The problem is that lots of scammers, gurus, faith healers, etc. tend to believe their own bullshit. While I do believe that acknowledging this is worthwhile, in practice it doesn't matter to those that were scammed, hoodwinked, brainwashed, etc.

Over time I've come to believe that our desire to understand and sympathize with the perpetrators of scams and the like is not a good thing in the end.

Sure, we 'understand' why Walter White became what he was in Breaking Bad, but in the end he was a despicable person that destroyed many lives. as much as the show /does/ try to make that clear, we still sorta empathize. We like Walter and hate his wife. Same thing for Tony Soprano or Vic Mackey (The Shield).

But that 'understanding' shouldn't preclude us from coming down hard on these people, however 'well intentioned' they might be. This project is obviously a scam, or alternatively delusional. In either case YC's involvement is not a good look.