Flirting with Trump is flirting with Nazism - Response to Andy Yen (CEO of Proton AG) on Reddit 📢📢📢

When was he born? Not everyone knows all the "secret" signs for stuff. How 18 is A.H or how 81 is H.A (Hells Angels) 1% biker clubs have surprisingly much of such codes. 8 is also the number of Khorne in the Warhammer fantasy/sci-fi setting. And before we start with that there are surprisingly few Nazis who play, but the few are very vocal.

Years ago I saw a guy in a crocery store in Norway wearing a "Combat18 Böhmen" hoodie. Buying ingredients for tex-mex taco incidentally. And when I pointed him out to my wife, she said that you are probably the only one in here to know this, and spot him for what he is.

So if Andy was born in 1988 I hope it's why he has 88 in his username.

Here's all I could find about his age in a few minutes:

https://www.inc.com/jason-aten/the-ceo-of-protonmail-andy-yen-says-apple-cares-about-profit-more-than-privacy.html

He was actually born in 1988, according to the author's article. If anyone can find a more reliable resource, please, post it here🙏
- Yeah, birth years are super common in usernames (and password, don't use it there). Bob Smith finds his preferred username is taken so becomes BobSmith79 or BobSmith88 or whatever because it's easy an easy enough variation to remember.
  
  You can find patterns/relations in almost anything if you reach for something, kinda like the "six degrees of separation" thing even if there's a more reasonable answer
He's apparently said he was born in 1988. In another thread others mentioned that would make him 21 when he started his PhD, which checks out.
- So he can dogwhistle with impunity. Lucky guy.
When was he born? Not everyone knows all the “secret” signs for stuff.

I don't care when he was born. Who puts their birth year in their username? "Here, internet. Here's one less piece of information you need to steal my identity!"

No. "ItS mY bIrF YeEr" is just what nazi shit says when they get called out on being nazi shit.
- Look, I can't comment on the significance of binary 88 in this instance with any confidence, but a lot of people use their birth year in their username.
  
  Is it stupid? Absolutely, alongside demonstrating a total lack of any creativity whatsoever. But it's 100% a thing.
  
  Edit: Lol, will also note the first 'people also search' suggestion coming up when Googling Andy Yen is "When was Andy Yen born", and in the 5 seconds of drunken searching I still haven't seen a birth date.
  
  Look, I can’t comment on the significance of binary 88 in this instance with any confidence, but a lot of people use their birth year in their username.
  
  A lot of people who like trump were coincidentally totally born in 1988.
  
  To be clear, I'm not arguing that people don't put 88 as a clear dog whistle to white supremacists/general Nazi bullshit. This is more to the comment "who puts their birth year in their username?" bit specifically. The answer is a lot of people.
  
  I also am not excusing Yen for his pro-Trump comments - that was fucking bullshit and I'm deeply disappointed - I'm just saying the YOB thing is a thing, but also coincidentally I also can't seem to find a source to prove if he's also doing the YOB thing or something else.
  
  Note to self: Limit Lemmy to 3 beers max, particularly where Trumpian bullshit is involved. And thank god for autocorrect. Apologies, I really should not be interneting right now.
  
  To be clear, I’m not arguing that people don’t put 88 as a clear dog whistle to white supremacists/general Nazi bullshit.
  
  To be clear, anyone who supports trump is already nazi-adjacent enough to get no benefit of the doubt, and I don't buy the "It's my birth year" shit from any of them. Even if they were born in 1988, that's not the reason 88 is in their username.
  
  I also don't believe that someone whose entire personality centers around cannabis has "420" in their username because they were born on April 20th. I don't believe that some fratboy who is constantly making horny comments has "69" in his username because he was born on June 9th, either.
  
  88 is so much worse that I wouldn’t even compare then to the anodyne 420 & 69 examples.
  
  I'm just saying that if a stoner tried to convince me that he had 420 in his username because he was born on April 20, I wouldn't buy it.
  
  Yes, I understood that. I’d be more willing to be convinced in the 420 case, because the stakes are so low. Unlike being a Nazi, nobody gets punched in the face for being a stoner.
  
  Unlike being a Nazi, nobody gets punched in the face for being a stoner.
  
  Police have a long history of punching stoners in the face and worse. If you don't want to get called a nazi, don't do nazi shit with an 88 in your username.
  
  If I were born in 1988 I would not put an encoded "88" in my username. I wouldn't want people to think I was dogwhistling.
- He's my generation. That's what we did in the dawn of the internet when web email was new and shit. Everybody has "coolname87" "dogshit89", "hipguy88" as their username. It's not such a wild idea.
  
  He's younger than me, but there was a broad age range that all caught the internet around the same time. I'm aware that this is how it was once done. Usernames are longer now, allowing for greater creativity.
  
  And this goober still uses his first name and an obfuscated 2 digit number? Yeah, he didn't choose it because it's his birth year.
  
  We all choose to believe what we choose to believe. 👍
  
  Yup. I believe this is untrustworthy behavior and I regret signing up for proton mail.
- Tbf I’ve put my birth year in my username before when I was a kid who knew next to nothing about privacy. I’ve seen other people do this too. So it’s not totally implausible. But yeah it is a bad look for Andy regardless.
  
  Tbf I’ve put my birth year in my username before when I was a kid who knew next to nothing about privacy. I’ve seen other people do this too. So it’s not totally implausible.
  
  It's one thing when you're a naive kid or a clueless boomer. It's quite another when you're the ceo of a privacy-focused company.
- Who puts their birth year in their username?
  
  You are not very old, right?
  
  Maybe now, in our stupid time, folks use phone numbers for identity, some stupid handle (or just their actual name) and then post a lot of text, photos and such, totally less harmful for their privacy than their birth year. And no birth year
  
  But in the olden days it was the main solution to "such user already exists" problem, combined with things like 'xXx' and '+0+' on both sides or something.
  
  You are not very old, right?
  
  You're not getting my birth year this way, either.
  
  But in the olden days it was the main solution to “such user already exists” problem,
  
  The account in question is two days old. And it's from the CEO of a VPN service. This isn't him signing up for baby's first AOL account back in 1994.
- Yes, a public figure, whose data can be discovered in few minutes, considers his birth year a secret. Also nobody ever used the birth year in their username on the internet.
  
  Also ANDY = 1 + 14 + 4 + 25 = 44, which is half of 88 and contains 14, another nazy symbol. He is trying to pass it off as his name, but who uses their name on the internet? I will check the cabala now, because I am sure there is more.
  
  God, I hope Nick Fury is already grouping the avengers, because Hydra is really making a move here.
  
  If you don't want people to think you're a nazi, don't say good things about trump with 88 sitting right there for everyone to see in your username.
  
  The account is 2 days old. He knew what he was doing.
  
  If trump did a good thing in a very narrow context you can't say it, otherwise you are a Nazi? OK, this is madness. Also, it's not "sitting there for everyone to see" because it's binary. You also realize that people have different cultural references right? Maybe it's not your responsibility to compute the cabala horoscope for everything you do, and assume that people will be able to use at least the 2% of the brain and for example distinguish from a bold Nazi supporter with 88 tattooed and a guy born in 88 who appends 88 to his username (in a nerd way). But apparently not.
  
  He created an account to speak personally and not from the proton account he uses before. Anyway, "he knew what he was doing" is conspiracy theory again.
  
  Also, it’s not “sitting there for everyone to see” because it’s binary.
  
  Yes, obfuscating it makes it better!
  
  Maybe it’s not your responsibility to compute the cabala horoscope for everything you do, and assume that people will be able to use at least the 2% of the brain and for example distinguish from a bold Nazi supporter with 88 tattooed and a guy born in 88 who appends 88 to his username (in a nerd way). But apparently not.
  
  He supported trump with 88 in his username.
  
  He created an account to speak personally and not from the proton account he uses before.
  
  And he didn't need to put 88 in there, or obfuscate it. And I'm increasingly certain that you're freaking out and defending him for it because you're happy that your political party is represented.
  
  He supported Trump's pick. I know reality makes little difference for you, but still. Also yes, he put 88 in his username, which is not a crime, especially for a Taiwanese guy born in 88 lmao.
  
  The sole fact we are even discussing this is just absurd. Absurd. It's 5g gives cancer absurd. It's vaccine give autism absurd.
  
  And I'm increasingly certain that you're freaking out and defending him for it because you're happy that your political party is represented.
  
  Correct, because as non US citizen communist republicans are my party. In fact, anybody who disagrees with you is secretly a republican, and even more secret a Nazi, there is no other reason to disagree with you, absolutely. In fact, sudneo has "south" in it, and "o" at the end, what do you get it you put "o" south of "o"? 8, and that's half of 88. Considering there is also "n" in it, and that's 14, I think it's quite clear that I am also a Nazi, trying to cover my Nazi colleague Andy. Heil Hydra.
  
  You are just a maga with slightly different moral values. Still a cultist fanatic on a witch hunt that threw reason and reality out of the window.
  
  He supported Trump’s pick. I know reality makes little difference for you, but still.
  
  I know you're defending him for two reasons. This is one of them.
  
  Also yes, he put 88 in his username,
  
  And this is the other.
  
  which is not a crime,
  
  No, it's not a crime to be a nazi in the US. I hope it is in your country.
  
  Correct, because a non US citizen communist republicans are my party.
  
  I didn't say republicans were your party.
  
  I think it’s quite clear that I am also a Nazi, trying to cover my Nazi colleague Andy.
  
  I believe you.
  
  Yes, I am defending his ability to positively judge Trump's pick. And I am not defending the choice of 88. I believe it's not needed because the accusation is absurd.
  
  No, it's not a crime to be a nazi in the US. I hope it is in your country.
  
  It actually is, but - believe it or not - people born in 88 don't get arrested every time they add their birth date to a document.
  
  I believe you.
  
  I know you do. You would believe anything that helps you make sense of a complex world with a simple explanation: good vs evil. You are good, so anybody who disagrees with you is automatically evil. That's it, no more wasting time understanding or thinking, straight to conclusion , always.
  
  As I said, you are a cultist. You are exactly the same as MAGA people, just with slightly different moral values. You think to be fighting Nazism like those people are fighting immigrants ruining their country or stuff like that.
  
  You are doing great buddy, now you got me, so absolutely, by any means, do not try to reflect on the fact you are projecting your culture on a Taiwanese person. Do not reflect on what's the likelihood a normal guy, with a PhD in physics who built a great company that protects millions of people is actually a Nazi, and decides to show it because why not. Absolutely, don't reflect on this! Sit on your absolutely simplicistic assumption, because this reinforces all your previous beliefs, and makes the world a much simpler place!
  
  And I am not defending the choice of 88.
  
  If you say so.
  
  You are good, so anybody who disagrees with you is automatically evil.
  
  Nonsense. People of good conscience can disagree in good faith. People who praise trump and have 88 in their usernames are not people of good conscience, and I don't think you're defending him in good faith.
  
  do not try to reflect on the fact you are projecting your culture on a Taiwanese person
  
  They said it on an English language forum in English about an American president-elect. The account was two days old. If his judgement is that shitty here, it's shitty everywhere.
  
  Do not reflect on what’s the likelihood a normal guy, with a PhD in physics
  
  Yeah, whoever heard of a PhD being a nazi?
  
  who built a great company that protects millions of people is actually a Nazi, and decides to show it because why not.
  
  Whoever heard of a techbro having nazi sympathies?
  
  Sit on your absolutely simplicistic assumption, because this reinforces all your previous beliefs, and makes the world a much simpler place!
  
  Nazis are shit. That's simplistic. And true. And it offends you deeply.

only a Nazi goes out of their way to put an 88 in their username

Yeah, I'm gonna need a citation for that. I was born in 1988.

Keep in mind that the number 8 is auspicious and lucky in many parts of Asia. Any time I see a bunch of 8s in a username I think it's for luck.

I promise you this restaurant (and the hundreds of others with 88 in the name) are not dogwhistling for anything other than luck.

Can't speak for how this reflects on Andy Yen as I'm not familiar with him, but I just want y'all to know you can't assume 88 = HH in every case.

But he is swiss, and here we know that 88 is for prising Hitler
- He is from Taiwan, studies in US and then moved to Switzerland.
But that's how dogwhistles work: they can hide behind a veil of plausible deniability.
- If it's really plausible, then you've got no way to tell it's a dogwhistle.
  
  Your comment is equivalent to "I can't prove that Jews rule the world, but that's because they've worked for plausible deniability, I know they do".

This is at the same time:

a novax level conspiracy
a completely idotic assumption that not only doesn't stand Occam's razor, but not even basic common sense.
racist and showing a colonial mindset, clearly prioritising what is relevant in YOUR culture (superior, more important), compared to what is relevant in that person's culture.

Please can someone tell me how this attitude is fundamentally different from people who are in other cults (maga, novax, etc.)?

For limited people, maybe.

88 is:

important for people born in 1988
amateur radio romantic message (apparently older than Nazis, don't ask me how I know, but it has to do with being used in that, and not HH, meaning in one Nazi song ; felt strange for me, until I've just read that it was a telegraph thing before radio)
two eternity symbols turned (not those wheely ones)
as people have mentioned, common as a lucky number in certain parts of the globe
people can also be born on 8 August
had that number on some item memorable for him (I had 72 in plenty of my nicknames, I can promise you it's not about 72 virgins or 72 names of god and I'm not Muslim, I just had a yellow t-shirt with that number when I was a kid).

The funny part is that points #2 and #4 are probably known to him, tech company and all.

Why are you so knowledgeable of plausible deniabilities for a Nazi symbology?

Holy shit. That is indeed 88 in binary...

He was born in 1988...
- That doesn't mean he needed to put it in his username.
  
  looks at own username
  
  It's a bit more plausible when it's all 4 digits.
  
  Fair, but I have other variants with just "88".
How did we all miss that 😮