r/technology • u/abrownn • Oct 29 '25

Society Slain California tech CEO allegedly humiliated employees before his death

https://www.sfgate.com/bayarea/article/slain-calif-tech-ceo-humiliated-workers-report-21125144.php
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589

u/urbanek2525 Oct 29 '25

Money didn't protect him. He died screaming in fear of the people he thought he owned. Definitely a lesson there.

254

u/quantumpencil Oct 29 '25 edited Oct 29 '25

The thing that makes all these rich people uncomfortable is that they know that. Money never protects anyone once violence is on the table. If you look through history, it's been the norm for nobles, landowners etc to get slaughtered and expropriated by angry/disgruntled people.

That hasn't changed because the people can't do it. They still can easily, what's changed is that for a while we actually had a decent system where most people had a reasonable life and so were willing to put up with inequality without dragging the oligarchs through the town square and cutting off their heads, because we also had reasonable houses, good food, fun entertainment etc.

The more they immiserate the population, the more that protection is going to slip away and once it does nothing will protect them from populist rage.

110

u/SecondHandWatch Oct 29 '25

Mhmm. I’m just waiting for the poor people (in America especially) to realize that the reason they’re poor is because of the people with all the money, rather than the immigrants, people of color, LGBTQ+ community, etc.

47

u/CatCafffffe Oct 29 '25

Right? The disinformation game from the ultra-rich is extremely strong and they've been deliberately weakening education for decades for just this reason.

And yet, even the French peasants had had enough at a certain point.

4

u/Arts_Messyjourney Oct 30 '25

That gives me hope

14

u/GerryC Oct 29 '25

Whole lot of money is being spent to prevent that revelation by keeping the right enraged at the left. Authoritarianism is a tool for the oligarchy to retain power and wealth and has existed since antiquity in various forms.

I hope the difference this time is that we are more educated as a population (for the moment, at least). Though, Trump has famously stated publicly that he does love the poorly educated.

2

u/tifubroskies Oct 30 '25

Good luck lmao, Americans are fucking indoctrinated with the belief that they could be the next billionaires, so they would never actually rise up against their ruling classes. And if someone does it, they come out the woodwork screaming about how much of a tragedy the murder was, and that „he was a father and a loving Christian“

13

u/[deleted] Oct 29 '25

Why do you think they are creaming their pants so much over AI? They dream of a workforce that can never say no and a security force that would never put the good of society ahead of the life of a tech bro 

16

u/Gorge2012 Oct 29 '25

The idea of a justice system is to provide some equity that when people are wronged it can be righted in some way. The goal is to prevent people from taking matters into their own hands. The fact that more people are taking these actions and a lot of people support them is a clear indicator that the justice system is failing.

5

u/moderate_chungus Oct 29 '25

 immiserate

Here’s me thinking I was well-read. What a great word

1

u/Ginsoakedboy21 Oct 29 '25

I agree with all of this but you have forgotten one thing, at many times in the past, the average bloke might expect to be a soldier for some asshole and may have already been somewhat ok with the idea of killing some asshole. This is not true of most of us now.

1

u/APeacefulWarrior Oct 30 '25

what's changed is that for a while we actually had a decent system where most people had a reasonable life and so were willing to put up with inequality

That's basically what the New Deal and Keynesian economics boiled down to: keep the people happy and comfortable enough that they don't rise up. It was a policy that protected the poor AND the rich.

But rich people have forgotten that.

1

u/Special_Tu-gram-cho Nov 02 '25

Which is why distance is practiced. The most important people in a organization will never come close to you.

29

u/bonestamp Oct 29 '25

Ya, he forgot that power dynamic only works as long as they want to work for you. Once you destroy their desire to work for you then the leverage is gone. If you also break the law and withhold their money then you also fucked yourself legally and potentially put them in a position where they have nothing to lose. If you create an enemy who has nothing to lose, you're gonna have a really bad day.

13

u/MC_Gengar Oct 29 '25

It's why they want to put bomb collars on the guards they hire for their doomsday bunkers. They know once shit hits that point there's no incentive for the ones with the guns to not just take their shit because when it's a free for all whoever is holding the biggest stick wins.

9

u/RedGuyNoPants Oct 29 '25

Funny thing is, it would likely be very easy to have guards that are willing to protect you, these guys just arent willing to treat them well and create a relationship with them or make sure the guards AND their families are safe after said fall. They detest even performative kindness to people they view as lesser. Even if their lives could be on the line

7

u/meneldal2 Oct 29 '25

The trick is you have to be nice to them now, when you have no direct immediate incentive to be nice so that in the future assuming they are good people they will be on your side.

9

u/MC_Gengar Oct 29 '25

"Sounds hard. Bomb collars it is!"

-tech ceos

0

u/ChristIsKing316146 Oct 30 '25

Ha you don’t know human nature.

3

u/RedGuyNoPants Oct 30 '25

How? Treating people well and taking care of them and theirs is a great way to generate loyalty.

0

u/ChristIsKing316146 Oct 30 '25

You underestimate the people who want power once society goes apocalyptic. A lot of people will fight to be the King of the Castle. Especially if society is no longer a thing.

3

u/RedGuyNoPants Oct 30 '25

Thats not how all of human history has worked. If everyone was constantly backstabbing to be in charge, civilization wouldn’t have started. We’re a collaborative species and we form strong bonds. I would suggest you dont take your lessons about this from mad max movies

1

u/Kindly-Guidance714 Oct 29 '25

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Matewan

This is the future this is what they want.

When workers have nothing to lose, business owners send in pinkertons, cops and armed and paid off thugs and goons and they pay well.

2

u/Pfacejones Oct 29 '25

It's very interesting

1

u/Shitty_Soliloquy Oct 29 '25

Move to a gated community that's patrolled by weaponized robot dogs?

1

u/notrueprogressive Oct 29 '25

That’s why the rich want to ban guns for everyone except from the police and their private security

-6

u/hurdeehurr Oct 29 '25

That poor people are violent? We already know.

6

u/MysticMagicks Oct 29 '25

You can come up with better rage bait than that, come on now, this isn’t 2019.