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Peter Thiel, YC, and hard decisions

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Re: Peter Thiel, YC, and hard decisions

#231

Post by amyjess »

untog wrote: post #101
dfabulich wrote: post #9

There is clear precedent for YC taking a political stand by uninviting investors. Only five years ago, Paul Graham was willing to uninvite investors from Demo Day based on their support for the Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA). https://techcrunch.com/2011/12/22/paul-graham-sopa-supportin... Paul asked, "If these companies are so clueless about technology that they think SOPA is a good idea, how could they be good invest…

IMO, you can even disregard all of Trump's dirty laundry in this calculation. He is openly calling into doubt the result of this election before it's even happened, asking supporters to intimidate voters, and suggesting the entire election is "rigged". He is attempting to undermine democracy in the country and I'm not sure you need a single additional reason to object to anyone who supports him. Thiel, of course, doe…

Just adding to this, claiming that a democratic election is rigged is one of Umberto Eco's 14 signs of Ur-Fascism [0]:

> Wherever a politician casts doubt on the legitimacy of a parliament because it no longer represents the Voice of the People, we can smell Ur-Fascism.

[0] http://www.nybooks.com/articles/1995/06/22/ur-fascism/

Re: Peter Thiel, YC, and hard decisions

#232

Post by lukasm »

timehastoldme wrote: post #83
hood_syntax wrote: post #23

I am disappointed with Thiel's decision to donate money to Donald Trump, but I don't care what Ellen Pao or her organization thinks about it. It's their prerogative, but I laughed at the tagline 'Sometimes hard decisions aren't that hard after all'. I don't believe an attempt to pressure outside parties into severing business ties with someone because of their questionable political judgement should be treated as if…

Or it's a stand against a movement which opposes their moral principles. To Pao (and, to the extent that it matters, me), D. Trump's movement is so vile that any prominent supporters of it waive their right to being tolerated. I am sure you'd agree that doing so would be acceptable if Thiel supported Strom Thurmond, Viktor Orban, or Mao Zedong; it's just a matter of how bad D. Trump is.

How come Viktor Orban support is bad as Mao Zedong?

Re: Peter Thiel, YC, and hard decisions

#233

Post by rtx »

untog wrote: post #206
rtx wrote: post #189

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Aylan Kurdi is dead because of Hillary.

Are you saying the current Syrian crisis is entirely attributable to Hillary Clinton and no-one else in the world?

No, but when people in power play their little games this happen.

Re: Peter Thiel, YC, and hard decisions

#235

Post by Turing_Machine »

Delmania wrote: post #197
debacle wrote: post #171

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> It's become a spite-driven, rage-fueled, all out fear mongering and hate breeding spectacle. That happens every time. > Trump's supporters have, in some cases, started talking open revolt if he doesn't win. This also happens every time. > On Twitter, there was a hashtag of #RepealThe19th, which essentially said they wanted to disenfranchise women in efforts to ensure Trump is supported. Eco-terrorists vote too. > T…

> Being receptive to free speech means being receptive to free speech, full stop. It is a pillar of our country, and regardless of how incendiary you view anyone else, this is a country where the KKK, fundamentalist groups of all flavors, Nazis, etc, are all allowed to exist and that's important. It is perhaps one of the greatest misconceptions that free speech means all speech is protected. Libel, slander, and sedit…

It is very difficult to make a case for libel or slander against a public official. I can't think of a single one, offhand.

As Billy Carter once put it, "That means you can call your congressman a no-good sumbitch and he can't do anything about it".

Seditious conspiracy is a crime, but requires overt planning of an act to overthrow the government, or make war against the United States. Suggesting that an election was rigged doesn't come close to meeting that bar.

Re: Peter Thiel, YC, and hard decisions

#236

Post by aiig »

bcheung wrote: post #158

Thiel is both Libertarian and gay. It's unlikely he is supportive of Trump's / Republican's bigotry, but more an issue of practicality since he doesn't like the alternative. I also find it ironic that something called Project Include is upset because someone is supporting a party that a huge percentage of the country is going to vote for. YC had nothing to do with Thiel's donation and you dissociate from them when th…

You're clearly not gay or else you'd recognize that Thiel is self-hating, making his support of Trump's bigotry actually well-motivated.

Re: Peter Thiel, YC, and hard decisions

#237

Post by maratd »

aiig wrote: post #224
maratd wrote: post #215

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Get off your high horse, Thiel is not going to be destroyed if YC distances itself from him This isn't just about Thiel. It's about everyone else too. If you create those sorts of standards, they'll apply to everyone. How would you like it if your boss read your comment and then decided to fire you as a result? That's the kind of society you're creating. > So you're perfectly fine tolerating intolerance but you can…

> Living in a liberal and free society means tolerating views you find repugnant. Not if they call me a "faggot" on the street.

> Not if they call me a "faggot" on the street.

Even then.

Be an activist, go out and vote, fight for yourself, but don't attack others because they said something you didn't like.

Re: Peter Thiel, YC, and hard decisions

#238

Post by archagon »

Alex3917 wrote: post #227
archagon wrote: post #219

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Surely you realize how disingenuous this statement is? Trump's mantra of "the media is conspiring against me, the polls are all rigged, the election will be stolen from under us" is a far cry from anything we've seen in previous years. This has nothing to do with electronic voting machines. This is straight FUD in the most primal possible sense.

> This is straight FUD in the most primal possible sense. Trump may be saying it for the wrong reasons, but he's absolutely right that the integrity of the election is in doubt.

No, he's not. Not in the way he's saying it. Every single poll is showing him losing at this point. Many political leaders, including those in his own party, have dismissed his claims as nonsense. As he always does whenever he's embarrassed in public, he's simply laying blame for his failure on something — anything! — outside his own incompetence. Unfortunately, his core supporters lap it right up.

Re: Peter Thiel, YC, and hard decisions

#239

Post by untog »

rtx wrote: post #233
untog wrote: post #206

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Are you saying the current Syrian crisis is entirely attributable to Hillary Clinton and no-one else in the world?

No, but when people in power play their little games this happen.

What is your proposal to remove war from the world? I'm sure a lot of us would be in favor.
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