I’ve completely lost faith in Marc Andreessen after his recent CNBC interview calling Edward Snowden a traitor. I will never raise capital from him and neither should you.
27 answers from the community
Right, if you ever have the chance :p
That is just so arrogant. People like you are cancer to the startup world.
Why? (different person to the above comment)
At first I thought only Ben "I've got a book" Horowitz was a blowhard, now we know both of them are.
+1
I really expected more from a man that himself fought NSA in it's earlier days. Huge disappointment by Marc.
Was it before BE or AE? Before Egghead.
+1
Yeah, I've been thinking about it, too. And thought as an opportunity to grow up. Guys like him or Paul Graham will not always take positions that I agree. You should not have put faith on him at the first place. Never trust in someone moved by money.
Power structures are incredibly vulnerable. Snowden was a shock to those in power. When you've acquired power and control, and then employ techniques to preserve them, your greatest enemy is someone who threatens your ability to control.
Andreessen's acquired a bit of power and control in his time, so he can empathasize with the woes of the totalitarian state.
Poor creatures. We should take pity on them.
So silly. Didn't see the interview but everybody is entitled to an opinion, including views you don't agree with. Fact of the matter is, Snowden broke the law AND exposed serious problems within govt to the public, at the same time. That's what's known in adult circles as complex issue; isn't straight black or white and there no ready made solutions. Different people amplifying only certain angles does not invalidate other aspects of the matter.
So, borrow or grow an adult lens for world viewing, ditch the rosy ones and keep it moving.
The excuse of complexity is often used by people who prefer not to take risks and form their own opinions. Especially in matters such as this one, when the core of the issue is pretty straightforward: Is it right for the government to spy on its own citizens just because?
It IS a valid opinion to acknowledge that both (govt & snowden) are wrong, y'know. Not agreeing with you doesn't equate to avoiding risks or opinions.
" Is it right for the government to spy on its own citizens just because?" Is it right for an employee to leak govt info (including some harmful if accessed by foreign interests) just because?
There is no single core of the issue; there are multiple equally important aspects at stake.
I'm not saying there only two valide POVs here, or that you have to agree with me for that matter, just that avoiding every debate by stating issues are "complex" is a rather coward position to take.
Now, regarding your opinion about Snowden being an employee of the Government, you do realize the govt is not a private company, right? His allegiance is first to the public, who he works to 'protect' and second to his employer.
It's an erroneous view that because it's the govt, he doesn't owe allegiance to it. In fact, it could be argued that as govt (politicking shenanigans aside) technically represents <em>and</em> protects the people, harming it is ultimately harming the people. So, an employee should have a stronger allegiance to it, compared to private company.
Well, I guess I'm more of a Jeffersonian kind of guy. I don't trust the government to look after the people's interests as blindly as you do. Maybe that explains our different views on Snowden.
Again, you're ascribing a false equivalence/oversimplification to my argument. My stating how/why allegiance to your govt employer is valid doesn’t equate to advocating blind trust or a refusal to hold the govt accountable.
And who is to control the Government if not the very people who work for it?
first poster is a dangerous person to mankind. nothing wrong with speaking the TRUTH, IMHO.
Silicon Valley loves to anoint greatness on those who were both lucky and early...
Mark is just such a guy. Smart but he was lucky. Netscape...
One lucky conehead!
I think it's a clever, calculated ruse by Andreessen. He's supporting radical ideas. He's the goddamn poster boy for Bitcoin. If in addition to trying to transform the global economy he publicly embraced a hacker-revolutionary, he might find very important doors closed to his work.
As Vulcans say, Only Nixon can go to China.
So you'll rather let down your whole team and forget your dream venture, just cause you don't agree with his politics? Really?
Exactly. I've seen enough liars/hypocrites (intentional & non-intentional) in this world, I'd bet good money that if A16z offered OP funding, he'd take it.
Well prepared to be disappointed. The whole valley is full of hypocrites. All the VC's only care about the almighty dollar. Every. Single. One. That's how they became rich.
I would.
Yeah, me too. I've rejected lucrative opportunities out of principle before. You feel very well and proud, believe me.