"They've got blood on that moneyBut I'll still count it."- Future Hendrix
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"They've got blood on that money
But I'll still count it."
- Future HendrixNPR article on Philanthropy in science funding
https://www.npr.org/2026/03/30/nx-s1-5753946/science-jeffrey-epstein-mit-exploit-donors-philanthropy
If the problem were "philanthropic funding of science" then all universities would be affected equally. They weren't. The rot was most heavily concentrated on one university.
One known for hosting toxic men in open source.
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"They've got blood on that money
But I'll still count it."
- Future HendrixNPR article on Philanthropy in science funding
https://www.npr.org/2026/03/30/nx-s1-5753946/science-jeffrey-epstein-mit-exploit-donors-philanthropy
If the problem were "philanthropic funding of science" then all universities would be affected equally. They weren't. The rot was most heavily concentrated on one university.
One known for hosting toxic men in open source.
20% of science funding comes from private sources. The article unironically makes the claim that it would be better if this percentage were lower, at a time when the US government won't let you put the words bias, privilege, or gender in a paper, and is cancelling grants for racist reasons.
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20% of science funding comes from private sources. The article unironically makes the claim that it would be better if this percentage were lower, at a time when the US government won't let you put the words bias, privilege, or gender in a paper, and is cancelling grants for racist reasons.
I mean seriously, Epstein was all over MIT, sure. But the POTUS was his best friend for 10 years! His cabinet was all over the island!
So how does moving funding from private to public avoid Epstein?
The real issue is "Maybe don't let the billionaire pedo's friends decide which science gets done?"
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I mean seriously, Epstein was all over MIT, sure. But the POTUS was his best friend for 10 years! His cabinet was all over the island!
So how does moving funding from private to public avoid Epstein?
The real issue is "Maybe don't let the billionaire pedo's friends decide which science gets done?"
And before anyone intentionally misreads this as "Oh, so you love VCs and tech bros?! You want them in charge?!
"No.
As I've said, VC is the fashiest, most racist, least inclusive form of capital allocation.
There are no crowds of Black women apologizing for getting millions in Epstein money.
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And before anyone intentionally misreads this as "Oh, so you love VCs and tech bros?! You want them in charge?!
"No.
As I've said, VC is the fashiest, most racist, least inclusive form of capital allocation.
There are no crowds of Black women apologizing for getting millions in Epstein money.
No I don't want tech bros in charge.
And yes, I am a tech bro. I'm literally the biggest one.
️I'm just not a fascist, I'm not transphobic or racist, I care about other people, and I believe in democracy, so I don't read as a tech bro.
And because I believe in democracy, I know that ours is broken.
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"They've got blood on that money
But I'll still count it."
- Future HendrixNPR article on Philanthropy in science funding
https://www.npr.org/2026/03/30/nx-s1-5753946/science-jeffrey-epstein-mit-exploit-donors-philanthropy
If the problem were "philanthropic funding of science" then all universities would be affected equally. They weren't. The rot was most heavily concentrated on one university.
One known for hosting toxic men in open source.
@mekkaokereke "The fish rots from the head down", and we've seen demonstrations of this over and over and over. I can only assume, at this point, that a majority of people are OK with the smell of rot.
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No I don't want tech bros in charge.
And yes, I am a tech bro. I'm literally the biggest one.
️I'm just not a fascist, I'm not transphobic or racist, I care about other people, and I believe in democracy, so I don't read as a tech bro.
And because I believe in democracy, I know that ours is broken.
@mekkaokereke Biggest by what metric though? Are you making billions? I think that's what is separating people from humanity these days.
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@mekkaokereke Biggest by what metric though? Are you making billions? I think that's what is separating people from humanity these days.
@artcollisions i recommend you search up videos of @mekkaokereke lifting, he's a force
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@mekkaokereke Biggest by what metric though? Are you making billions? I think that's what is separating people from humanity these days.
Biggest by mass!
OK, I admit I'm being cheeky!
But on a related note, an unpopular opinion: I don't believe that extreme wealth turns people into fascists. If it did, Makenzie Scott and Christy Walton would have become fascists too.
Extreme wealth has other structural and societal problems, but turning people away from humanity is not one of them.
If a college student reads Ayn Rand and anti-democracy reactionary blogs, and says antisocial, racist and fashy things, no one cares. If he then graduates and becomes a software engineer, no one cares. If he then starts a company, no one cares. If he sells that company and becomes a multi-millionaire, no one cares. If he uses that money to become a venture capitalist, no one cares. If he multiplies his VC millions into billions, and then says the same exact things he has been saying since college? Then people start saying "Extreme money made him turn weird!
"And people ask me how I knew he would turn weird.
And I just say, "Some Black people are magical, and can see the future!
🧙️" -
20% of science funding comes from private sources. The article unironically makes the claim that it would be better if this percentage were lower, at a time when the US government won't let you put the words bias, privilege, or gender in a paper, and is cancelling grants for racist reasons.
@mekkaokereke Unfortunately here in Switzerland we're starting to go down that path - public funding is slowly reduced. Not drying up, just slowly reduced. And people start looking into private funding.
Which means that pseudo-dictators with lots of money will decide what is good and what not.
Why is it so difficult to explain that rich tech bros are good at making money? And that we're not low on money, but low on compassion, love?
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@artcollisions i recommend you search up videos of @mekkaokereke lifting, he's a force
@matt @mekkaokereke Nice! I love lifting, too.
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@artcollisions i recommend you search up videos of @mekkaokereke lifting, he's a force
The NFL combine came and went. The strength test at the NFL combine is a bench press at 225 lbs for max reps. There was no player in the NFL draft this year that could bench press 225 lbs more times than me, and I am an old man now, and I don't use steroids or any PEDs, and many of them do. I'm still stronger.
There are fewer than 40 NFL players in all of recorded combine history that have done more than this.
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@mekkaokereke Biggest by what metric though? Are you making billions? I think that's what is separating people from humanity these days.
@artcollisions @mekkaokereke I was thinking on this the other day and the conclusion I reached is that wealth decreases your need to cooperate and thus wealth drives disconnection from other people and communities.
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Biggest by mass!
OK, I admit I'm being cheeky!
But on a related note, an unpopular opinion: I don't believe that extreme wealth turns people into fascists. If it did, Makenzie Scott and Christy Walton would have become fascists too.
Extreme wealth has other structural and societal problems, but turning people away from humanity is not one of them.
If a college student reads Ayn Rand and anti-democracy reactionary blogs, and says antisocial, racist and fashy things, no one cares. If he then graduates and becomes a software engineer, no one cares. If he then starts a company, no one cares. If he sells that company and becomes a multi-millionaire, no one cares. If he uses that money to become a venture capitalist, no one cares. If he multiplies his VC millions into billions, and then says the same exact things he has been saying since college? Then people start saying "Extreme money made him turn weird!
"And people ask me how I knew he would turn weird.
And I just say, "Some Black people are magical, and can see the future!
🧙️"@mekkaokereke I will note that you said "he" and I believe this is on purpose.
I agree that extreme wealth doesn't turn people into fascists, but the system that exists certainly benefits a specific type of person.
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@artcollisions @mekkaokereke I was thinking on this the other day and the conclusion I reached is that wealth decreases your need to cooperate and thus wealth drives disconnection from other people and communities.
@withoutclass @mekkaokereke Ah, maybe. I can definitely see this.
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The NFL combine came and went. The strength test at the NFL combine is a bench press at 225 lbs for max reps. There was no player in the NFL draft this year that could bench press 225 lbs more times than me, and I am an old man now, and I don't use steroids or any PEDs, and many of them do. I'm still stronger.
There are fewer than 40 NFL players in all of recorded combine history that have done more than this.
@mekkaokereke @matt Wow, good for you!!
I just turned 55. I've been doing crossfit for 8 years and can handle a barbell, but nothing like that! And for the record, I started HRT six months ago and one of the reasons was so I could still feel strong in the gym. (I'm still in the puny league at my gym, though).
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I agree. The money always makes the decisions. It's why when people ask why I fund my Inkscape work with small coin from individuals; it's because that is who I want to serve, people. Not some tech bro with more money than wisdom who gets to order me about like a clockwork programmer to a whim contrary to good taste and better service.
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@withoutclass @mekkaokereke Ah, maybe. I can definitely see this.
Counterpoint:
New Yorkers are as rich as San Franciscans. New York has *more* billionaires than San Francisco. But New Yorkers are *less* scared to be on public transportation with Black people, and won't cry if you put a homeless shelter literally right next to the Bowery hotel. Try and put even low cost housing in Pac Heights or Atherton, let alone a homeless shelter, and see what happens.
https://hachyderm.io/@mekkaokereke/111363645802219678
The money doesn't drive the disconnect. We've created a system where the most sociopathic , most disconnected dudes, get all the money.
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Counterpoint:
New Yorkers are as rich as San Franciscans. New York has *more* billionaires than San Francisco. But New Yorkers are *less* scared to be on public transportation with Black people, and won't cry if you put a homeless shelter literally right next to the Bowery hotel. Try and put even low cost housing in Pac Heights or Atherton, let alone a homeless shelter, and see what happens.
https://hachyderm.io/@mekkaokereke/111363645802219678
The money doesn't drive the disconnect. We've created a system where the most sociopathic , most disconnected dudes, get all the money.
@mekkaokereke I don't see that as a counterpoint at all! It's just further clarification.
I'm a little out of it today (and also had no idea about the difference bt NYC and SF!) @withoutclass
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Biggest by mass!
OK, I admit I'm being cheeky!
But on a related note, an unpopular opinion: I don't believe that extreme wealth turns people into fascists. If it did, Makenzie Scott and Christy Walton would have become fascists too.
Extreme wealth has other structural and societal problems, but turning people away from humanity is not one of them.
If a college student reads Ayn Rand and anti-democracy reactionary blogs, and says antisocial, racist and fashy things, no one cares. If he then graduates and becomes a software engineer, no one cares. If he then starts a company, no one cares. If he sells that company and becomes a multi-millionaire, no one cares. If he uses that money to become a venture capitalist, no one cares. If he multiplies his VC millions into billions, and then says the same exact things he has been saying since college? Then people start saying "Extreme money made him turn weird!
"And people ask me how I knew he would turn weird.
And I just say, "Some Black people are magical, and can see the future!
🧙️"@mekkaokereke @artcollisions i must be "no one", because i care about every single assumption you've just made.
but then, that's a common weakness of idealist and liberal analyses. because it's not about individuals, or anecdotes. it's about material conditions and systemic power dynamics. for you to be successful in today's world, it is a sine qua non condition that you have to be ignoring some folks' suffering. and to be a billionaire, to take that arbitrary example, you have to have accepted, a long time ago, to profit off of others' suffering. you can still be a polite lifeless vampire, but more often than not fascism tends to land closer to what the billionaires in these conditions end up aspiring to (and/or vice versa).
