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No, but I agree with presty's comment. To add to it, to be completely honest, I think most people get to go through life with very few opportunities to do somet

No, but I agree with presty's comment. To add to it, to be completely honest, I think most people get to go through life with very few opportunities to do something mean. Startup founders, it probably happens every week. They are tempted, and tempted, and tempted. Even if you're good a lot of the time, at some point you're going to say: "Sue didn't work as hard as me" "Bobby isn't the idea man" "I don't owe Claire anything, she took 2 days off sick last year" "Carl's only a contractor, I can pay him 2 months late" "Jay only contributed a tiny amount at the beginning, now he does nothing, it's time to cut him loose" "Sally just isn't a cultural fit any more" Or simply "I worked so much harder/am brighter/deserve it more than most people, I'm allowed to be a bit selfish". It's the same thing as power being corrupting.

paul 12y ago
I think you're confusing mean with something else. Firing an employ who is not performing is not mean. Mean, at least in the way I think pg is using it, is more like you see in YouTube comments, and everyone has plenty of opportunity to be mean like that (as evidenced by YouTube :). If anything, I think it's a sign of powerlessness.
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- mattmanser 12y ago
  No-one acts like they do in YT comments in real life, who would write that essay? And as I've said in my edit, why does he use "good" and "benevolent" as antonyms instead of "polite" or "diplomatic"? Why "x-ray vision for character"? "they're usually trying to improve the world"? "you win not by fighting to get control of a scarce resource, but by having new ideas and building new things"? "People need to feel that what they create can't be stolen."? pg was clearly not talking about name throwing or spite. He's talking about moral character. He is repeatedly making positive judgements about how great these founders are. Not how they don't belittle other people for kicks.

paul 12y ago

I think you're confusing mean with something else. Firing an employ who is not performing is not mean. Mean, at least in the way I think pg is using it, is more like you see in YouTube comments, and everyone has plenty of opportunity to be mean like that (as evidenced by YouTube :). If anything, I think it's a sign of powerlessness.

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mattmanser 12y ago
No-one acts like they do in YT comments in real life, who would write that essay? And as I've said in my edit, why does he use "good" and "benevolent" as antonyms instead of "polite" or "diplomatic"? Why "x-ray vision for character"? "they're usually trying to improve the world"? "you win not by fighting to get control of a scarce resource, but by having new ideas and building new things"? "People need to feel that what they create can't be stolen."? pg was clearly not talking about name throwing or spite. He's talking about moral character. He is repeatedly making positive judgements about how great these founders are. Not how they don't belittle other people for kicks.