The title of this article is pretty offensive. I don’t want to read it. Is there some context that makes the racial slur appropriate here? Or we allow it because racism against white people is in vogue?
I missed the memo, is "white" a slur now?
How SBF(FTX) used his status as the right kind of "White Boy" to con the world.
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Re: How SBF(FTX) used his status as the right kind of "White Boy" to con the world.
#22The title of this article is pretty offensive. I don’t want to read it. Is there some context that makes the racial slur appropriate here? Or we allow it because racism against white people is in vogue?
I missed the memo, is "white" a slur now?
The title is saying "white boy" not that he's white and a boy. "White boy" can be a derogatory term.
Re: How SBF(FTX) used his status as the right kind of "White Boy" to con the world.
#23Dang, I flagged this for the offensive title. I've seen you've already moderated a comment here - why do you think this racist title is good for HN?
Re: How SBF(FTX) used his status as the right kind of "White Boy" to con the world.
#24‘Note that I will be using the term “white” to refer to people of European descent, and the term “black” to describe people of African descent.’
SBF is Jewish. The ‘right kind of white boy‘ is an antisemitic dog whistle.
Re: How SBF(FTX) used his status as the right kind of "White Boy" to con the world.
#25Sad to see Arthur Hayes resort to racism to make his point.
Re: How SBF(FTX) used his status as the right kind of "White Boy" to con the world.
#26Re: How SBF(FTX) used his status as the right kind of "White Boy" to con the world.
#27The title of this article is pretty offensive. I don’t want to read it. Is there some context that makes the racial slur appropriate here? Or we allow it because racism against white people is in vogue?
I agree that it is offensive. He's an elite, based on his education. And I guess he was high-IQ, too. He's probably Jewish, too, and history tells us that (some, not all) Jewish people have only been considered "white" until recently. Lesson: race is relative, and this author of the article is race-baiting for clicks.
Italian American here, my mom wasn't considered "white" until she was an adult. That was then, I'm white now. Did you read the article? I'm not sure it counts as "baiting for clicks" when he spends half of the article talking about the history and structure of the American caste system and how SBF's (perceived) status as a white male impacted his trajectory. I don't think it's bait, when it's the thrust of the essay.
Re: How SBF(FTX) used his status as the right kind of "White Boy" to con the world.
#28Earlier quoted context omitted.
The title is saying "white boy" not that he's white and a boy. "White boy" can be a derogatory term.
I see what you mean > In Pax Americana, it is verboten to suggest that the caste system is alive and well.
> In Pax Americana, it is verboten to suggest that the caste system is alive and well. If you are approaching this essay with that mentality and you aren’t interested in opening your mind, please stop reading here. If you’d prefer to continue believing in the fairytale of American exceptionalism, you can subscribe to the establishment’s whitewashed narrative of the implosion of the Death Star by just picking up a copy of the New York Times.
I'm not sure what you're trying to imply with that quote; I am not American, nor do I believe in American exceptionalism. I also don't think that SBF is a “well-meaning wunderkind [who] tried to do too much good at once”, but that doesn't mean I agree with the article.
Re: How SBF(FTX) used his status as the right kind of "White Boy" to con the world.
#29Dang, I flagged this for the offensive title. I've seen you've already moderated a comment here - why do you think this racist title is good for HN?
The article discusses issues of privilege and how this is a tool that enables fraud like SBF's. While the title may be a trigger for some, the article itself is well written.
Re: How SBF(FTX) used his status as the right kind of "White Boy" to con the world.
#30Earlier quoted context omitted.
" Please don't pick the most provocative thing in an article or post to complain about in the thread. Find something interesting to respond to instead. " https://news.ycombinator.com/newsguidelines.html Edit: you've unfortunately been breaking the site guidelines quite badly lately. Could you please stop doing that?
Change your rules then, the title of the piece is "White Boy". What the title of the piece means and its implications is up for discussion. If you don't like it - don't read it.
That rule exists for precisely this sort of occasion. I read part of the article and—agree or disagree, like or dislike—there's actually a lot there to have interesting responses to, if one wanted.
To pick the single most shallow and obvious provocation and then respond in a predictably indignant way isn't "discussion"—not in HN's sense of the word. Rather, it's the sort of reflexive response we're trying to discourage. We want thoughtful, reflective, curious conversation here. There are plenty of other places for everyone's nervous systems to get reflexively activated.