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Peter Thiel, YC, and hard decisions

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Re: Peter Thiel, YC, and hard decisions

#401

Post by flopsey »

tyre wrote: post #61
whistlerbrk wrote: post #21

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I disagree that opposing SOPA is just political, supporting SOPA threatens innovation which threatens the startup community which in turns threatens YC's bottom line. Therefore opposing SOPA and denying investors access based on their support is a business decision.

There is a strong business case here as well. Thiel alienates a lot of people and his public advocacy for Trump isn't helping. Silicon Valley already has tremendous diversity issues and a reputation as out-of-touch. If the future of America and the world only gets more diverse, which seems to be the case, then YC has a vested interest in being on the right side of history.

There's a substantial difference between forcing someone out because of the potential that other people would shun them for political reasons vs because they are taking a stand that you think would do irreparable harm to your industry. The first is pure politics, with only the indirect consequences on your company that all businesses could face. The other is a piece of pointed legislation whose primary goal will disrupt your industry.

Re: Peter Thiel, YC, and hard decisions

#402

Post by etjossem »

vsl wrote: post #384
etjossem wrote: post #151

Earlier quoted context omitted.

By strongly opposing a candidate that promises to do things like deport all Muslims, absolutely. Some political platforms are inherently non-inclusive and Trump's is one of them.

The irony is rich in this one.

I am completely morally comfortable with the idea of YC opposing a $1.25 million handout to the candidate of mass deportation.

"If we extend unlimited tolerance even to those who are intolerant, if we are not prepared to defend a tolerant society against the onslaught of the intolerant, then the tolerant will be destroyed, and tolerance with them." - Karl Popper

Re: Peter Thiel, YC, and hard decisions

#403

Post by splintercell »

M_Grey wrote: post #126
natrius wrote: post #16

Cleaving off 40% of America is not a recipe for progress. When Trump shows his people how they're getting blacklisted from the economy, that isn't going to make them want to riot less . Our culture of progress has become entirely about excluding dissenters until they submit, and it's not working anymore . We've given up on convincing the people who have all the weapons, and now we're going to start hurting them econo…

40% of America is not interested in Trump. 57% of America isn't even voting, and significantly less than half of the remainder are supporting Trump. Of those, you'd be a bit thick to assume that more than half are doing it out of any meaningful support for him, rather than ideology or despising the alternatives. As for, "people who have all the weapons", unless they have tanks, an air force, a navy, and AA capability…

> As for, "people who have all the weapons", unless they have tanks, an air force, a navy, and AA capability, they're still just idiots with popguns who were already joining militias and similar groups en masse over the last 8 years; appeasement does not work.

I know people say that, but let's not forget, our armies are still only good fighting traditional armies (like we did in WW2). We are still no good in invading and not-killing civilians (which would be the ultimate priority in a SHTF/TEOTWAWKI scenario).

Earlier this year 5 cops were shot down by a veteran who got agitated by the shootings of African Americans by the police. If SHTF scenario happens, a lot of veterans would be in control of the militia groups, training people, guiding them (pretty much the same thing which is happening in Iraq/Syria, except much worse).

No I am not predicting a civil war or a rebellion, just saying that among all the countries I could bet on regarding a civilian population's ability to defend itself, Americans are as armed as they need to be in case such a situation arise.

Re: Peter Thiel, YC, and hard decisions

#404

Post by Natsu »

amyjess wrote: post #231
untog wrote: post #101

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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/

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

Would you also apply this to Al Gore's complains back in 2000? Why or why not?

Re: Peter Thiel, YC, and hard decisions

#405

Post by User23 »

M_Grey wrote: post #365
User23 wrote: post #281

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You should do some research into the demographics of the various combat arms roles in the US military.

If you're suggesting a military coup in this country, you're dreaming.

Funny you should say that, since you're the one hallucinating something other than what I wrote.

Re: Peter Thiel, YC, and hard decisions

#407

Post by Natsu »

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…

> 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".

A) That's been done before (Gore, 2000).

B) There's evidence of voter fraud: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hDc8PVCvfKs

I hope no one intimidates voters, though. That's not right no matter who does it or why.

Re: Peter Thiel, YC, and hard decisions

#408

Post by ZenoArrow »

hackinthebochs wrote: post #362
ZenoArrow wrote: post #266

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Two questions: 1. You stated that Hilary Clinton is "an effective politician with reasonable positions". Which of Hilary Clinton's positions do you like? 2. Which part(s) of Bernie's platform do you think held back his chances of winning the nomination/election?

It would be easier to list her positions I don't like. Off the top of my head only the Patriot act and Snowden come to mind. Keep in mind that I'm fiercely pragmatic, and so things that I would like to happen in a perfect world I don't hold as a political position because of how unlikely it is to happen. As far as Bernie goes, some of his stated positions seemed to be a little too disconnected from reality. Like his…

> "It would be easier to list her positions I don't like. Off the top of my head only the Patriot act and Snowden come to mind. Keep in mind that I'm fiercely pragmatic, and so things that I would like to happen in a perfect world I don't hold as a political position because of how unlikely it is to happen."

So do you like Hilary Clinton's support for fracking? Do you see that as a pragmatic choice? How about Wall Street regulation, where she's basically admitted she thinks it's best if Wall Street regulates itself, do you see that as pragmatic? How about her support for TPP, which will end up encouraging more jobs to be taken outside the US, do you see that as pragmatic?

> "As far as Bernie goes, some of his stated positions seemed to be a little too disconnected from reality. Like his medicare for all plan and his free college plan weren't concrete enough to be taken seriously by the public at large."

Other countries manage to have tax-funded healthcare and tax-funded higher education systems, and still pay less overall than the current systems in the US. Bernie laid out how he was going to pay for it. If some American people ignored the offer and the details, that's their fault, not Bernie's.

Re: Peter Thiel, YC, and hard decisions

#409

Post by wetmore »

yanilkr wrote: post #190

Peter Theil had a long term vision for the world where others failed to see such future. I see similar line of reasoning for Peter Theil's support. 1. If you think that business people can govern better than Politicians or want to achieve an environment where it gets easier and acceptable for business leaders to seek political offices, this is a huge step in that direction. China already took this step of inviting pe…

I think many people here and elsewhere would strongly disagree with the premise in your first point.

Re: Peter Thiel, YC, and hard decisions

#410

Post by sigmar »

awqrre wrote: post #361
sigmar wrote: post #335

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Project veritas / James O'Keefe have zero credibility. They've edited videos and set people up so many times that no one pays attention to them anymore[1] [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_O'Keefe

I don't think that the editing matters in this case... but this is not the only example of rigging...

http://www.snopes.com/2016/10/18/project-veritas-election-vi...
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