Gold, Frankincense, and Silicon

While a lot of people are quick throw aspersions towards Tim Cook, Gruber's is one of the more nuanced takes that really helps describe the difficult position many business leaders are in right now. I appreciate it, especially point the finger at the American people, and I generally agree that it was strategic in sacrificing Tim's reputation (or perhaps integrity?) for what they perceive is a greater good.

It's easy to say that you'd stand up to tyranny until you're in a position where the lives of thousands of people, if not more, are directly impacted by the decisions you make. I don't envy Tim and while I usually despise the whole "What would Steve Jobs Do" talking point, this is one particular situation where I think it would be immensely interesting to see whether Steve would bend the knee or whether he'd tell the Trump administration to fuck off -- only because everything I've read about Steve suggests he's the kind of person who might do so even if it had a catastrophic impact on Apple.

It' also hard not to look towards IBM, GE and other companies that helped legitimize the rise of the Nazi party in post-WWI Germany and wonder how we'll look back at this moment decades from now.