5 ms·

So what exactly makes the Koch Brothers and Monsanto worse than Facebook (also a horrible political lobbying monster corporation)? Because they're not tech comp

So what exactly makes the Koch Brothers and Monsanto worse than Facebook (also a horrible political lobbying monster corporation)? Because they're not tech companies who your friends work at?

Shivetya 13y ago
because the first has the audacity to not agree with the left and the second is a corporation who patents genetics and similar? Really it all comes down to irrational hate by one side or the other and unfortunately this type of irrationality is best observed on sites like Hacker's News and Slashdot, Digg was bad too in its good days. The level of pretentiousness is astounding, but fortunately other than up/down/karma and bombastic posts the members of such sites do little else.
onan_barbarian 13y ago
I am not sure that the target audience for the app is identically opposed to "lobbying" and "big corporations" for any player. They might feel that there's something particularly repugnant in the goals or ideology of Koch Brothers or Monsanto that doesn't apply to Facebook. Further, you are unlikely to accidentally buy Facebook-owned breakfast cereal. But nice try at sophomore cynicism.
aaronbrethorst 13y ago
Koch Brothers: http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-10-02/koch-brothers-flout-law-getting-richer-with-secret-iran-sales.html?nr_email_referer=1 http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-10-02/koch-brothers-flout... Monsanto: poisoned people with Agent Orange, DDT, and polychlorinated biphenyls (re PCBs: http://www.commondreams.org/headlines02/0101-02.htm http://www.commondreams.org/headlines02/0101-02.htm) Facebook: ???. I guess their CEO is an arrogant, 20-something billionaire, and they play fast and loose with online privacy. They have yet to kill anyone or commit treason[1]. So there's that. [1] Or, as they'd call it on Arrested Development, "light treason"
- tptacek 13y ago
  So, you're going to boycott every other company that dumped PCBs and pesticides and other carcinogens into groundwater, right?
  - aaronbrethorst 13y ago
    Where did I say I was boycotting anything? I was merely explaining why I think Monsanto and the Koch brothers are worse than Facebook.
    - tptacek 13y ago
      My mistake, sorry. Tech has an unjustifiably positive view of its own long-term environmental impact, so, hotbutton.
      - aaronbrethorst 13y ago
        All good, apologies for the rude tone. I feel like I've had increasing issues with people misinterpreting or misreading my comments on here lately. I took that out on you unnecessarily. Cheers. edit: really, i'm getting downvoted by someone for civility?
        deleted 13y ago
        [deleted]
        jdp23 13y ago
        you're probably getting downvoted (not by me) for implying that anybody on HN might misinterpret or misread your comment. because obviously IT'S YOUR FAULT FOR WRITING THE KIND OF COMMENT THAT COULD BE MISINTERPRETED YOU LOSER!!!!!!!!!
        demallien 13y ago
        My guess is that someone on a phone accidentally down-voted you when they wanted to up-vote. Those little arrows are... well... little!
rayiner 13y ago
Because Zuck wears a hoodie while pushing his corporatist political agenda via his well-funded PAC.
- enraged_camel 13y ago
  Well, no. As influential as Zuck is, his influence simply pales in comparison to that of Koch Brothers or even Monsanto.
  - tsotha 13y ago
    As the Koch Brothers' influence simply pales next to the Tides Foundation. I wonder why that never gets mentioned in these kinds of threads.
    - fyi80 13y ago
      By what measure? For political influence, certainly not in dollars: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tides_%28organization%29 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tides_%28organization%29 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Political_activities_of_the_Koch_brothers http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Political_activities_of_the_Koc...
  - philwelch 13y ago
    The Koch brothers are indeed very influential. Remember when they bankrolled that Libertarian Party that now controls American politics, legalized all the drugs and abolished the income tax?
    - brucefancher 13y ago
      Don't forget about when they legalized gay marriage.
    - praptak 13y ago
      Just one of many baskets they put their eggs in. It's like pointing out a single failed company to suggest the whole portfolio of them is crappy. Maybe their goal was just giving more exposure to libertarian ideas.

So what exactly makes the Koch Brothers and Monsanto worse than Facebook (also a horrible political lobbying monster corporation)? Because they're not tech companies who your friends work at?

Shivetya 13y ago

because the first has the audacity to not agree with the left and the second is a corporation who patents genetics and similar? Really it all comes down to irrational hate by one side or the other and unfortunately this type of irrationality is best observed on sites like Hacker's News and Slashdot, Digg was bad too in its good days. The level of pretentiousness is astounding, but fortunately other than up/down/karma and bombastic posts the members of such sites do little else.

onan_barbarian 13y ago

I am not sure that the target audience for the app is identically opposed to "lobbying" and "big corporations" for any player. They might feel that there's something particularly repugnant in the goals or ideology of Koch Brothers or Monsanto that doesn't apply to Facebook. Further, you are unlikely to accidentally buy Facebook-owned breakfast cereal. But nice try at sophomore cynicism.

aaronbrethorst 13y ago

Koch Brothers: http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-10-02/koch-brothers-flout-law-getting-richer-with-secret-iran-sales.html?nr_email_referer=1 http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-10-02/koch-brothers-flout... Monsanto: poisoned people with Agent Orange, DDT, and polychlorinated biphenyls (re PCBs: http://www.commondreams.org/headlines02/0101-02.htm http://www.commondreams.org/headlines02/0101-02.htm) Facebook: ???. I guess their CEO is an arrogant, 20-something billionaire, and they play fast and loose with online privacy. They have yet to kill anyone or commit treason[1]. So there's that. [1] Or, as they'd call it on Arrested Development, "light treason"

tptacek 13y ago
So, you're going to boycott every other company that dumped PCBs and pesticides and other carcinogens into groundwater, right?
- aaronbrethorst 13y ago
  Where did I say I was boycotting anything? I was merely explaining why I think Monsanto and the Koch brothers are worse than Facebook.
  - tptacek 13y ago
    My mistake, sorry. Tech has an unjustifiably positive view of its own long-term environmental impact, so, hotbutton.
    - aaronbrethorst 13y ago
      All good, apologies for the rude tone. I feel like I've had increasing issues with people misinterpreting or misreading my comments on here lately. I took that out on you unnecessarily. Cheers. edit: really, i'm getting downvoted by someone for civility?
      - deleted 13y ago
        [deleted]
      - jdp23 13y ago
        you're probably getting downvoted (not by me) for implying that anybody on HN might misinterpret or misread your comment. because obviously IT'S YOUR FAULT FOR WRITING THE KIND OF COMMENT THAT COULD BE MISINTERPRETED YOU LOSER!!!!!!!!!
      - demallien 13y ago
        My guess is that someone on a phone accidentally down-voted you when they wanted to up-vote. Those little arrows are... well... little!

rayiner 13y ago

Because Zuck wears a hoodie while pushing his corporatist political agenda via his well-funded PAC.

enraged_camel 13y ago
Well, no. As influential as Zuck is, his influence simply pales in comparison to that of Koch Brothers or even Monsanto.
- tsotha 13y ago
  As the Koch Brothers' influence simply pales next to the Tides Foundation. I wonder why that never gets mentioned in these kinds of threads.
  - fyi80 13y ago
    By what measure? For political influence, certainly not in dollars: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tides_%28organization%29 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tides_%28organization%29 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Political_activities_of_the_Koch_brothers http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Political_activities_of_the_Koc...
- philwelch 13y ago
  The Koch brothers are indeed very influential. Remember when they bankrolled that Libertarian Party that now controls American politics, legalized all the drugs and abolished the income tax?
  - brucefancher 13y ago
    Don't forget about when they legalized gay marriage.
  - praptak 13y ago
    Just one of many baskets they put their eggs in. It's like pointing out a single failed company to suggest the whole portfolio of them is crappy. Maybe their goal was just giving more exposure to libertarian ideas.