4 ms·

So many apologists for Tim Apple over the past year, but I think this is just who he is. Gladly embracing fascism and authoritarianism.

toephu2 9mo ago
[flagged]
iJohnDoe 9mo ago
Very true. This is why Hitler was surrounded by so many people. They went where the power was. Even if it’s not “who he is”, it is who he became. The nazis were prosecuted decades later. Tim Cook’s actions shouldn’t be magically forgotten once Trump is out of office. This pattern has historical precedent. Adolf Hitler’s inner circle included people like Albert Speer, a trained architect who was not an early ideologue but aligned himself with power as the regime consolidated control. Speer benefited professionally, became Minister of Armaments, and later claimed political detachment. These claims were rejected at Nuremberg, where he was convicted for his role in the Nazi state. The fact that alignment can be opportunistic rather than ideological did not absolve responsibility then, and it should not automatically do so now. Accountability is not erased simply because a political era ends.
- dissent 9mo ago
  There's a big difference between being a party member actually in a government position (war related, no less), and being a businessman surviving under that regime. You're not only making an absurd comparison, you're calling for punishment for somebody who hasn't even remotely broken any laws. Can't you see you're being authoritarian?
  - dpkirchner 9mo ago
    Somehow I doubt Tim Cook would have trouble surviving if he did not choose to bend the knee.
    - dissent 9mo ago
      He might be lynched by his shareholders :)
  - politelemon 9mo ago
    Law and morality are not the same thing. The apologism for Apple on HN is comically and selectively gymnastics. I think the biggest shame here is the brand identity for a corporation that many of you have self deluded into adopting. Even now the voices that tell you to stop bootlicking them and warning against them get shouted down.
    - dissent 9mo ago
      That may be true, but if you think your definition of morality is correct and anybody who thinks otherwise needs to be punished, then no wonder you've ended up with an authoritarian who's beaten you at your own game. It's also got nothing to do with Apple fanboyism. The same is true for all corporations in the US.
      - brewdad 8mo ago
        When the opposite side of the coin is Trumpism, yeah, I’m going with my definition of morality is correct. It isn’t perfect but it sure beats the alternative.
      - deleted 8mo ago
        [deleted]
  - fireflash38 8mo ago
    It's why Hugo Boss is only a footnote in history for being a huge part of the Nazi regime right? Right? Nope. Other way around. Their Nazi support is a footnote in their Wikipedia page.
    - dissent 8mo ago
      Come on, it was the 1930s, in Germany and Hitler and the Nazis (the real ones we got the name from) were actually in power. You're comparing apples to potatoes.
      - fireflash38 8mo ago
        In some German dialects, "potato" is translated as "earth apple". So yeah, I am comparing apples and potatoes. We are living under a fascist regime.
- JohnFen 8mo ago
  > Even if it’s not “who he is” We are what we do.
codyb 9mo ago
Yea, Apple's decision to have its CEO embrace fascism has really destroyed a ton of my goodwill towards the company and I'm actively looking for alternatives, delaying further purchases, and encouraging others to do the same. Doesn't help that they appear to have shot all of their UX designers into the sun judging by the most recent iOS and MacOS upgrades.
- bigyabai 9mo ago
  Don't forget that he did it for Trump's first admin too. Cooperation with the government seems to be an imperative beyond the CEO's control.
deepfriedchokes 9mo ago
Capitalists only care about capital. Witness how fast the DEI stuff was jettisoned once it was determined to be unprofitable under the current administration.
- JuniperMesos 8mo ago
  DEI programs were (largely) incentivized by one political faction in the United States primarily via legal rather than market mechanisms, and in response to this a rival political faction explicitly ran on undoing those legal mechanisms to disincentivize DEI programs. Of course one of the ways the government can enact policy is by making something cheap or expensive for firms participating in capitalism to do, which incentivizes their behavior; but characterizing DEI programs as something that corporations jettisoned because it was determined to be "unprofitable under the current administration" ignores the fact that the current administration explicitly promised to end DEI programs in a political campaign in a democracy and then won an election.
nicbou 9mo ago
Here’s to the crazy ones

toephu2 9mo ago

[flagged]

iJohnDoe 9mo ago

Very true. This is why Hitler was surrounded by so many people. They went where the power was. Even if it’s not “who he is”, it is who he became. The nazis were prosecuted decades later. Tim Cook’s actions shouldn’t be magically forgotten once Trump is out of office. This pattern has historical precedent. Adolf Hitler’s inner circle included people like Albert Speer, a trained architect who was not an early ideologue but aligned himself with power as the regime consolidated control. Speer benefited professionally, became Minister of Armaments, and later claimed political detachment. These claims were rejected at Nuremberg, where he was convicted for his role in the Nazi state. The fact that alignment can be opportunistic rather than ideological did not absolve responsibility then, and it should not automatically do so now. Accountability is not erased simply because a political era ends.

dissent 9mo ago
There's a big difference between being a party member actually in a government position (war related, no less), and being a businessman surviving under that regime. You're not only making an absurd comparison, you're calling for punishment for somebody who hasn't even remotely broken any laws. Can't you see you're being authoritarian?
- dpkirchner 9mo ago
  Somehow I doubt Tim Cook would have trouble surviving if he did not choose to bend the knee.
  - dissent 9mo ago
    He might be lynched by his shareholders :)
- politelemon 9mo ago
  Law and morality are not the same thing. The apologism for Apple on HN is comically and selectively gymnastics. I think the biggest shame here is the brand identity for a corporation that many of you have self deluded into adopting. Even now the voices that tell you to stop bootlicking them and warning against them get shouted down.
  - dissent 9mo ago
    That may be true, but if you think your definition of morality is correct and anybody who thinks otherwise needs to be punished, then no wonder you've ended up with an authoritarian who's beaten you at your own game. It's also got nothing to do with Apple fanboyism. The same is true for all corporations in the US.
    - brewdad 8mo ago
      When the opposite side of the coin is Trumpism, yeah, I’m going with my definition of morality is correct. It isn’t perfect but it sure beats the alternative.
    - deleted 8mo ago
      [deleted]
- fireflash38 8mo ago
  It's why Hugo Boss is only a footnote in history for being a huge part of the Nazi regime right? Right? Nope. Other way around. Their Nazi support is a footnote in their Wikipedia page.
  - dissent 8mo ago
    Come on, it was the 1930s, in Germany and Hitler and the Nazis (the real ones we got the name from) were actually in power. You're comparing apples to potatoes.
    - fireflash38 8mo ago
      In some German dialects, "potato" is translated as "earth apple". So yeah, I am comparing apples and potatoes. We are living under a fascist regime.
JohnFen 8mo ago
> Even if it’s not “who he is” We are what we do.

codyb 9mo ago

Yea, Apple's decision to have its CEO embrace fascism has really destroyed a ton of my goodwill towards the company and I'm actively looking for alternatives, delaying further purchases, and encouraging others to do the same. Doesn't help that they appear to have shot all of their UX designers into the sun judging by the most recent iOS and MacOS upgrades.

bigyabai 9mo ago
Don't forget that he did it for Trump's first admin too. Cooperation with the government seems to be an imperative beyond the CEO's control.

deepfriedchokes 9mo ago

Capitalists only care about capital. Witness how fast the DEI stuff was jettisoned once it was determined to be unprofitable under the current administration.

JuniperMesos 8mo ago
DEI programs were (largely) incentivized by one political faction in the United States primarily via legal rather than market mechanisms, and in response to this a rival political faction explicitly ran on undoing those legal mechanisms to disincentivize DEI programs. Of course one of the ways the government can enact policy is by making something cheap or expensive for firms participating in capitalism to do, which incentivizes their behavior; but characterizing DEI programs as something that corporations jettisoned because it was determined to be "unprofitable under the current administration" ignores the fact that the current administration explicitly promised to end DEI programs in a political campaign in a democracy and then won an election.

nicbou 9mo ago

Here’s to the crazy ones