Golden State Warriors Owner Torn Apart for Indifference to China’s Abuse of Uyghurs
The Twitterverse is tearing Golden State Warriors owner Chamath Palihapitiya to shreds for his admission to not caring about China’s brutality toward Uyghur Muslims.
The billionaire investor’s comments came in the latest installment of his All In podcast, where the conversation turned at one point to President Joe Biden’s signing of the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act. The bill bans the importation of goods from the Xinjiang province, where Uyghurs have been forced into concentration camps, coerced into slave labor, and subjected to numerous crimes against humanity.
While Jason Calacanis thought that Biden’s comments on the Uyghurs were a “strong statement,” Palihapitiya took the opportunity to declare “nobody cares” about China’s treatment of Uyghurs, which has been condemned by many as a campaign of genocide.
“Nobody cares about what’s happening to the Uyghurs, okay?” Palihapitiya said. “You bring it up because you really care and I think it’s nice that [Calacanis] cares. The rest of us don’t care.”
Palihapitiya proceeded to stand by his comments, calling them “a very hard, ugly truth” and the Uyghurs are “below my line” of things to care about. He continued to say that the prioritization of human rights is a “luxury belief” to him, and “not until we can take care of ourselves will I prioritize them over us.”
“Until we actually clean up our own house the idea, that we step outside of our borders with you know with us sort of like morally virtue signaling about somebody else’s human rights track record is deplorable,” Palihapitiya said.
Palihapitiya added that his concerns with China revolve around climate change, the country’s economic weight, and the implications of China possibly invading Taiwan. His comments come after the NBA has been repeatedly condemned for turning a blind eye to China’s human rights abuses in order to make money.
As it were, Palihapitiya’s comments were noticed by political observers online, and the outrage came without mercy:
Get ready to cringe so hard your teeth shatter. https://t.co/tww1K49M0F
— Noah Rothman (@NoahCRothman) January 17, 2022
Unbelievable. These charlatans have the audacity to parade themselves in social justice pageantry elsewhere when it accords with ruling class sentiment, but it’s a woke capital charade meant to assuage your conscience while lining their pocketbooks. https://t.co/HMczsZ91sW
— Andrew T. Walker (@andrewtwalk) January 17, 2022
Enthusiastically snatching the Worst Person in Sports Award from Novak Djokovic… https://t.co/BrvwwbKmsb
— Doug Heye (@DougHeye) January 17, 2022
Pretty damn despicable. https://t.co/bu0egwWMgs
— Joe Walsh (@WalshFreedom) January 17, 2022
What an arrogant, ignorant, insufferable billionaire asshole. @chamath doesn’t just say that voters are unaware of the genocide against the Uighurs; he says that he personally doesn’t care. Fuck this guy and his whataboutism idiocy. https://t.co/w5Zoi8vlX9
— Tommy Vietor (@TVietor08) January 17, 2022
This is a disgrace. @chamath says “nobody cares” about the Uyghur genocide: “Of all the things I care about, yes, it is below my line.” cc: @EnesFreedom @dmorey https://t.co/n4g6HvXjaX
— Josh Rogin (@joshrogin) January 17, 2022
This is sick stuff. https://t.co/vRkNWI1A9v
— Jimmy Quinn (@james_t_quinn) January 17, 2022
We’ve always known that the @NBA & many of its owners are happy to put profits over people. Now @chamath is saying it plain as day: he doesn’t care that Communist China is committing genocide against the Uyghurs. He doesn’t care that millions are sent to forced labor camps. (1/2) https://t.co/GsvSTrD2Uo
— Rick Scott (@SenRickScott) January 17, 2022
As a huge @warriors fan this is infuriating — saying that US is no better than the genocidal human rights violating CCP is outrageous. And that’s just one part of this mess. @chamath do some reading and apologize. https://t.co/q8BOdVkVV4
— Matt Whitlock (@mattdizwhitlock) January 17, 2022
Golden State Warriors Owner Chamath Palihapitiya Says He Doesn’t Care About China Oppressing The Uyghurs. What a generous and wonderful human being. Maybe he should go live in China for a while. See if his opinions change. https://t.co/71nOpTEuSb
— Bill Browder (@Billbrowder) January 17, 2022
This man just said the quiet part out loud for the entire corporate, Leftist establishment. https://t.co/kgMr2OmXlo
— Rep. Ralph Norman (@RepRalphNorman) January 17, 2022
My goodness.
I mean, points for honesty, I guess? This guy is saying aloud what the NBA has been saying through their actions: We don’t care about genocide. That he goes on to defend China and attack America is icing on the cake. https://t.co/jyMsKCzVVi
— Guy Benson (@guypbenson) January 17, 2022
When @NBA says we stand for justice, don’t forget there are those who sell their soul for money & business like @chamath the owner of @warriors,
who says “Nobody cares about what’s happening to the Uyghurs”When genocides happen, it is people
like this that let it happenShame! pic.twitter.com/27j2GxGhCU
— Enes Kanter FREEDOM (@EnesFreedom) January 17, 2022
Watch above (start at 14:50), via the All In Podcast.
