Live data from Hacker News

What I Heard from Trump Supporters

blog.samaltman.com

191–200 of 906 posts

Re: What I Heard from Trump Supporters

#191

None of this is particularly surprising, but it is sobering to hear it from the horse's mouth. Insane racist sexists didn't win this election for Trump; dogma did. One can no longer openly discuss certain extremely important topics (is there something inherently wrong with Islam as a belief system? Is Black Lives Matter doing good or bad things? Are women really paid less than men for performing the same work?) witho…

Why are those the extremely important topics that need discussion? What about the people who are actually being hurt every day in America (drug addicts, prisoners, trans people, poor people...)?

Re: What I Heard from Trump Supporters

#192
post #40

This one gave me the most pause: > “Silicon Valley is incredibly unwelcoming to alternative points of view. Your curiosity, if it is sincere, is the very rare exception to the rule.” Substitute "Silicon Valley" for any major liberal enclaves, like universities and cities, and I think you see the same thing. I am skeptical by nature and try to take a scientific view of new ideas. However I feel like I get shouted down…

I spent a summer working for some very conservative business owners. They asked me what I felt about the great society program during Johnson. I said that I thought it was a fine program that lifted a lot of people out of poverty.

The following day they presented me a framed photo of Joseph Stalin.

It's not just liberals that can be closed minded.

Re: What I Heard from Trump Supporters

#193
post #40

This one gave me the most pause: > “Silicon Valley is incredibly unwelcoming to alternative points of view. Your curiosity, if it is sincere, is the very rare exception to the rule.” Substitute "Silicon Valley" for any major liberal enclaves, like universities and cities, and I think you see the same thing. I am skeptical by nature and try to take a scientific view of new ideas. However I feel like I get shouted down…

[deleted]

Re: What I Heard from Trump Supporters

#194
Thanks Sam, this was an illuminating read.

I am very anti-Trump, but I don't (nor do those in my circle) think that his election somehow makes ~50% of the country racist, stupid, etc. Clearly, though, the impression is that I am of this opinion.

Conversely, I'd like to think that none of those interviewed thought that I was a weak idiot for voting for Obama, even though those sentiments were palpable at the time.

It's a good reminder that it doesn't take many loud, angry voices to poison the dialog.

Re: What I Heard from Trump Supporters

#195
"For months and months, they'd been unfairly denigrating Trump supporters"

If you support a candidate who espouses racist, sexist, xenophobic, and general bigoted views, a candidate who was caught on tape as bragging about sexual assault, then it is not unfair to paint you as supporting those things.

To me, anyone who supports Trump has declared their support for those things. And it is on them to prove that they are not those things. They may not have been in the "basket of deplorables", but they definitely carried it.

Re: What I Heard from Trump Supporters

#196
post #78
post #40

This one gave me the most pause: > “Silicon Valley is incredibly unwelcoming to alternative points of view. Your curiosity, if it is sincere, is the very rare exception to the rule.” Substitute "Silicon Valley" for any major liberal enclaves, like universities and cities, and I think you see the same thing. I am skeptical by nature and try to take a scientific view of new ideas. However I feel like I get shouted down…

Except that the contrarian views frequently turn out to be lies, and I can't spend all my time debating lies. Please suggest a contrarian view that's worth discussing.

How many studies can we find where the same data was used to come to completely different conclusions? More than you might think.

Re: What I Heard from Trump Supporters

#197
post #11

This one (from the "What don't you like about him?" section) I thought was the most striking: > “I, too, worry about the dishonesty. His relationship with Russia, his relationship with women. His relationship with questionable financial matters. These all worry me and were they to continue I would lose all respect.” All that stuff was covered extensively during the election. There's no reason for it to be a different…

> This is a rationalization of regret, it's not the result of a new decision-making process. You're missing the point. These voters chose him despite those weaknesses because they prioritized other issues more highly. Their decision making processes involved looking at both pro's and con's and the other pro's outweighed those con's. Making the blanket assumption that a vote for a candidate is an endorsement of _all_…

Not only that but it doesn't make sense. Would protest voters really think the winner of the election cares if he/she won with 51% or 80%? I think the protest voting interpretation is an uncharitable one, because it assumes spite, ignorance and political illiteracy.

I'm under the impression the media seems to amplify the remorseful voices, which makes you believe there's a huge regret on the winning side. Also there was a vast "What have you done?" tune following Trump/Brexit. No wonder people are think they've done something terrible.

Re: What I Heard from Trump Supporters

#198

I still still still, for the life of me, don't understand why a large number of people have labelled Hillary "corrupt". Someone please explain? (am I naive to believe that having a private email server wasn't much of an offense, she was just doing her job in the Benghazi case, and that the Clinton Foundation has only ever meant to do good?)

Seems like a mix of substantial and a lot of unsubstantial stuff.

I think these are some of the substantial issues:

https://theintercept.com/2016/10/11/behind-closed-doors-hill...

http://www.politico.com/story/2014/06/chelsea-clinton-nbc-60...

Re: What I Heard from Trump Supporters

#199
post #40

This one gave me the most pause: > “Silicon Valley is incredibly unwelcoming to alternative points of view. Your curiosity, if it is sincere, is the very rare exception to the rule.” Substitute "Silicon Valley" for any major liberal enclaves, like universities and cities, and I think you see the same thing. I am skeptical by nature and try to take a scientific view of new ideas. However I feel like I get shouted down…

I moved to San Francisco from a rural town, and I would feel 10x more comfortable sharing my liberal viewpoints in a small, deeply-red town than I would insinuating something anything less than 100% left-leaning at work here. People disagree in small town Utah, and it would be uncomfortable. In San Francisco you're ostracized. It even makes me nervous to leave my name attached to a comment like this, knowing that my…

I went from Salt Lake City to San Francisco as well. I have always been quite liberal on issues and it had never been a problem, but when discussing issues in SF I felt I had to be very careful with what I supported. I always felt my friendships/employment was threatened if I disagreed.

I had a good friend/startup founder once say anyone who supported Trump deserved to be fired and blacklisted.

Re: What I Heard from Trump Supporters

#200
post #40

This one gave me the most pause: > “Silicon Valley is incredibly unwelcoming to alternative points of view. Your curiosity, if it is sincere, is the very rare exception to the rule.” Substitute "Silicon Valley" for any major liberal enclaves, like universities and cities, and I think you see the same thing. I am skeptical by nature and try to take a scientific view of new ideas. However I feel like I get shouted down…

If your "ideas" are in conflict with facts, get better ideas.

Downvote my statement all you like, but it's the core of the scientific method.
Post reply on HN