terminalshort 1y ago
It's not a new thing. CEOs have always hated short sellers. It's just that nobody ever heard about it since before meme stocks 90% of the general public didn't even know what a short seller is.
torginus 1y ago
Doesn't the success of a short come down to crowd psychology? If there's a company with a given stock price, and somebody convinces a significant portion of investors to short it, on the other side the CEO and other shareholders tries foil the short by using their free cash to buy up the new shares. The success or failure of the short hinges on which side is manages to convince/intimidate/sway the majority stockholders regardless of fundamentals. If the short sellers manage to recruit more stockholders (by value) - they win (in terms of value), if the company's supporters are move more money - the price doesn't go down and the short sellers are left with the bills.

Huster 1y ago

[flagged]

andsoitis 1y ago
> If you looked at the other side of his ancestry, you'd understand where the pathological victim-complex comes from. Tell us more?

leoh 1y ago

> This and a few other sections make me wonder how much introspection the guy has and whether he ever concedes that he is wrong. Quite a bit introspective and humble actually?? These are arguably defining qualities of Karp. See for example https://youtu.be/ChwSTuDa9RY https://youtu.be/ChwSTuDa9RY.

pseudalopex 1y ago
What in the video did you interpret to show introspection or humility? Karp interpreted the question if he regretted working with ICE as a question if he had suffered because of it. This was self centered. He implied it had caused conflict between him and his family. He complained employees he liked left. He complained about protests. This was what he called suffering. He said protesters protested him. Not Palantir. Not his work. This was self centered. Were you impressed he said he asked himself if he would protest if younger and a student? Knowing your political views changed requires not much introspection and no humility. The interviewer asked what was protesters' most valid criticism. Karp asked if 1 instance of injustice tarnished all instances of justice. But this was not protesters' criticism.

DeathArrow 1y ago

>I had no idea Alex Karp was black. He looks pretty white to me. I haven't find an image of this mother.

treetalker 1y ago

The poor, helpless victim! Won't someone please think of the multi-billion-dollar corporations and ultra-high-net-worth individuals actively working to eliminate the tattered remains of our privacy and to install still-greater systems of surveillance and social control?