I don't like Trump's policies any more than anyone else here, but I think that it's wrong for companies to play a role in politics. A company like Google was created by its shareholders with the purpose of making money by providing Internet search services. Taking political positions would subvert the goal for which Google was created. If some of Google's shareholders want to pursue political goals instead of providi…
Silicon Valley's Ambivalence Towards Trump Turns to Anger
11–20 of 44 posts
Re: Silicon Valley's Ambivalence Towards Trump Turns to Anger
#12"Ambivalence?" All I've been hearing on HN for the past year plus is comparisons to fascism, the Nazis and the Anti-Christ. That said, at least Mussolini made the trains run on time and the Nazis were pretty efficient, which is more than can be said for the Trump administration's first week...
What I've discovered (thanks to helpful nudging from /u/dang) is that this is a community with a variety of ideologies and geographies. We see in the community the things that we're primed to see.
For example if you have strong feelings in either direction about the links between Trump and fascism, you're more likely to perceive that it is the dominant view even if it's only held by and discussed by a small group of people.
Link to /u/dang's comment where they explained this to me: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=13083111
Re: Silicon Valley's Ambivalence Towards Trump Turns to Anger
#13All talk no action. This is the definition of 'for show'. If they wanted, the ultra rich valley billionaires and companies could affect real change by leveraging their power. But these are the same companies and people who tacitly approved of Trump and did nothing to stop his election, or even try to educate people. I'm looking at Google, who are now trying to woo Republicans !
Re: Silicon Valley's Ambivalence Towards Trump Turns to Anger
#14I don't like Trump's policies any more than anyone else here, but I think that it's wrong for companies to play a role in politics. A company like Google was created by its shareholders with the purpose of making money by providing Internet search services. Taking political positions would subvert the goal for which Google was created. If some of Google's shareholders want to pursue political goals instead of providi…
Re: Silicon Valley's Ambivalence Towards Trump Turns to Anger
#15Personally, I find this "turn to anger" a little hollow/self-serving. Nothing Trump has done so far is in any way out of line with what he was saying on the campaign trail - the only people who are surprised by his actions are the people who took a "he's not being serious, it's just talk" view when evaluating his speeches. I wish SV companies and executives could have had this "turn to anger" back when it mattered an…
What was the tech sector supposed to do? Go campaign in Wisconsin for Hillary? Tech was already shoveling tons of money into her campaign. Bezos-owned Washington Post was about as Anti-Trump as a news organization can be.
Re: Silicon Valley's Ambivalence Towards Trump Turns to Anger
#16Personally, I find this "turn to anger" a little hollow/self-serving. Nothing Trump has done so far is in any way out of line with what he was saying on the campaign trail - the only people who are surprised by his actions are the people who took a "he's not being serious, it's just talk" view when evaluating his speeches. I wish SV companies and executives could have had this "turn to anger" back when it mattered an…
But now its week one, the policies are eggregious and the implementation is incompetent, and a groundswell is building. I suppose now industry leaders dont feel like they are sticking their necks out, or at least they have a lot of company.
Re: Silicon Valley's Ambivalence Towards Trump Turns to Anger
#17Personally, I find this "turn to anger" a little hollow/self-serving. Nothing Trump has done so far is in any way out of line with what he was saying on the campaign trail - the only people who are surprised by his actions are the people who took a "he's not being serious, it's just talk" view when evaluating his speeches. I wish SV companies and executives could have had this "turn to anger" back when it mattered an…
But now its week one, the policies are eggregious and the implementation is incompetent, and a groundswell is building. I suppose now industry leaders dont feel like they are sticking their necks out, or at least they have a lot of company.
Re: Silicon Valley's Ambivalence Towards Trump Turns to Anger
#18Personally, I find this "turn to anger" a little hollow/self-serving. Nothing Trump has done so far is in any way out of line with what he was saying on the campaign trail - the only people who are surprised by his actions are the people who took a "he's not being serious, it's just talk" view when evaluating his speeches. I wish SV companies and executives could have had this "turn to anger" back when it mattered an…
Re: Silicon Valley's Ambivalence Towards Trump Turns to Anger
#19Personally, I find this "turn to anger" a little hollow/self-serving. Nothing Trump has done so far is in any way out of line with what he was saying on the campaign trail - the only people who are surprised by his actions are the people who took a "he's not being serious, it's just talk" view when evaluating his speeches. I wish SV companies and executives could have had this "turn to anger" back when it mattered an…
What was the tech sector supposed to do? Go campaign in Wisconsin for Hillary? Tech was already shoveling tons of money into her campaign. Bezos-owned Washington Post was about as Anti-Trump as a news organization can be.
(Personally, I think the article is overstating the case.)
Re: Silicon Valley's Ambivalence Towards Trump Turns to Anger
#20I don't like Trump's policies any more than anyone else here, but I think that it's wrong for companies to play a role in politics. A company like Google was created by its shareholders with the purpose of making money by providing Internet search services. Taking political positions would subvert the goal for which Google was created. If some of Google's shareholders want to pursue political goals instead of providi…
So you don't think that companies like Google and Apple should oppose and speak out against unwarranted government surveillance? Their customers and shareholders think that they should.