Cited on HN 5 times, 2016–2026, never outright recommendedscore 0
Years with an HN recommendation, 2007–2026
Used as a joke reference whenever a thread features a tech billionaire or CEO complaining about being vilified.
A one-minute clip from HBO's Silicon Valley in which Gavin Belson describes the supposed persecution of billionaires in modern America by comparing it to the Holocaust. It is a satirical scene about tech-executive self-pity.
From HBO's Silicon Valley -- [this video] -- I'll take the downvotes I deserve for trolling. Though for the record, I'm fairly certain the hunters and wild animals analogy isn't intended as a complaint that he feels "hunted" or that he thinks people are out to hunt or kill startup founders in any literal or figurative sense [1]. The point of that anecdote in PG's essay is just that the counterparty to the argument doesn't have a clear objective. The Rick Webb open letter obviously uses it out of context to make PG look as if he's whining about being rich. [1] fun aside: yay those 2 words mean the same thing anyways now apparently anyways. [link]
> and partly because billionaires get less than zero sympathy if they talk about having difficult lives That quote from the essay reminds me of a Silicon Valley scene [1] where the CEO of the pseudo-Google company in the show gets vilified (rightfully so in the show) for complaining about how hard billionaires have it in this country. I bet the creator's read PG's essay and were inspired by it. [1]: [this video]
I found it hilarious when Gavin compared his treatment to the plight of the Jews in Nazi Germany [1]. And then I found out it was actually based on this guy [2]. [1] [this video] [2] [link]
>These laws exist to promote free thought. They punish those who seek to pry into our most private spaces and turn America into a place like East Germany. If you're going to argue that journalists blowing the whistle on the private conversations of the ultra-rich and powerful about how to reign in journalism with the Stasi, that's a great recipe for getting people sold on the idea that privacy itself is a tool used by the powerful to escape scrutiny. It reminds me of that bit in the Silicon valley TV show ( [this video] )
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