37 Comments
Aug 17, 2022Liked by Max Read

Just one important correction... I have 3 wonderful children :)

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Aug 17, 2022Liked by Max Read

At least I can root for this kind of internet weirdo, who feels uniquely American in most ways, than most of the other bloodless shitheads trying to make their names in similar fashion. genuinely wish this guy some success, so long as he drops the google forms snitch shit.

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Max this fucking rocked

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Mar 18Liked by Max Read

What a fascinating read! I certainly wish the best for Mr. Fenley but having grown up in the rust belt, I emphasize with city officials for being wary of outsiders promising a lot without a plan or much of an understanding about why architectural drawings may be necessary for a city permit (ripping a clipboard out of Mr. Fenley hands was totally uncalled for though). For example, Buffalo and Niagara Falls are littered people's ideas and promises, some of which politicians and city officials became very invested in, but those entrepreneurs could not deliver those ideas to fruition in many cases. Talk is cheap and so are properties in Pine Bluff but the expertise and know how to make them functional are not.

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Aug 17, 2022·edited Aug 17, 2022Liked by Max Read

One thing worth expanding on is the racial mix of the surrounding towns and how they got into the state they did.

The nearby town of Sheridan engaged in segregation in the aftermath of Brown vs Board of Education - when the school board voted to desegregate, the black families in town run out under threat of having their homes burnt down. Little Rock is just up the road.

Into this mix steps a very white looking guy buying houses.

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This guy’s so fucking nuts I can’t believe I’m not related to him — thank you for this story

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I damn sure hope he strives to make Pine Bluff worth living in again

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I live 50 miles West from Pine Bluff. I know how bad it's been there for several years. A lot of the crime has spread from there and from Little Rock, since the mid 90's. But me, personally, would rather drive in the dead of night in the middle of Little Rock than to drive during the day anywhere in Pine Bluff. I do hope Fenley has the best of luck though. With Pine Bluff and his Fusion.

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Aug 17, 2022·edited Aug 17, 2022

Will John always have money for the next venture?

Incredible interview and a wild character. I hope you are able to focus and succeed with one of your ventures, John. I also hope you keep commenting on HN.

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Aug 17, 2022·edited Aug 17, 2022

Feel sorry for this guy, one of the most shit towns in Arkansas with some of the worst crime. No one in Arkansas likes the town but maybe the guy can help turn it around

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Originally being from Arkansas I could have told this guy one thing...better don't.

Pine Bluff is an awful place, 20 years ago it wasn't so bad but today it's just terrible.

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I'd seen the original post on Hacker News and went "haha I bet there's a crazy story here" and woo lad I was more right than I knew. That was a roller coaster ride. Or theoretical go kart track ride.

I may have Divorced Guy energy but this dude is outta my league

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Great piece, and a wonderful addition to a lineage of internet heroes. Tangentially, though--I would love to get a proper Read Max dive into the world of Hacker News. In some ways it's the last true internet forum (people still actually write posts and argue, with a house citation style no less) and it's a fascinating subculture (no matter how divisive the political content of a news article, someone will still show up in the comments to complain about the memory footprint of the page's javascript). It feels like a relic of the golden era in more ways than one, and even weirder is how it's essentially a shed annex on capitalism's most powerful country club. Any chance you'd write about it?

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This is a damn fine piece of journalism, absolutely smitten by this work

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Hope this colonizer loses everything 💞

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I've been to P.B. If you're interested in hearing some progressive ideas from a different perspective, send me an email rbgmentality@yahoo.com I'm in hot springs currently. I have a small team that's about building communities to function progressively.

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