I was never surprised but I was disappointed about the vast chasm between how Richard Stallman got treated for a couple of offhand comments about Epstein versus how Bill Gates got treated after flying on the lolita express.<p>Challenging existing power structures essentially requires you to be absolutely spotlessly clean, whereas being an elite who doesnt challenge the system gives you a lot more leeway not only to misbehave but also to be given the benefit of the doubt when it's unclear if you did. Epstein clearly exploited that to the max.
> Microsoft founder Bill Gates told CNN on Wednesday that he regrets spending time with Jeffrey Epstein, the multimillionaire financier who was accused of child sex trafficking.<p>Hm I think the more relevant context to include might be that Epstein had already been _convicted_ for separate sex crimes _before_ these hang-outs with Bill, as well. But axios’s thing is brevity I guess.
It's odd to me that Epstein's value to Gates could be "connections". He's one of the richest and most famous people on the planet, what trouble would he have making connections to anyone he wants who would be interested in global health?
The social gestures of Bill Gates is that of hugging himself, which shows that the question made him visibly uncomfortable. The way he speaks, with his tongue curling into itself, also reveals clear discomfort.<p>I really don't like the implication of the whole interview. CNN is merely capitalizing on guilt by association. Sure, Epstein was a bad guy. No question about it. But tacitly accusing people who merely had dinner with him of also being bad, is stretching it beyond both reason and fairness.