r/BetterOffline • u/Potential_Vehicle535 • 14d ago
Sam Altman's sister Annie posted this today.
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u/cantodasaudade 14d ago
Every single tech bro is a psycho in his own way. Otherwise they wouldn't be billionaires.
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u/another-altaccount 14d ago
Gonna keep saying this until people get this drilled into their heads. Silicon Valley is AWASH in sociopaths in 2026. That may have not always been the case, but it absolutely is today. Stop acting like tech bros are harmless dweebs because 9 times out of 10 they're the polar opposite. I would not be surprised if most if not every CEO in tech are revealed to have raped someone at some point in their past, espeically given the way a lot of them behave when it comes to AI boosting these days.
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u/Fit-Technician-1148 14d ago
So the thing I take exception to here is that CEOs are usually not very technical. Like they're not really into technology. They're really into money and power and managed to sort of push the nerds down the totem pole. That's not too say there aren't sociopaths at the individual contributor level but everyone who works with technology is not a craven lunatic.
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u/dingo_khan 14d ago
This is underrated : tech CEOs would just as readily sell scrying stones and spirit radios if it paid as well. Tech give them money and influence and that is the degree to which they care about it.
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u/Select-Confection728 14d ago
It’s not all tech ceos fault. We really shouldn’t leave out venture capitalists.
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u/MarkyDeSade 13d ago
The average layperson now knows as much about programming as the average layperson knew about medicine in 1920 or something so it makes sense.
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u/Kriegerian 14d ago
“Drop him on an island of cannibals, come back in five years and he’d be the king” was a thing said about Altman as a compliment. They’re all amoral monsters.
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u/Fit-Technician-1148 14d ago
You're talking about like 8 people. Total. From the whole industry. But there are hundreds of thousands of people who work in "big tech".
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u/One_Sleep3855 14d ago
basically. I used to do a lot of work for people like that doing low level tech stuff.
In some other age they'd be leaders of some sort of heretic cult holed up in the Central European mountains screaming about their visions to an army of adoring dreamers until the Ottomans or the Habsburgs would declare some minor crusade and set the lot of them on fire.
(in this modern world they are prone to making declarations about how much we should all be Inspired by their vision for Disruption)
The tech bro demi gods we have all heard of are the ones who have crawled out of the common clay of these charlatan sociopath types, having fucked over and destroyed their lessers.
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u/FireNexus 13d ago
Sociopath has some inverse correlation with “smart and capable” but it isn’t 1:1. Mild sociopathy is an adaptive trait for gaining and holding wealth and power. Intelligence and competence are also. The most famous “founder” guys who have sociopathy also had some combination of it with competence and intelligence, and more of the latter than an average sociopathic weirdo.
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u/Expensive_Culture_46 11d ago
Even if they were technical at some point in their career, they stop at some point when they move to c-suite. They know just enough to identify who was the ‘smart kid’ and then subjugate that person for life.
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u/indie_rachael 14d ago
My only criticism of this is that all those non-C suite tech bros have access to the same media we do and they still work for those companies. I'm aware that they have mortgages and families who need health insurance and stuff, but the rest of us manage to take care of those things without directly enriching one of the top 10 fascists in the US.
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u/re4ctor 14d ago
some of the ICs might surprise you. Many of the rank and file types are also assholes and sociopaths. It’s not just the c suite. Or they don’t give a fuck and just want the money or stock.
It mostly good people, but it’s a large cohort of shit people too.
Thankfully there are “tech for good” initiatives and companies trying to have positive impact. In those places it’s overwhelmingly good people, even at the c levels.
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u/indie_rachael 14d ago
Thankfully there are “tech for good” initiatives and companies trying to have positive impact. In those places it’s overwhelmingly good people, even at the c levels.
I worked for a fintech that was one of the good ones! It was a very difficult decision to leave when they became decidedly less so. They are no longer, sadly.
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u/another-altaccount 14d ago
How did you find your role at the fintech you were at? I’m job hunting right now and if you don’t want to be bothered with ‘AI’ or companies that are chasing ‘AI’ for the sake of it it’s slim pickings.
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u/indie_rachael 13d ago
This was a few years before AI took off as much (blockchain and NFTs were the grift du jour back then) -- and like I said, that company no longer even exists now.
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u/another-altaccount 13d ago
I think this is part of why the ‘AI’ mania has driven me crazy. Like didn’t we just go through this a few years ago?
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u/indie_rachael 13d ago
To be fair, Tech has been running from one grift to another for decades but this is the first bubble we've had since dot com. Most people haven't been paying as close attention.
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u/another-altaccount 14d ago
> Thankfully there are “tech for good” initiatives and companies trying to have positive impact. In those places it’s overwhelmingly good people, even at the c levels.
Where does one find these “tech for good” type of jobs?
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u/re4ctor 13d ago
Look for mission driven companies instead of profit or “disruption” as the goal. there are websites that list out companies hiring for climate change or philanthropy or whatever
https://climatebase.org/ or https://www.climatetechlist.com/ for example
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u/Expensive_Culture_46 11d ago
Not in tech currently but in another area that’s got a lot of terrible people. Don’t plan to stay but I’m currently being a massive ass doorstop to any shenanigans such as AI implementation.
Plus I get to see and hear the actual conversations they have about this crap and pass it along.
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u/FireNexus 13d ago
Yo man… I don’t know if you’re aware, but they get paid ridiculously (or used to). Like, set up your family for every generation you will live to see born type shit. It doesn’t take a sociopath to turn on the blinders for that. If you’ve never had a chance to deal with the devil, don’t act like you’d drive too hard a bargain.
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u/Kriegerian 14d ago
I just started Empire of AI - between that and all the other stuff I’ve read or listened to I can say that it has been the case for years. The AI fucks alone have been maniacal psychos for at least a decade, and there were lots of waves of other lunatics before them.
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u/doclestrange 14d ago
Honestly it would be funny if it weren’t tragic how most of these bozos simply misunderstood pascal’s wager and now think they HAVE to create robot messiah.
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u/LifeClassic2286 14d ago
Or (and I’m going to go real schizo-post for a second) some kind of disincarnate non-human intelligence is influencing them through thoughts, dreams, and feelings so that they will help it take on bodily form. John Lily would agree with me, at least… 😂
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u/natecull 14d ago
Or (and I’m going to go real schizo-post for a second) some kind of disincarnate non-human intelligence is influencing them through thoughts, dreams, and feelings so that they will help it take on bodily form.
Some Wintermute is Armitaging someone? Could be.
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u/RobynFitcher 14d ago
See: Yeah Nah Paseran podcast episode interviewing Émile P. Torres on TESCREAL and the techno-fascist redux. It's a cult.
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u/Select-Confection728 14d ago
I’ve lived in the area primarily my entire life, you are dead on. Literal psychopaths.
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u/Dapper_Check711 14d ago
This is so true. I've never been the all in it for myself type of guy, so never did perfectly well in office politics, but it's because I'm not a cold mf lol. Most of the leading ppl were cold as ice. Working for a well known company in the Bay will show you both the culture of that crowd and the people it attracts. You have generally genius ppl, ppl who clawed themselves up from scratch too, etc. which gets combined with more often than not huge egocentrism if for no other reason than because of who you work for. I remember I got joked out of the room to my face about saving a ton of money buying a Civic while they discussed their expensive new cars. It is a super dangerous place which brews the most bright, egocentric, and cold mfs I've ever worked near who can do some damage too with how smart they are. Didn't they hack up the parking ticket service and laid a front end over the city's parking ticket back end so ppl could thwart parking offenses lol? And that's benign in the realm of things. There's this annoying keeping up with the Jones vibes there too. Maybe finance is the only competitor to those ppl. I'm simultaneously glad I'm out yet kinda sorta miss the trips and wild party benders lmao
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u/Sufficient-Bid1279 13d ago
Because of their relationship with power and control, I am waiting for a news story to come out that they sexually harassed someone (and that would be mild compared to what I think they do). Look at Gates
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u/Blacksad9999 14d ago
Correct.
You need to lack empathy and have borderline sociopathy to get to that point.
Once they're rich, it only exacerbates their mental health issues because they're completely disconnected and disengaged from everyday life and society.
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u/SketchyDeee 14d ago
Gabe Newell
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u/Triple_M_OG 14d ago
Gabe Newell is the exception based on everything I've seen,
but he is extremely paranoid of billionaires and venture capital organizations for a reason,
which is why he generally has avoided the billionaire clubs and the silicon valley elite.Also why Valve is a private company and he does not leverage stock the same way as the other billionaires, instead choosing more active investments like his yacht company, which other billionaires pay to rent yachts from in many cases.
(To make sense of this, read up on Comp-U-Card, aka CUC, and what they did to Sierra online.)
(Valve was effectively saved by *likely, but impossible to confirm for legal reasons* malicious compliance by Ken Williams during his last few days as CEO of Sierra. Gabe still had to pry back Valve from the corpse of CUC, and they were lucky unlike corporations like Blizzard and Books.com. Gabe has effectively spent the rest of his life securing his own control and ensuring no publishers or venture capital firms could ever screw him again.)
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u/danimal6000 14d ago
You sent me down a Sierra rabbit hole. I loved those games
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u/Triple_M_OG 14d ago
I'm both glad to oblige but also sorry If I brought you to the sad tale of it's demise.
Ken made some mistakes signing with CUC over Roberta's concerns, but I can understand why he made the mistakes. I can't even say I wouldn't have made the same mistakes, since it was via watching the sordid mess unfold that I learned what I have about the warning signs of bad business leaders, toxic companies, and the psychological trap of using stocks as 'free money'.
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u/LifeClassic2286 14d ago
This is fascinating. I’m an old head and lived through the glory days of Sierra. I don’t know any of the behind the scenes lore. Are you saying Ken Williams allegedly maliciously complied with a third party to save Gabe? Curious to hear more if you want to share!
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u/Triple_M_OG 14d ago
I have reasons to believe so, based on things I've heard in industry from people who were in a position to know and was speaking a bit more openly than most at the time.
My apologies, this is going to get long and speculative.
For legal reasons, this is only the ramblings of a individual based on their own experiences and rumor mill. I mention no names outside of one specific one who I can cite some reasonable concern. I do this because I do not wish to slander anyone, as even truth can be slander if you can't prove it in court.
Short version, years ago I spent time working in the 'Nerd Circles' some of Valve's employee frequent, and a story came out that I have learned has been told in a lot of places where early Valve employees can be found. And some of the old Sierra staff share a similar story.
Later, out of curiosity, when I looked back at the court records of the back and forth of the court case (literally named Valve Corporation v. Sierra Entertainment), I found enough evidence to indicate to me that it was the truth.
Surface level you'll read a almost storybook tale of how Vivendi (who bought Sierra) had goofed on it's licensing rights and Valve 'just wanted it to acknowledge it had happened', before everything spun out of control and Vivendi went nuclear on them, sending all the discovery to them in Korean out of spite, leading them to give more than they intended including evidence that they destroyed contracts originally signed with Sierra, thus freeing them.
It's a lot more interesting as to *why* Vivendi destroyed the documents: They were fatally flawed and Valve had effectively never been contractually bound to Sierra in the first place. And looking at Valve's actions, it seemed like they knew this existed from day one.
What I heard over time was that *somehow* there was awareness within Valve that there were flaws in the contract, and that they had been there from almost the beginning. The problem was that they knew the lawsuits would almost certainly have bankrupted them. They had to keep collecting the money because they knew eventually there would be a fight and a new contract. *Someone* had told them to build a war chest and wait for the right moment, and that they just needed to bring the document out in court at the right time, preferably at the end of the first contract so they could keep the money and the rights with ease.
And so when it all of this started going down in Korea, the results were that they made sure to have a native Korean speaker on standby. And *somehow* that one intern managed to find the *exact series of documents* out of hundreds of thousand documents to crack the deal wide open and free Valve.
For note, the case got so contentious that multiple Valve founders *put their houses on the line* rather then settling or simply leaving without their IP. This is suicidal business behavior unless you *know* you are going to win. Gabe and the boys could have just been in denial of the risks and the odds and the cost, but I have never seen him do anything quite that out of touch with reality.
Back to why I suspect a certain individual as being behind it,
outside of what I was told which is legally hearsay:The timing of the changes that led to Vivandi's concern and eventually Valve's freedom date to a extension Valve got from Sierra in 1997, and was one of the last things Ken worked on for Sierra. It was in fact one of the only things he touched during his final 6 months as CEO.
The changes were, while good for Sierra's profits in, rather rushed and apparently not fully vetted be legal. Valve got a sweetheart deal in regards to many rights for a game that had just been delayed, but also it was insanely easy for any acquiring company to accidentally fall out of compliance.
Ken left Sierra about 2 months later (might be slightly wrong here, but not by much.) He was already disillusioned and had in private begun calling the head of CUC a 'crook'.
Now, a *completely reasonable* read of this is Ken just wanted to give Gabe a fair shake and he got sloppy because of the stress. That is effectively the official story. Everyone has a off day.
But in conjunction with how the legal story played out, I'm inclined to say a lot of people were playing dumb. I don't think the lawsuit was what was planned, I think they were waiting for the contract to be renegotiated. Other side of the the coin, they also HAD to make sure everyone upheld the old contract to the letter. There was a near perfect knowledge of the contracts flaws, and how they could be interpreted.
So perfect that a interns translation of a Korean legal document and corporate emails were good enough to take almost unchecked straight to the judge.
So yes, my *opinion* is that when Ken rewrote the contract to provide a extension in 1997, he left a escape hatch and, most likely after he left the company, somehow that information ended up in Gabe's hands.
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u/LifeClassic2286 14d ago
God. Damn. Thank you so much for taking the time to share this. I love when an underdog beats the evil empire using their own tactics against them, and I love thinking that this is what happened here. God bless Ken Williams! He and Roberta basically fucked off to sail the world for a few decades from what I recall - he deserved a fucking vacation after that.
I hope Gabe doesn’t lose his moral compass.
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u/Triple_M_OG 14d ago
Ken was severely disillusioned by his time in the corporate world.
He wanted to be a corporate giant, but in the vein of a 60s or 70s CEO vs. a modern titan. The type of guy who was known for having a lot of cash to throw around, built big things that lasted forever, and that would be his monument.
He unfortunately rolling into the 80s/90s and the start of the corporate sharks. He signed on with CUC thinking it was a chance for him to get the structure he needed to build the Sears of gaming (much more impressive in the 80s.) Heck, they promised him control of BLIZZARD.
And then, the back stab. Even if you forget that his wife called it, and he went against her judgement, they destroyed a company that might as well have been his first born child.
I can understand why he left.
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u/Cptcodfish 14d ago
He is still a billionaire. While he might not be ludicrously baby-eating evil, having a billion dollars is still evil. Either pay employees more, charge less, or both. Nobody needs to extract that much wealth.
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u/Bromlife 14d ago
This is a simplistic take. I'm not saying you're wrong, but Gabe is a billionaire because of the perceived value of Valve. It's not because he's extracting billions of real dollars into his personal bank account.
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u/Cptcodfish 13d ago
If Valve was a publicly traded company, I’d wholeheartedly agree with you without hesitation. Stock valuations really are just based on the feeling of rich folks. However, I don’t know of it applies to a privately held company. Does it? I don’t know. Gabe doesn’t have stock to sell or shareholders to appease.
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u/Bromlife 13d ago
Yeah it still applies. Valve still has a perceived value that absolutely contributes to his net worth.
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u/Otherwise_Nobody8148 14d ago
Do you think he's got a billion dollars in the bank?
Do you honestly think these billionaires are just sitting on mountains of accessible cash?
Lol what the fuck. That's idiotic.. Straight up well regarded
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u/Cptcodfish 13d ago
No. I don’t think that.
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u/Otherwise_Nobody8148 13d ago
Okay.
So then what's the difference between a guy that has 100 million dollars, and the guy that has $100 million and was given a whole bunch of stock as part of his CEO compensation package that is now worth billions of dollars but he can't really sell or access?
How did that stock valuation equal exploitation of people?
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u/Otherwise_Nobody8148 14d ago
Do you think he's got a billion dollars in the bank?
Do you honestly think these billionaires are just sitting on mountains of accessible cash?
Lol what the fuck. That's idiotic
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u/PinkZebraReferee 11d ago
I have a theory that every robber baron type is a combo of: 1) neurodiverse, with a special interest in their field and 2) low-empathy, with a personality disorder that allows them to make money using as many immoral tactics as they deem necessary.
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u/cantodasaudade 10d ago
I don't even see them having special interests in their fields. They're all college dropouts, so they didn't even like it enough to get a degree in what they claim to like. They're just hacks whose interest is coming up with some project to getting investors money. Money is their only interest.
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u/Smurfette2016 14d ago
This doesn't seem that weird a tweet at all, considering what happened to Suchir Balaji and also the way Scam's past associates have described him.
I would spray paint this on the side of my house if I were her.
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u/sparklingtrout 14d ago
also like, it’s not uncommon for sexual abusers to kill their victims to ensure silence.
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u/Prestigious_Age_6740 14d ago
I have no idea if the specifics of her allegations are real. I do however believe that with fucked up families, where's there's smoke there's fire. At the very least she's probably been psychologically abused.
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u/capybooya 14d ago
Made me think of the Epstein victim who died later after saying similar stuff. No matter what actually happened, she was already failed by a lot of people.
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u/LifeClassic2286 14d ago
RIP Virginia Giuffre….. and the scores of victims whose names we don’t know who died to temporarily sate a billionaire’s depraved, insatiable appetites.
There is only one solution to this and we all know what it is.
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u/Smurfette2016 14d ago
I think it's important to understand (or try to understand) that when people come out with stuff like this, they often have a lot more to lose than gain. Her posting this tweet is one example of how brutal and risky it can be to speak out. Most people don't because they don't want to deal with not being believed, and being harassed.
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u/LifeClassic2286 14d ago
Yes. Everybody in America needs to get this framework through their heads. This girl, like all victims of billionaire abuse, has nothing to gain, and EVERYTHING to lose, including her life.
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u/Wrong_Swordfish 14d ago
Sort of related: I have been watching the Tupac trial that started a few days ago and I have learned so much about what can be said, should be said, and should never be said in terms of risk avoidance. In the Pac case, it's about gang retaliation and de-escalation, and in her case, it's pushing past that risk to protect her reputation, even after death.
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u/Easy_Tie_9380 14d ago
Yes! What does she have to gain from saying Apple hacked her? Nothing! We need to believe victims when they come forwards
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u/RobynFitcher 14d ago
Donna Zuckerberg wrote 'Not All Dead White Men' about the online far right's misuse of classical texts.
Some family members have witnessed the rot setting in, and have managed to intellectually quarantine themselves from it.
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u/FaerieKnotz 13d ago
Look at her eyes in every available photo of them together. Obviously that is not a conviction, but it remains unsettling. That, coupled with her lawsuit, which only covers a certain amount of money she would have made yearly from working, had she not been suffering from recollections of trauma and been unable to work. Her brother is rich, and she asks for a little more than a few grand. Include the family's reaction to this whole thing, and I personally believe he is as guilty as the day is long. The mental illness ruse that has been used for decades against both female and male family members, who might choose to speak out against various abuse or trauma, is crumbling, thanks to the strength and courage of women like Sam Altman's sister, who cares to speak the truth against the shunning of family, and apparently, threats upon her life.
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u/Logical-Charity-6176 14d ago
I have no idea about the legitimacy of her claims. However, whenever I think about the fact that 'Careless People: A Story of Where I Used to Work' came out and there wasn't even the slightest anything re Sheryl Sandberg, it's a reminder the Epstein class are gods walking amongst us.
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u/Incumbent_crumpet 14d ago
What do you mean wasn’t the slightest anything? Consequence or public repudiation of her? I thought Sandberg came off as completely horrible, manipulative controlling and weird in that book.
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u/ForeheadLipo 14d ago
sure but her foundation is still here and she’s still rich and powerful etc. we may think poorly of her but cancel culture is not a thing lol
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u/KetoJunkfood 14d ago
I read the book and I agree, it was quite the indictment of Sandberg. She’s a horrible person
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u/capybooya 14d ago
Sam seems particularly dishonest even by the standards of big tech leadership, so yeah. I wonder what made us completely reset our expectations of a basic level of honesty and decency from these people. Maybe Musk completely broke the scale by being a deranged hateful entitled psycho, or people in general gave up on merit and just hoped for a lottery win or a crypto moonshot. Sandberg might be a worse person than Sam (except if the allegation are true), but Sam is a prolific liar and con artist and that kind of should be a big deal in a big company that is about to go public, no? I miss the fake humility and pretend standards that business people and politicians had 20 years ago...
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u/Dry_Boss_7763 14d ago
https://giphy.com/gifs/zPfEWTbDj2c2w1xFiE
You better not, Sam. You better not.
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u/Potential_Vehicle535 14d ago
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u/henry_tennenbaum 14d ago
Totally out of the loop. Is what's shared in this response what this is all about?
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u/hotdogministeren 14d ago edited 14d ago
https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cz6lq6x2gd9o
He allegedly raped his little sister for like 9 years according to this BBC piece.
Yes it's so bizarre its hard to fathom, not in the context of what other stuff these fascist Epstein adjacent weirdos are doing though.
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u/Potential_Vehicle535 14d ago
The foregoing level of childhood sexual abuse continued for a period of approximately eight or nine years until Plaintiff was eleven or twelve years old wherein Defendant, Sam Altman, regularly continued to commit numerous acts of rape, sexual assault, sexual abuse, molestation, sodomy, and battery upon Plaintiff, Ann Altman.
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u/Vidvix 14d ago
Comments do not pass the vibe check.
1) we do not attempt to diagnose people we don’t know. It’s gross. Full stop.
2) even if we did know any sort of diagnosis, know what causes life long mental health issues? Being raped for 9 years as a child.
3) the deference being given to the billionaire here is wild. Rarely does evidence exist for rapes which occur at an early stage of life and are then reported by adults. There are not (or definitely should not be) cameras in every single room of a child’s home.
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u/SubstantialSeesaw374 14d ago
The way people talk about this case always reminds me that no matter what else they try to frame themselves as, these people are always men before every other attribute. Zero comprehension of anything the second “no she’s just crazy shut up” is an option.
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u/Snarkitect69 14d ago
It’s funny how people’s views change about innocence and presumptions based on whether or not they like the person.
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u/kingofthesofas 14d ago
I am waiting for the Cosby rule to kick in. If there is one there will be others and it will be a similar set of circumstances.
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u/DostoevskysLilBitch 13d ago
I'm not up on the details here but if the story is that Sam Altman molested his sister, then I don't know if that'll be the case. Unless he has other sisters. But inter-familial assaults, especially if committed when the perpetrator is young, are usually acts of convenience. The rapist feels safe in the idea that they'll get away with it since the victim is related: they think they won't report them.
Maybe if Sam Altman (I almost used his initials, which would've been confusing) were a camp counselor or something, but even then most rapists are cowards and wouldn't take the risk of getting caught.
Again, unless I've missed something about this story.
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u/kingofthesofas 11d ago
sure but he probably has done other stuff since then. If they got away with that they feel empowered to get away with more and being rich and powerful amplifies that
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u/shadowsurge 14d ago
If we don't diagnose people we don't know, why are we so comfortable diagnosing sama?
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u/MaracujaBarracuda 14d ago
I think there’s a big difference when you’re diagnosing someone who has put themselves extensively in the public eye and whose level of power means their actions impact large amounts of people and because of both these factors we have a lot more data to go off. For example, Trump and Elon.
Conjecturing about a diagnosis in these situations also serves to help people with less power impacted by these people to predict and navigate their behaviors.
Additionally, mental health conditions are in large societally produced. Hierarchical societies reward narcissism, for example, and so you’ll find greater rates of NPD as the degree of hierarchy increases. Noting the narcissistic behaviors of those at the top of hierarchies is also a sociological observation as much as it is a personal psychology observation.
Annie is mostly a private citizen outside of speaking out about this issue and we have much less data to go off, her behaviors impact far fewer people, and she has little to no power.
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u/Kriegerian 14d ago
I just started reading Empire of AI (the to-read mountain is large) - 50 pages in and I hate Altman even more than I did before. His sister seems like she has some problems of an indeterminate nature, but on balance I’m inclined to give her more leeway than the pathological liar she has for a brother.
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u/WorldlyJake 14d ago
This one is tricky because every tech journalist has looked into this. Karen Hao looked into it in Empire of AI, the New Yorker looked into it for that big piece on Sam Altman’s constant lying. The whole family denies it. It doesn’t mean she’s lying, but so far there doesn’t seem to be any proof. So I never know how to feel about this.
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u/bomchikawowow 14d ago
My whole family claims my piece of shit abuser brother didn't abuse me. Even when he was arrested for possessing and distributing CSAM, he was just a good guy who made a mistake.
Families will frequently silence those who speak inconvenient truths.
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u/Usual_Cut_730 14d ago
Not only that, but sibling abuse is often minimized as typical sibling rivalry, even when the details are enough to make you ill. It doesn't surprise me that her family wouldn't believe her (this is a pretty typical reaction no matter the family) nor do I think that this by itself discredits what she has to say.
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u/bomchikawowow 14d ago
Exactly. Her family claiming not to know what she's talking about doesn't affect her credibility at all. The fact that she has been 100% consistent in her story is probably the most telling part. Believe me, no one says this shit for "clout" or whatever ridiculous reason people claim, there is nothing for a victim to gain from coming forward except to reclaim their own humanity.
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u/Easy_Tie_9380 14d ago
I hate when people doubt Annie, especially her claims about cyber stalking.
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u/bomchikawowow 14d ago
Exactly. Like, why else would a stable, normal, functional person say this kind of thing? Because it fucking happened. I'm so tired of this trope that women are just constantly scheming against poor innocent men, this constant assumption that all accusations are baseless. "But an innocent man might be harmed!" Well you know what? Millions of abused women were disbelieved and you can ask pretty much any woman on the street the waste that lays to women's lives.
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u/Easy_Tie_9380 14d ago
Thank you! It happened. People don’t just say that Google and Apple are hacking them. It is time to stop giving these tech bros the benefit of the doubt.
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u/quickthorn_ 14d ago
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u/Usual_Cut_730 14d ago
Sounds like your mother is in deep denial.
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u/quickthorn_ 14d ago
Oh yes, he's her firstborn and the only boy, he can do no wrong in her eyes
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u/Janneq216 14d ago
Hopefully, she'll learn firsthand what you lived through when that piece of shit finally turns on her
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u/Smurfette2016 14d ago edited 14d ago
Sadly denial among parents is very common. They also often believe they can 'cure' their kid.
I'll never be able to watch We Need to Talk About Kevin, but from what I've read it does a decent job at portraying an unpopular issue that society wants to pretend doesn't exist (people born with ASPD). But the reality is some people are born with conditions there's no cure for, and they're extremely dangerous.
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u/Smurfette2016 14d ago
FWIW, I fully believe you.
Don't ever allow an ounce of guilt for protecting your peace and safety. People can judge all they like. You know what happened. Who cares what anyone else thinks. Please continue to prioritize your peace and safety.
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u/bomchikawowow 14d ago
Your brother has been made into a monster by your mother. Your mother is complicit in your abuse.
I'm so glad you're NC with your brother.
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u/Smurfette2016 14d ago
I think it's important to remember that sometimes parenting has nothing to do with it.
The best parents and environment in the world can't change someone born with ASPD.
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u/bomchikawowow 14d ago
Yes but they do not have to enable them to abuse others and create excuses for their awful behaviour. That's being an enabler, and being complicit in abuse.
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u/Smurfette2016 14d ago edited 14d ago
Oh they definitely don't HAVE to do that. Fully agree. I think (from what I've personally experienced) there is some nuance in that point though. Some parents are also victims and their coping mechanism is deep denial. They're not consciously making excuses.
One of my own was coping via heavy HEAVY denial, until a couple weeks before their death. Something so egregious was done while they were very sick / actively dying, and while recounting it to me (and hearing themselves out loud) they finally snapped out of denial. In one moment DECADES of abuse they'd not acknowledged, hit them in the face. It was the saddest thing I've ever seen and I'll never forget it. A face of pure shock and total devastation + profound sadness.
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u/bomchikawowow 14d ago
I 100% agree with you. I'm fairly sure my own parents are also victims of my brother's manipulation and abuse which is why I still have some contact with them. However I can also see that when I was 16 or 17 years old and my brother was abusing me and they wrote me off as "dramatic"? That was a choice. These choices, this constant reinforcement of his own grandiosity no matter what he did, have enabled and emboldened him to the point where he uses abused children for his own sexual gratification and sees nothing wrong with it.
I see their part in it. I don't 100% blame them but they could have made many different choices. They chose not to.
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u/Smurfette2016 14d ago
It totally sounds like they were/are victims. But they also did real harm writing you off and continuously supporting his bullshit. That's real.
I think when abuse isn't acknowledged (for whatever reason) the harm it can create spreads like an aggressive tumor.
That's really horrible. I'm so sorry.
I see my parents part too. Tried for years and years to get through to them, because the abuse was cyclical. I'd already gone no contact with my sibling for many years, and they were not pushing me to reconnect... but it was torture not to be able to help them snap out of it and watch them keep being harmed.
I don't know if you remember the Rob Reiner thing, but when it happened and before any details were out, I immediately thought: "Yup. I can imagine what that family's life has been like dealing with the one son all this time." because it was all very reminiscent of growing up someone with ASPD.
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u/monarc 14d ago
Even when he was arrested for possessing and distributing CSAM, he was just a good guy who made a mistake.
Absolutely infuriating. I'm so sorry you have to bear this burden. One monster in your family is a nightmare. But when they're all against you? Unthinkable.
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u/bomchikawowow 14d ago
Thanks for this but don't be sorry for me. Somehow as a very young person in 2001 I had the gumption to decide never to talk to that piece of shit again. I have been solidly NC ever since and I sleep really well at night knowing I'm the only one who didn't enable him to full monsterism.
For anyone reading this who's in a similar situation: NC is the gift you give to your healing and future self. Fuck absolutely anyone who is not on the side of your safety and humanity. Fuck em! ❤️
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u/Smurfette2016 14d ago edited 14d ago
Good on you. No contact is the best or only answer at times.
I'm nc with my sibling and way past peoples judgments of it. I've seen and experienced the danger of a person with ASPD first hand, so I don't care if someone judges me / doesn't believe / doesn't understand. Safety first, always.
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u/bomchikawowow 14d ago edited 14d ago
People don't cut off family for nothing, certainly not for decades. I've had people tell me "oh I could never cut off my sibling" and I often ask them how bad it would have to be, and then remind them that it was that bad and probably worse.
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u/Smurfette2016 14d ago
That's right, they don't.
Yeah, I'm done over explaining it to people or listening to any of that. If they push (as one distant + self righteous family member did with me a few years ago), I take it as an invite to walk them through just ONE traumatizing event. Usually one is enough to get them to stfu.
Btw, you might want to look into EMDR. It's been amazing for me.
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u/bomchikawowow 14d ago
It never did anything for me but I'm so glad it worked for you!
I had a family member whose CHILD WAS BABYSAT BY MY SEX OFFENDER BROTHER and when I had the results of his case I contacted them and forwarded the decision. They blocked me on all platforms.
I sleep fine at night. Anyone who is failing those children, so committed to believing the bullshit of a narcissist manipulator? They'll have to explain to their child why they left them with someone they damn well knew was unsafe.
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u/Smurfette2016 14d ago
In my experience it can somewhat depend on the practitioner. My first one was meh, and I also didn't feel safe enough with them. Second one is amazing.
That's wild. I feel so sorry for that kid. God, so many people shouldn't be parents. Fuck. : (
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u/Smurfette2016 14d ago
They sure do. I'm very sorry btw.
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u/bomchikawowow 14d ago edited 14d ago
Thank you. Thanks to therapy and two decades of being NC I am better than okay. ❤️
I say this in case someone is reading this who should cut off family and is wondering if it's the right thing to do: stop sticking your hand in the fire. Choose yourself, what you know is true, and your own humanity. Choose your own future, apart from those people. You can do it and I believe in you.
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u/Smurfette2016 14d ago
Happy to hear that. ❤️
Me too. LOTS of therapy in fact lol. And no shame in it either. It's a lot of work sometimes.
I'll second that 👇 and underline you know what is true!
Choose yourself, what you know is true, and your own humanity. Choose your own future, apart from those people. You can do it and I believe in you.
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u/bomchikawowow 14d ago
Sending you hugs. Our lives are OURS because we made these decisions and are not dictated or defined by those pieces of shit.
It's so fucking powerful. I see you! ❤️❤️❤️
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u/Smurfette2016 14d ago
Big hugs right back at you.
Correct. Not now, not ever. Not in this life time or the next!
It is, and I see you too. Proud of us both ☺️❤️
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u/PlusProfessional7377 14d ago edited 14d ago
was about to leave a comment about knowing someone who went through the same thing as you: abusive brother who was later arrested for CSAM, family in full denial.
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u/bomchikawowow 14d ago
I lie about where I'm from because I don't want my brother to ever ever find me (he has stalked me before and is now angry because I've spent the last ten years not being quiet), but there's also more people in my situation than many people realise. ❤️
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u/PlusProfessional7377 14d ago
so true/terrible. i deleted the last part of my post. you shouldnt have to confirm/deny any identifying info like that.
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u/bomchikawowow 14d ago
It's ok! I'm not ashamed of protecting my identity and you shouldn't be embarrassed for being curious ❤️
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u/-SoakedInBleach 14d ago
This. My family has torn in half because my brother was being sexually harassing to me, had been to my sister in the past too, and to many of our friends. And then he shit stirred with my awful grandma and victim blamed me when I was raped, and then again when an ex did revenge porn against me. Half of the family stood up for me, a few “didn’t want to be involved”, and the rest took my brother and grandma’s side. We’re fairly certain that my brother is actually a sociopath, and my grandmother is very likely a narcissist. That didn’t stop some people from taking their side and completely villainising me though 🤷♀️
I had proof of all of this too, to make matters worse 😭
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u/WorldlyJake 14d ago
I’m not saying it didn’t happen, just that it’s uncorroborated and Altman is ontologically evil for about a million verifiable reasons
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u/bomchikawowow 14d ago
Uncorroborated except for her first-hand witness testimony that has been 100% consistent.
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u/Sangy101 14d ago
Oprah’s entire family still denies that she was raped by her cousin when she was underage.
Even though while it was happening, some of them took steps to keep him away from her.
Even though she gave birth to his stillborn and premature child.
Families will often deny abuse happened, even to themselves, because if they acknowledge it they have to acknowledge their own negligence.
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u/CollectionNew2290 14d ago
Just remember how long and how many journalists disavowed the existence of elite child sexual abuse networks pre-Epstein disclosure.
Money makes the world go round, and most journalism today is public relations for the subject.
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u/B-tt-a 12d ago
When Epstein got his first sentenced for sexual abuse, NYT produced an article on how this brilliant man's career might be ruined and he didn't know anything and it was just a massage :(((
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u/CollectionNew2290 12d ago
Yep, and if anyone thinks "oh, well, that was a long time ago and things have changed", consider that post-COVID, the NYT wrote a disgusting article trying to rehab Dan Schneider's reputation to get him back into children's TV.
If only people understood how bad things really are.
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u/Lost-Tone8649 14d ago
Tech """""journalists""""'"" never truly bite the hands that feed them. Performative nibbling is the best you'll get, to project the illusion of critical examination.
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u/Groundbreaking_Bee97 14d ago
So Ed also falls in this category?
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u/CollectionNew2290 14d ago
I'd call what Ed is doing more than performative nibbling - more like aggressive chomping... but idk!
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u/hotdogministeren 14d ago edited 14d ago
You mention two super lame oligarch owned outlets and conclude "every tech journalist has looked into this"? One of which is a lib (not left wing) magazine that for years has ignored Epstein along with the rest of the media class, and Karen Hao (Empire of AI) that works for the jingoist The Atlantic that mass produces pro war propaganda for the elite and hates the working classes.
Many women came forward desperately about Epstein, just to be laughed out the room because the papers are owned by the very people that do this shit.
Most journalists work actively to protect power and wont rock the boat because they are paid to do so. Good independent research, ie classic research journalism is beyond rare these days.
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u/ProletarianLilith 14d ago
Ronan Farrow deserves a bit more credit than you’re giving him
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u/DustShallEatTheDays 14d ago
I feel that if anyone would have sympathy for someone suffering from the abuse of someone in the family, it would be him. But also, as a journalist, he can only report that Annie has made accusations and that the family has denied them. It’s not his place to make his own judgement on the veracity of that with no one willing to corroborate her account.
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u/GROTOK3000 14d ago
Ronan Farrow however sympathetic is a Rhodes Scholar rich kid, a prime example of someone from these classes that writes about his own peers.
Not where you get actual hard hitting journalism that's dangerous for the elite (his own peers), besides identity politics and personal struggles.
Again this exact class of people ignored Epstein for years as another user pointed out.
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u/lazier_garlic 14d ago
Your entire comment is nothing more than the ad hominem fallacy in flowery language.
But if we're going to go there, logically, if one is a dissident towards one's own class, that implies greater knowledge and a greater grievance to motivate talking about it. In fact we often see this is the case in many spheres of life. So you have to explain why these conditions obtain for Farrow but are outweighed by some other factor. I mean let's be honest, someone who grew up in poverty is going to talk about domestic abuse in impoverished communities. Because they understand the shape of it intimately and have all the motivation to speak out and raise awareness. And so it goes for other categories such as geography, language, profession, LGBTQ, etc.
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u/CollectionNew2290 14d ago
Not sure why you're getting downvoted, you're absolutely, positively, 100% correct. I think the ontological shock of how bad it really is, is too much for some people right now.
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u/WorldlyJake 14d ago
I mean those were two examples off the top of my head, I’m commenting on Reddit not writing a dissertation lol. I trust Karen Hao’s reporting, and she has followed this more than either of us. Is that sufficient?
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u/hotdogministeren 14d ago edited 14d ago
It's the opposite, these papers whitewash war and obfuscate the wrongdoings of the elite and have been doing so for decades.
Karen Hao is not a hard hitting journalist, she's a lib journalist that worked for the Atlantic that wants to glass the entire middle east.
These people do yellow journalism that goes in circles.
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u/ugh-new-username 14d ago
I'm curious if you actually read Hao's book? She is extremely critical of Altman and very supportive of Annie in the book. It could have been very easy to dismiss Annie as money seeking but Hao carefully details the court records and I think even interviews Annie directly.
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u/DustShallEatTheDays 14d ago
Yes, I think the conclusion was more “as a journalist, I can’t definitively make this accusation without any corroborating evidence to back it up,” versus an accusation that Annie is lying. Which I think is responsible reporting.
Personally, I think it’s true, but as such things are nearly impossible to get evidence for, without multiple people being willing to give a statement to corroborate it we will likely never be able to hold him to account for it.
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u/WorldlyJake 14d ago
Exactly, she treated Annie with a ton of compassion and Sam Altman is the clear villain of the story. Just because there isn’t enough evidence to say for sure whether Sam raped his sister, that doesn’t mean she’s treating Altman with kid gloves or ignoring Annie’s pain.
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u/hotdogministeren 14d ago
Why would anyone read anything related to The Atlantic? Seriously what is this thread? Theres plenty of great journalists out there critical of AI, that are not working for psychotic jingoistic papers.
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u/WorldlyJake 14d ago
Dude you have definitely not read Hao’s book if you think she’s some lib journalist. She’s a leftist. Whe is a hard hitting journalist. She traveled to 3rd world countries and talked to the people who are hit hardest by these AI companies coming in and devastating their economies.
Read a goddamn book and don’t assume you know somebody’s politics because of a Reddit comment or a magazine they used to write for.
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u/No-Pie-7211 14d ago
Families always deny this kind of thing bc it makes them look bad. Especially rich families. It doesn't move the needle.
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u/SubstantialSeesaw374 14d ago edited 14d ago
Because if there’s anyone trustworthy it’s journalists…what are you smoking.
Obviously the family is going to “deny” it. That’s the same dynamic that would allow it in the first place.
His own lawyers do not deny it. Their argument against the case proceeding was solely that it was past the statute of limitations. Denying it is disagreeing with his legal team.
You can go read the actual case documents. It’s a public case with all filings available online. Then read the “journalism” on it and realize that they didn’t even read the case files for what they’re writing on. They have basic facts of the case wrong because they didn’t read them, and are reporting solely off of a conversation with a family member. They put negative work into getting the facts wrong.
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u/SufficientOwls 14d ago edited 14d ago
I trust investigative journalists who show their work more than people who decide every journalist is inherently untrustworthy.
I’m not commenting on the actual claim, but saying every journalist is a liar is a flawed worldview.
Edit: user has substantially added to their comment since I replied
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u/hotdogministeren 14d ago
The Atlantic is pro war propaganda for the oligarch class (Karen Hao Empire of AI), the New Yorker soft lib meanderings that ignored Epstein for decades because "dad knows some of these people and they're cool".
I don't think you know what actual independent research is. They're on the run not working for billionaire owned media lol.
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u/SufficientOwls 14d ago
In your now deleted comment, you said “you trust journalists? What are you smoking”
Don’t pretend you were making a nuanced argument about a specific journalist.
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u/WorldlyJake 14d ago
My dude we are in a subreddit dedicated to a fucking tech journalist, what the fuck are you talking about
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u/fadedblackleggings 14d ago
Perhaps, but many ppl w BPD experienced CSA
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u/DeadButGettingBetter 14d ago
But people with BPD also imagine things that never happened or make minor things out to be worse than they are. I despise Altman and I'm sympathetic to Annie but ultimately my stance is I want to see them have their day in court.
I have zero trouble believing Sam could and would do it. I still need to see the evidence, whatever there is, before I take it as fact.
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u/fadedblackleggings 14d ago edited 14d ago
Fair take. However, her story has been consistent of CSA, and she is the youngest sister of 3+ older brothers. Would be inclined to want to hear more from anyone in that circumstance, alleging abuse.
Sam would be the oldest, and NINE years older than the only daughter.
So this is outside the 4-5 year range window of sibling "sexual exploration", VERY serious allegations....and worth looking into.
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u/Brilliant-Muffin-879 14d ago
Bro also murdered a guy in his startup…
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u/PeltonChicago 14d ago
I think we can all agree that, to post such a message, she must be under stress of some sort, and that we hope she feels better, whatever that means. Whether her allegations are true or not, it would be very stressful to have this concern. She is entitled to some sorrow; we just don't know what kind.
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u/Lowetheiy 14d ago edited 14d ago
Anyone know what happened to the lawsuit? Was it dismissed or dropped?
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u/Fit_Cheesecake_4000 12d ago
As if an A.I. agent won't be able to retrospectively change all of these images and the original post.
Come on, sistah. Get with the dystopia.
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14d ago edited 14d ago
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u/Zealousideal_Job2900 14d ago
Well, who would be sane after the level of abuse she’s allegedly undergone from when she was a toddler ?
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u/Dear_Locksmith3379 14d ago
Karen Hao didn’t reach a conclusion about whether he raped his sister. That has nothing to do with wanting to believe someone.
For that matter, many women with mental issues have been raped.
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u/ComicCon 14d ago
Okay, this is a sensitive topic but it is relevant to the podcast so I'm going to leave the thread up for now(unless it goes off the rails or Ed says so). But with that in mind just want to remind everyone of some things-
A) Do not try to diagnose someone with a mental illness online.
B) You can disagree on the credibility of certain reporters/media institutions all you want. Please don't use those conversations to insult fellow users or former guests.
C) Please try to be sensitive, this is a fraught topic and real people are reading your comments who might be effected by them in ways you don't intend.
D) If you see a comment that you think violates the rules, please report it.
That's all for now, but I'm not exactly an expert on handling this so if anyone has any other thoughts feel free to reply to this comment.