Burn Them at the Stake

A few weeks ago, there was a controversy surrounding Venture Capitalist and former Facebook executive Chamath Palihapitiya’s comments around Uyghurs. In it, Chamath said:

Let’s be honest, nobody, nobody cares about what’s happening to the Uyghurs, okay? … I’m telling you a very hard ugly truth, OK? Of all the things I care about, yes, it is below my line.

I remember watching Vice’s documentary on Xinjiang and feeling sick to my stomach that a modern day holocaust is happening in China.

Chamath’s comments come off as nasty and insensitive to say the least. I’ve heard Chamath speak before and I’ve read his stuff, he’s a smart guy. So why would he say this? What’s his reasoning? Or does his truly just not care about the human rights crisis happening in China? Rather than burning him at the stake and listening to what Twitter or the media has to say about him, I’d rather listen to the entire podcast, understand his reasoning then come to my own conclusions.

I think what’s important is reading, listening, and having conversations with people we disagree with. Doing this expands the mind, bursts bubbles, and challenges beliefs. That’s part of the benefit of living in a free country like Canada, a country with freedom of the press and freedom of speech. We can have broad perspectives because we can expose ourselves to ideas that oppose our own.