A rich patron can stand up to power when power plays by the rules.
This regime does not. It is above the law. If you're interested in the endgame of this sort of thing, just look at Russia. No shortage of rich people there, but not a lot of them interested in pushing back.
> A rich patron can stand up to power when power plays by the rules
A rich person has power. That means getting to set your own rules, to an extent. Bezos could have challenged Trump, or at least drawn a line in the sand around press freedom and democratic institutions. He didn't. None of them did. I don't know to whom we rotate power, but it's clear that there needs to be a dilution of it from Silicon Valley.
No, we're not. I was out at a protest this evening with ordinary Americans who have far less wealth and power than Bezos, and they're out there doing what they can. There's a lot he could still be doing.
What's the worst that can happen to him? He flees the country and never has to work a day for the rest of his life that he could live in luxury?
This regime does not. It is above the law. If you're interested in the endgame of this sort of thing, just look at Russia. No shortage of rich people there, but not a lot of them interested in pushing back.