Skip to content
By using Twitter’s services you agree to our Cookies Use. We and our partners operate globally and use cookies, including for analytics, personalisation, and ads.
  • Home Home Home, current page.
  • About

Saved searches

  • Remove
  • In this conversation
    Verified accountProtected Tweets @
Suggested users
  • Verified accountProtected Tweets @
  • Verified accountProtected Tweets @
  • Language: English
    • Bahasa Indonesia
    • Bahasa Melayu
    • Català
    • Čeština
    • Dansk
    • Deutsch
    • English UK
    • Español
    • Filipino
    • Français
    • Hrvatski
    • Italiano
    • Magyar
    • Nederlands
    • Norsk
    • Polski
    • Português
    • Română
    • Slovenčina
    • Suomi
    • Svenska
    • Tiếng Việt
    • Türkçe
    • Ελληνικά
    • Български език
    • Русский
    • Српски
    • Українська мова
    • עִבְרִית
    • العربية
    • فارسی
    • मराठी
    • हिन्दी
    • বাংলা
    • ગુજરાતી
    • தமிழ்
    • ಕನ್ನಡ
    • ภาษาไทย
    • 한국어
    • 日本語
    • 简体中文
    • 繁體中文
  • Have an account? Log in
    Have an account?
    · Forgot password?

    New to Twitter?
    Sign up
vgr's profile
Venkatesh Rao
Venkatesh Rao
Venkatesh Rao
@vgr

Tweets

Venkatesh Rao

@vgr

Conversational account. For work follow @ribbonfarm, @breaking_smart, @artofgig. Tweets are 90% vacuous views, apathetically held. Mediocritopian. IKEA builder.

Los Angeles, CA
venkateshrao.com
Joined August 2007

Tweets

  • © 2020 Twitter
  • About
  • Help Center
  • Terms
  • Privacy policy
  • Imprint
  • Cookies
  • Ads info
Dismiss
Previous
Next

Go to a person's profile

Saved searches

  • Remove
  • In this conversation
    Verified accountProtected Tweets @
Suggested users
  • Verified accountProtected Tweets @
  • Verified accountProtected Tweets @

Promote this Tweet

Block

  • Tweet with a location

    You can add location information to your Tweets, such as your city or precise location, from the web and via third-party applications. You always have the option to delete your Tweet location history. Learn more

    Your lists

    Create a new list


    Under 100 characters, optional

    Privacy

    Copy link to Tweet

    Embed this Tweet

    Embed this Video

    Add this Tweet to your website by copying the code below. Learn more

    Add this video to your website by copying the code below. Learn more

    Hmm, there was a problem reaching the server.

    By embedding Twitter content in your website or app, you are agreeing to the Twitter Developer Agreement and Developer Policy.

    Preview

    Why you're seeing this ad

    Log in to Twitter

    · Forgot password?
    Don't have an account? Sign up »

    Sign up for Twitter

    Not on Twitter? Sign up, tune into the things you care about, and get updates as they happen.

    Sign up
    Have an account? Log in »

    Two-way (sending and receiving) short codes:

    Country Code For customers of
    United States 40404 (any)
    Canada 21212 (any)
    United Kingdom 86444 Vodafone, Orange, 3, O2
    Brazil 40404 Nextel, TIM
    Haiti 40404 Digicel, Voila
    Ireland 51210 Vodafone, O2
    India 53000 Bharti Airtel, Videocon, Reliance
    Indonesia 89887 AXIS, 3, Telkomsel, Indosat, XL Axiata
    Italy 4880804 Wind
    3424486444 Vodafone
    » See SMS short codes for other countries

    Confirmation

     

    Welcome home!

    This timeline is where you’ll spend most of your time, getting instant updates about what matters to you.

    Tweets not working for you?

    Hover over the profile pic and click the Following button to unfollow any account.

    Say a lot with a little

    When you see a Tweet you love, tap the heart — it lets the person who wrote it know you shared the love.

    Spread the word

    The fastest way to share someone else’s Tweet with your followers is with a Retweet. Tap the icon to send it instantly.

    Join the conversation

    Add your thoughts about any Tweet with a Reply. Find a topic you’re passionate about, and jump right in.

    Learn the latest

    Get instant insight into what people are talking about now.

    Get more of what you love

    Follow more accounts to get instant updates about topics you care about.

    Find what's happening

    See the latest conversations about any topic instantly.

    Never miss a Moment

    Catch up instantly on the best stories happening as they unfold.

    1. Venkatesh Rao‏ @vgr Nov 6
      • Report Tweet
      • Report NetzDG Violation

      One thing I want to do with this meta thread is not let my unabashed middle-class globalist bougie class snobbery color my cold takes too much. Yep, I’m probably part of the class demonized as “elites,” and do harbor some of the contempt Trumpies sense and react angrily to.

      1 reply 0 retweets 21 likes
      Show this thread
    2. Venkatesh Rao‏ @vgr Nov 6
      • Report Tweet
      • Report NetzDG Violation

      But I do believe that when I factor all that out, as best I can, we are left with real moral culpability that’s not just a matter of class/culture prejudice. There are crimes against shared humanity here. Remember, plenty of poor working-class whites *didn’t* vote Trump in 2016.

      2 replies 3 retweets 27 likes
      Show this thread
    3. Venkatesh Rao‏ @vgr Nov 6
      • Report Tweet
      • Report NetzDG Violation

      Final meta point. Trump, despite being a rich, white, native-born, is an outsider lolcow in important circles where I, as foreign-born non-rich brown, am an insider. That this can be true is one of the deep, broad resentments Trump was a messenger for. Just acknowledging that.

      4 replies 5 retweets 57 likes
      Show this thread
    4. Venkatesh Rao‏ @vgr Nov 6
      • Report Tweet
      • Report NetzDG Violation

      9. To the extent this whole 4-year shitshow was enabled and given its specific 2016-20 shape and form by software eating old institutions, what should we take away in terms of what new software-aware institutions should look like? What’s the message of the medium?

      4 replies 3 retweets 17 likes
      Show this thread
    5. Venkatesh Rao‏ @vgr Nov 6
      • Report Tweet
      • Report NetzDG Violation

      10. This is basically a cope for poor Ben, but it does suggest a good question: what is the range of GOP presidents Dems would/should see as acceptable in future, even if distasteful? I’d have been 100% fine in 2016 with any of the other candidates, from Cruz to Jeb.pic.twitter.com/PJE584doXu

      9 replies 0 retweets 12 likes
      Show this thread
    6. Venkatesh Rao‏ @vgr Nov 6
      • Report Tweet
      • Report NetzDG Violation

      (which is not to say I’d have personally liked any of them, or agreed with their policies, esp in a counterfactual Cruz admin, but I’d have seen it as legit, and good-enough faith. And tbf I rather liked GWB though hard-left partisans hate him... in many ways I’m pretty old-GOP)

      4 replies 0 retweets 11 likes
      Show this thread
    7. Venkatesh Rao‏ @vgr Nov 6
      • Report Tweet
      • Report NetzDG Violation

      11. What price Bannon-Miller ethnonationalism (Trump is a lazy shallow racist, but these two were genuine Nazi-wannabe-ideologues) 12. What price protectionist economic nationalism? Is there a version that works in a liberal spirit or is it inseparable from ethnocentrism?

      4 replies 0 retweets 15 likes
      Show this thread
    8. Venkatesh Rao‏ @vgr Nov 6
      • Report Tweet
      • Report NetzDG Violation

      13. What about Bannon’s “dismantle the administrative state”? Is there a there there that’s in some sense a legit policy objective in the spirit of the better bits of deregulation a la Reaganomics? Or is it now impossible to disentangle from ethno-fascism-by-privatization?

      3 replies 0 retweets 11 likes
      Show this thread
    9. Venkatesh Rao‏ @vgr Nov 6
      • Report Tweet
      • Report NetzDG Violation

      14. For those who believe Trump represented a rare *qualitative* break from a ~250-year spirit of American public affairs rather than a difference in degree, what was the essence of that break, and what role does “his kind” (Nixon? Goldwater? Jackson?) deserve in public affairs?

      5 replies 1 retweet 8 likes
      Show this thread
    10. Venkatesh Rao‏ @vgr Nov 6
      • Report Tweet
      • Report NetzDG Violation

      Damn, I’m racking up the excruciating analysis questions here. 15. To what extent was the fear of a slide into naked authoritarianism (which people like @sarahkendzior kept up a relentless spotlight on) justified, and still requires attention/action?

      3 replies 0 retweets 10 likes
      Show this thread
      Venkatesh Rao‏ @vgr Nov 6
      • Report Tweet
      • Report NetzDG Violation

      16. We saw a long-nurtured apparatus produce fait-accompli outcomes in the judiciary: the Federalist society had a mission accomplished moment under Trump. What did we learn? 17. What enabling archetypes besides Trump emerged as important? McConnell, Bannon, Miller... who else?

      1:38 PM - 6 Nov 2020
      • 10 Likes
      • The Audience Speaks bartender of weird micah.fyi Teddy Kim Herr Dr Mr Modern Major General brrr Seitz OK then Wheeler Gregory Hansell
      2 replies 0 retweets 10 likes
        1. New conversation
        2. Venkatesh Rao‏ @vgr Nov 6
          • Report Tweet
          • Report NetzDG Violation

          18. China relations are probably the only area where even Trump haters like me would be willing to concede he accomplished something: a reset in an unsatisfactory 2015 equilibrium. What did he accomplish and at what cost? What parts are worth keeping? What costs need addressing?

          4 replies 0 retweets 12 likes
          Show this thread
        3. Venkatesh Rao‏ @vgr Nov 6
          • Report Tweet
          • Report NetzDG Violation

          19. What did Woke/SJW learn? What did we learn about it? Where does it go from here? 20. What did we the alt-right learn? What did we learn about it? Where does it go from here? 21. What new things did we learn about race relations? 22. What did we learn about immigration?

          3 replies 1 retweet 5 likes
          Show this thread
        4. Venkatesh Rao‏ @vgr Nov 6
          • Report Tweet
          • Report NetzDG Violation

          I’ll stop here for now. Enough can still go wrong between now and January (including a proof-of-simulator-interference level improbable Trump comeback) that I don’t want to get ahead of events even in indexing obvious questions. Next batch of questions after official results.

          1 reply 0 retweets 5 likes
          Show this thread
        5. Venkatesh Rao‏ @vgr Nov 6
          • Report Tweet
          • Report NetzDG Violation

          Things that can go wrong in order of increasing improbability 1. Trump finds non-frivolous legal challenge 2. Far-right triggers game-changing unrest 3. Assassinations of key figures 4. Natural-cause deaths 5. Statistical miracle gets Trump to 270* * proof that this is a sim

          2 replies 2 retweets 21 likes
          Show this thread
        6. Venkatesh Rao‏ @vgr Nov 6
          • Report Tweet
          • Report NetzDG Violation

          One question I *don’t* intend to worry about: how trump voters will react. They do them, we do us. Half this problem was caused by us trying to have both sides of this us-vs-them conversation. We’ve already excruciatingly analyzed and modeled them for 4 years. We’re good there.

          1 reply 3 retweets 24 likes
          Show this thread
        7. Venkatesh Rao‏ @vgr Nov 7
          • Report Tweet
          • Report NetzDG Violation

          Venkatesh Rao Retweeted Venkatesh Rao

          23. What have we learned about Big Cheater games? (see next few tweets in quoted thread for context)https://twitter.com/vgr/status/1325099635350728714 …

          Venkatesh Rao added,

          Venkatesh Rao @vgr
          Strikes me there are two kinds of games: 1. games designed by idealists to make cheating hard 2. games designed by self-dealing elites to make cheating easy He’s used to type 2 and elections are type 1. It takes a lot long-term more work (eg gerrymandering) to cheat in type 1
          Show this thread
          1 reply 0 retweets 9 likes
          Show this thread
        8. Venkatesh Rao‏ @vgr Nov 7
          • Report Tweet
          • Report NetzDG Violation

          24. The progressives helped Biden bring in enough democrats to win, but the national vote is a clear mandate against progressives. How will they negotiate their policy goals against that powerful background headwind?

          5 replies 2 retweets 16 likes
          Show this thread
        9. Venkatesh Rao‏ @vgr Nov 7
          • Report Tweet
          • Report NetzDG Violation

          25. Early signs point to a Biden Derangement Syndrome (BDS) that’s much narrower but far deeper than Trump Derangement Syndrome (TDS). 1/3 the number of people under 3x higher psychosis threat. What has the experience with TDS taught us about how to mitigate BDS?

          3 replies 3 retweets 16 likes
          Show this thread
        10. Venkatesh Rao‏ @vgr Nov 7
          • Report Tweet
          • Report NetzDG Violation

          26. Was polarization merely a pair of availability cascades around dead-end left/right extremist rhetoric? Will there be a moderation availability cascade if spotlight is on boring things, making depolarization a self-fulfilling prophecy?

          4 replies 1 retweet 7 likes
          Show this thread
        11. Venkatesh Rao‏ @vgr Nov 7
          • Report Tweet
          • Report NetzDG Violation

          27. Did the outcome invalidate the deep-corruption promises of contrarian holy warrior revolutionary fervor on both ends or is this merely a halfway pause before a bernieward swing in 2024?

          4 replies 0 retweets 10 likes
          Show this thread
        12. Venkatesh Rao‏ @vgr Nov 7
          • Report Tweet
          • Report NetzDG Violation

          28. Will the presidency as a cult of personality give way to a more lowkey role for the office, now that we’ve seen the perils of both too much positive and negative charisma? Can we be done with that charisma malarkey or will we fall for yet another angel-demon king in 2024?

          3 replies 4 retweets 26 likes
          Show this thread
        13. Venkatesh Rao‏ @vgr Nov 7
          • Report Tweet
          • Report NetzDG Violation

          Venkatesh Rao Retweeted

          Amending question 25 a bit. Ryan is right, Biden does not arouse derangement level passions. BDS is really not symmetric with TDS. It’s really TLDS: Trump-loss derangement syndrome. It would exist no matter who he lost to. https://twitter.com/ryanfmason/status/1325170091177226240 …

          Venkatesh Rao added,

          This Tweet is unavailable.
          2 replies 0 retweets 10 likes
          Show this thread
        14. Venkatesh Rao‏ @vgr Nov 7
          • Report Tweet
          • Report NetzDG Violation

          29. Trump’s base was people whose life scripts dead-ended in the 1980s when their future went to China and robots. Is the woke base also a dead-end life script of intersectional dense-urban diversity as an end in itself? Has their future too gone elsewhere? Where? Service robots?

          5 replies 6 retweets 30 likes
          Show this thread
        15. Venkatesh Rao‏ @vgr Nov 7
          • Report Tweet
          • Report NetzDG Violation

          So what is the biggest thing we learned? I think it is this: Big cities have endured for 2500 years, 10 times longer than the United States, and through pandemics 100x bigger. They’re not going anywhere.

          3 replies 2 retweets 34 likes
          Show this thread
        16. Venkatesh Rao‏ @vgr Nov 7
          • Report Tweet
          • Report NetzDG Violation

          30. What have we learned about the future of cities, since it’s clear natural liberalism lives or dies with cities?

          4 replies 5 retweets 19 likes
          Show this thread
        17. Venkatesh Rao‏ @vgr Nov 7
          • Report Tweet
          • Report NetzDG Violation

          31. What did we learn about the difference between law and order (both literal and dogwhistle versions) and criminality/corruption? 2x2: low to high law and order vs low to high criminality and corruption

          2 replies 0 retweets 3 likes
          Show this thread
        18. Venkatesh Rao‏ @vgr Nov 7
          • Report Tweet
          • Report NetzDG Violation

          32. What did/do Trump voters get wrong about the majority of the country?

          2 replies 1 retweet 3 likes
          Show this thread
        19. End of conversation

      Loading seems to be taking a while.

      Twitter may be over capacity or experiencing a momentary hiccup. Try again or visit Twitter Status for more information.

        Promoted Tweet

        false

        • © 2020 Twitter
        • About
        • Help Center
        • Terms
        • Privacy policy
        • Imprint
        • Cookies
        • Ads info