15 votes

Web Summit chief steps down over Israel remarks

13 comments

  1. [4]
    TescoLarger
    Link
    Cosgrave is, by and large, a complete wanker and rightfully disliked by an awful lot of Irish people, myself included. It is painfully ironic, and pretty funny imo, that the one time I'd agree...

    Cosgrave is, by and large, a complete wanker and rightfully disliked by an awful lot of Irish people, myself included. It is painfully ironic, and pretty funny imo, that the one time I'd agree with his comments, he ends up getting cancelled for it.

    Interesting to note, although he has stepped down as CEO, he's still the owner of the company itself. Let's see if they can bounce back from this, I'd doubt it though or at the very least, it'll not be the same for a long time.

    12 votes
    1. [3]
      ignorabimus
      Link Parent
      I would be curious to know why is he disliked by a lot of Irish people?

      I would be curious to know why is he disliked by a lot of Irish people?

      4 votes
      1. TescoLarger
        (edited )
        Link Parent
        Off the top of my head: Moved the Web Summit from Dublin to Lisbon, Portugal, because the government wouldn't adhere to ridiculous demands he was making i.e., wanting the city to come to a...

        Off the top of my head:

        Moved the Web Summit from Dublin to Lisbon, Portugal, because the government wouldn't adhere to ridiculous demands he was making i.e., wanting the city to come to a complete standstill/redirecting traffic on the day and providing Garda (police) escorts free of charge for guests.

        Frequently criticised the Irish tax system whilst simultaneously being a tax exile/benefit of tax sheltering.

        At the beginning of the pandemic, was guilty of scaremongering and tweeted claiming four nurses died from Covid. Health Service rightfully called him out on it, he apologises but later goes on the radio and is adamant he was correct re the original claim.

        The above is just the stuff I think Irish people take particular issue with on a local level. There's plenty more on his Wiki page / controversy section if you are interested.

        In a more general sense, in my opinion, he's perceived to be a bit of an obnoxious arsehole and his social media history, especially Twitter, backs this up.

        8 votes
      2. Cycloneblaze
        Link Parent
        He's got a huge head thanks to his success with the Web Summit and thinks he's the smartest person in the room, which frequently results in him putting his foot in his mouth. I guess that applies...

        He's got a huge head thanks to his success with the Web Summit and thinks he's the smartest person in the room, which frequently results in him putting his foot in his mouth. I guess that applies here as well but I'm as surprised as anyone that it's happened while he was making a good point?

        6 votes
  2. [6]
    gowestyoungman
    Link
    Cancel culture is going to be working in overdrive while this war drags on. Sadly, whether one agrees with one side or the other, BOTH sides are going to experience chilling of their speech, which...

    Cancel culture is going to be working in overdrive while this war drags on. Sadly, whether one agrees with one side or the other, BOTH sides are going to experience chilling of their speech, which isn't good.

    5 votes
    1. [3]
      EarlyWords
      Link Parent
      It’s also neatly dividing us into opposing camps, just like nearly everything else in the modern world. In the 80s my high school girlfriend was an Egyptian Muslim. I took a Zionist girl to my...

      It’s also neatly dividing us into opposing camps, just like nearly everything else in the modern world.

      In the 80s my high school girlfriend was an Egyptian Muslim. I took a Zionist girl to my first prom. Hearing from both about their passion for the homeland made me study it assiduously. I developed nuanced positions on everyone from Yitzhak Rabin to Hanan Ahsrawi, from Ben Gurion and Gilda Maier to Arafat. But guess what—-

      It didn’t matter. I’m not from there. It doesn’t matter how much I’ve studied the context and the history, I don’t have the identity, the emotional and cultural context, and (most importantly) the faith.

      But this conflict is SO charged, I could have a doctorate in the geopolitics of Jewish/Muslim relations and they would still dismiss me out of hand. None of them want you and me and the watching world to learn or be educated. They want us to fall in line with either of their extremist positions and send nothing but attention, cash, and votes their way.

      So… a pox on both their houses. Both little girls have cried wolf too often. The tragedy is that my new apathy plays into the hands of yet other malignant global forces such as Putin and his corporate allies.

      11 votes
      1. Leonidas
        Link Parent
        Not gonna lie, that to me seems like a needlessly callous response, especially coming from someone who studied the issue already. It’s not like people should be obligated to publicly state their...

        Not gonna lie, that to me seems like a needlessly callous response, especially coming from someone who studied the issue already. It’s not like people should be obligated to publicly state their opinion on every geopolitical issue with a stack of citations in hand, but at the same time, emotion-fueled online discourse doesn’t change the truth of the situation. You don’t have to be in a position to actively speak on an issue to have a well-researched position on it.

        18 votes
      2. gowestyoungman
        Link Parent
        What I find depressing is that I remember doing a school project on the Arab-Israeli conflict in Gr. 6. I'm old and that was 50 years ago. And not much has changed. This is not a conflict that is...

        What I find depressing is that I remember doing a school project on the Arab-Israeli conflict in Gr. 6. I'm old and that was 50 years ago. And not much has changed. This is not a conflict that is going to go away no matter what happens.

    2. [2]
      flowerdance
      Link Parent
      I find it unironically amusing how the same leaders who were part of the anti-cancel-cohort culture, are using cancel culture their own way. This is just testament to the belief that everyone has...

      I find it unironically amusing how the same leaders who were part of the anti-cancel-cohort culture, are using cancel culture their own way. This is just testament to the belief that everyone has a "cancel culture" (Bud light anyone?) and it's just that what's being cancelled is their own extreme far-right views, which they don't want canceled because they want their views to be the standard.

      7 votes
      1. cfabbro
        (edited )
        Link Parent
        I still remember The Chicks getting "cancelled" for saying they were ashamed that GWB was from Texas, and speaking out against the invasion of Iraq. American Conservatives weaponized...

        I still remember The Dixie Chicks getting "cancelled" for saying they were ashamed that GWB was from Texas, and speaking out against the invasion of Iraq. American Conservatives weaponized politics-based cancel culture decades ago, but now that it's being used against them too, suddenly they think it's a major cultural problem and "the left" are solely to blame for it. Pot, meet kettle.

        13 votes
  3. [2]
    f700gs
    Link
    people need to stop giving opinions unless required. why does anyone care what his opinion on that situation is? can he make any impact on it? does his opinion in anyway affect his ability to do...

    people need to stop giving opinions unless required. why does anyone care what his opinion on that situation is? can he make any impact on it? does his opinion in anyway affect his ability to do his day to day work? if no then don't ask... your only asking to try and trap someone. and if you're asked simply say no comment and move on

    1. flowerdance
      Link Parent
      Because if you have no comment forever (which is what corporations and the powers that be want), then you're forever just a tool or mouthpiece for opinions others want you to say. Sometimes, it's...

      Because if you have no comment forever (which is what corporations and the powers that be want), then you're forever just a tool or mouthpiece for opinions others want you to say. Sometimes, it's worth it to lose, to stick it up to the man.

      10 votes