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Peter Thiel, YC, and hard decisions

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Re: Peter Thiel, YC, and hard decisions

#301
post #142

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…

I agree with the thrust of your point - that organizations like YC should be allowed to uninvite or refuse to collaborate with people they are diametrically opposed to for political reasons. However, I do not agree that it's fair to call an investor's competency into question due to their political views. I agree organizations have every right to not affiliate themselves with those investors, but in the real world th…

You cannot be in a startup that is the next Google and be a supporter of someone who is a proven pathological liar and pu$$y grabbing sexual predator. That simply defies logic, if not the rules of common decency, and you need to be good at logic to be Google, or anyone (other than Trump)

Re: Peter Thiel, YC, and hard decisions

#302
post #258

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Historical context.

Sadly, racists always find ways to rationalize their racism.

We will be finally able to concentrate on intersectional feminist theory and inclusion when all the fucking white racists are dead.

Re: Peter Thiel, YC, and hard decisions

#303
post #286

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Strom Thurmond also repudiated his earlier racism, but that didn't stop the OP from using him as a litmus test. Why is that?

When was it that he repudiated his racism? Because he said in a 1998 interview when asked if he wanted to apologize for running as a Dixiecrat. He said "I don't have anything to apologize for," and "I don't have any regrets." He was also asked if he thought the Dixiecrats were right and said "Yes, I do." Presumably the OP thought Strom Thurmond was still a racist, which, as those quotes prove, is clearly true.

Ah, now we're playing the "selective quoting out of context" game. He said that he had based his Dixiecrat views on state's rights, not racism.

Why do you believe Byrd and not him?

Edit: given that they've both been dead for quite a while, I doubt that either Thurmond or Byrd is involved in much racist activity today.

Re: Peter Thiel, YC, and hard decisions

#304
post #288
post #160

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Yes, consider the outrage if conservative would fire someone on political viewpoints. All this alleged 'Trump is racist and hates x' is complete BS. If you read the wikileaks emails there is a major media & Clinton collusion going on. That should pause everybody. The way Democrats are running this campaign is really worrying as show in todays leaks 'CLINTON CAMP HIRES AGITATORS TO INSTIGATE VIOLENCE'[0]. Edit: I'm be…

The difference is that conservatives are wrong and liberals are right, so YC is doing the right thing.

Thank you thank you thank you. This is an exhausting post but your comment makes it so easy to understand!

Re: Peter Thiel, YC, and hard decisions

#305

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This is the first election where you were concerned about violence on e day? I guess you don't remember the odds on Obama surviving his first month in office. Not only were assassination attempts expected, they were probable enough to have betting odds at Paddy Power. You probably don't remember Bush Jr's 2004 victory, either, where literally millions of people took to the streets. Also notable that it looks like the…

I remember being slightly worried during Obama's election, but at least during that election one of the presidential candidates wasn't outright advocating aggression at the polling stations .

The thing is, the Obama worries weren't a result of McCain calling for him to be assassinated or telling his supporters the election was rigged. They were pretty much a direct result of people being scared some crazy racist would take a shot at him.

Re: Peter Thiel, YC, and hard decisions

#306
post #47

Wow, the world is getting way too fractured between left and right. Reading that, the YC folks make out that Trump is a monster and any affiliation with him is evil. Come on, try to understand why people are supporting him. I don't think it's racism and sexism that's driving this, it's the wedge between left and right. Combine that with the two party system and people find themselves with little choice. When you vili…

Thank you, exactly something I wanted to write.

Re: Peter Thiel, YC, and hard decisions

#307
post #58

Based on the awful things Trump has said and (apparently) done, it should be blatantly clear to anyone remotely following the election that isn't your usual political rivalry. Pao is right: "this isn’t a disagreement on tax policy, this is advocating hatred and violence." Quite literally at times! (I might give a pass to the people following the party line or acting on incomplete information, but Thiel knows exactly…

> "this isn’t a disagreement on tax policy, this is advocating hatred and violence." Also to this point: Trump has been attempting to delegitimize the election. This is very dangerous. If he has evidence of "rigged polling places", he should share that evidence. But inciting myths is dangerous for our democracy.

there is evidence... Have you seen the hidden-cam video of Alan Schulkin, NYC commissioner of board of election claiming that they are in fact rigged? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jUDTcxIqqM0

Re: Peter Thiel, YC, and hard decisions

#308

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Strom Thurmond also repudiated his earlier racism, but that didn't stop the OP from using him as a litmus test. Why is that?

You'll need to source that. Despite some evidence in his later actions, Strom never vocally repudiated his earlier racism. I couldn't find any sources on it. His filibuster against the Civil Rights Act put him in this position. Had he succeeded, his impact would have been far more detrimental to the rights of those protected under the act today then anything Byrd had/has done. Both are disagreeable sorts, but Strom's…

"His filibuster against the Civil Rights Act put him in this position."

"His"? Singular?

Both Byrd and Thurmond attempted to filibuster the Civil Rights Act, so I don't know where you're getting "anything Byrd had done" from.

Re: Peter Thiel, YC, and hard decisions

#309
post #189
post #139

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> As an outsider looking in, isn't Hillary's history in advocating hatred and violence? Not really, no. Hillary has made some questionable choices, but I don't think that makes her any more or less "systematically immoral" than Trump - she just has a longer record, because she actually has political experience. For example, both Trump and Clinton were in favor of the Iraq war. Trump got to backpedal and pretend other…

Aylan Kurdi is dead because of Hillary.

Trump outright stated he would deliberately bomb women and children.

Re: Peter Thiel, YC, and hard decisions

#310
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…

> This isn't just about Thiel. It is specifically and precisely about Thiel. As others have noted, YC has distanced itself from relationships for political reasons in the past. > 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. Yeah except no, see there are two issues with your assertions: 1. Thiel is not employed by YC and not…

> It is specifically and precisely about Thiel.

No, it isn't. As your mentality takes root, there is nothing stopping others from doing it to absolutely everyone.

> I live in a country where you can't just tell employees to get fucked

You live in a country where more and more people aren't employees at all.

> Only repugnant views are worth expressing and defending?

Whatever views you want to express, feel free to express them. However, only repugnant views need to be tolerated by definition.

If I say the sky is blue, nobody is going to persecute me for that. However, if I say something that isn't popular or is repugnant, it is at that point that I would need to be tolerated. That's the definition of tolerance. Withstanding something you don't like.

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