Will Stancil

whstancil.bsky.social

12 February 2026 17:07

That doesn’t mean some number of those people didn’t do terrible things with him, but the dynamic was less “pimp for the pedophile class” or “king of blackmail” and more “extremely debauched guy who they all like because he’s debauched, but all convinced themselves must have other good qualities”

James Ball

jamesrball.com

12 February 2026 17:07

Couple getting your first few hundred million in that way with then trading off the incredible insider information your network of “friends” sends to you, and there’s no huge mystery to solve as to Epstein’s wealth. He didn’t need to blackmail. Real soft power is subtler than that.

jellyf.sh

jellyf.sh

12 February 2026 17:04

The ones I meet IRL are unfortunately no wiser and have no better ideas, and even still bite those around them often!

jellyf.sh

jellyf.sh

12 February 2026 17:04

Will seems far more mature and well received than every leftist I’ve ever met combined

Calliope

calliope5431.bsky.social

11 February 2026 14:52

Absolutely, my comment was more directed as a warning that individuals like Niall Ferguson will often use the Arab slave trade as a smokescreen for New World chattel slavery, that's all. But you're right the Saharan trade had its own horrors - for instance, castration with only a 25% survival rate.