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His ramblings aren't that relevant. The problem is that the money is used to get influence; we could see this with Musk too. Something has to change. The super

His ramblings aren't that relevant. The problem is that the money is used to get influence; we could see this with Musk too. Something has to change. The superrich act as parasites and broken all inter-generational promises. The USA really messed up here - they should have put down control systems to prevent this parasitic situation.

browningstreet 10mo ago
Your first sentence is belied by everything else you wrote. Saying weird/extreme shit and then building a movement is a way of qualifying initiates and those willing to rally to the cause. It's part of the cult programming playbook. You build an in-crowd and you aim their energies at the out-crowd. It often leads to more unhinged positions too.. these things don't self-correct. Thiel's a loon, Elon's a loon, Trump's a loon, Vought's a loon. Pointed dismissiveness completely misses the point.
ajuc 10mo ago
Media without regulation = oligarchy.
kcplate 10mo ago
But how many people is he actually influencing?. His primary audience is probably more like the folks in the HN community and no one here seems to be taking these ramblings seriously. A half dozen preachers at medium to large congregations reach and influence far more people with these kind of ideas without his billions and press at their disposal. He’s actually small potatoes in this apocalypse space. I say let him talk, who cares?
- haizhung 10mo ago
  I see this all the time in real life though. Right-wing „influencers“ with the worst takes you could imagine are getting funded somehow, while even the best scientists are getting deplatformed left and right.
  - kcplate 10mo ago
    > Are getting funded somehow They are getting funded because people are tapping into the zeitgeist, so the message is popular and presented in ways people find interesting and compelling. Money abounds whenever people are listening. > the best scientists are getting deplatformed Because they are not tapping into public mood or in a lot of cases simply unable to communicate effectively to the populace in a way that attracts platforming and financial interests. The sensible or realistic apocalypse stories just aren’t as sexy as the magical and supernatural ones.
red-iron-pine 10mo ago
they did. and they were undone. propaganda works, and the US spent 80 years post-WW2 talking about how Communism = evil.

browningstreet 10mo ago

Your first sentence is belied by everything else you wrote. Saying weird/extreme shit and then building a movement is a way of qualifying initiates and those willing to rally to the cause. It's part of the cult programming playbook. You build an in-crowd and you aim their energies at the out-crowd. It often leads to more unhinged positions too.. these things don't self-correct. Thiel's a loon, Elon's a loon, Trump's a loon, Vought's a loon. Pointed dismissiveness completely misses the point.

ajuc 10mo ago

Media without regulation = oligarchy.

kcplate 10mo ago

But how many people is he actually influencing?. His primary audience is probably more like the folks in the HN community and no one here seems to be taking these ramblings seriously. A half dozen preachers at medium to large congregations reach and influence far more people with these kind of ideas without his billions and press at their disposal. He’s actually small potatoes in this apocalypse space. I say let him talk, who cares?

haizhung 10mo ago
I see this all the time in real life though. Right-wing „influencers“ with the worst takes you could imagine are getting funded somehow, while even the best scientists are getting deplatformed left and right.
- kcplate 10mo ago
  > Are getting funded somehow They are getting funded because people are tapping into the zeitgeist, so the message is popular and presented in ways people find interesting and compelling. Money abounds whenever people are listening. > the best scientists are getting deplatformed Because they are not tapping into public mood or in a lot of cases simply unable to communicate effectively to the populace in a way that attracts platforming and financial interests. The sensible or realistic apocalypse stories just aren’t as sexy as the magical and supernatural ones.

red-iron-pine 10mo ago

they did. and they were undone. propaganda works, and the US spent 80 years post-WW2 talking about how Communism = evil.