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Like Peter Thiel, Tech Workers Feel Alienated by Silicon Valley ‘Echo Chamber’

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Re: Like Peter Thiel, Tech Workers Feel Alienated by Silicon Valley ‘Echo Chamber’

#201

Post by cagenut »

tomsthumb wrote: post #192
_skel wrote: post #169

I don't get it. I grew up in Silicon Valley and I work in tech, and so do many other people I know. They run the gamut from far-left socialists to libertarians to own a bunch of guns. They have all kinds of ethnic backgrounds and religious views. Some of my most libertarian/pro-gun friends have not been shy about their political views and it hasn't hurt their tech careers at all. They are far more welcome here than l…

On the other hand, I have seen a coworker strongly imply that someone is a white nationalist for suggesting that it’s possible to be a non-racist republican.

it is not

Re: Like Peter Thiel, Tech Workers Feel Alienated by Silicon Valley ‘Echo Chamber’

#202

Post by scottlocklin »

It has nothing to do with the content of Silicon Valley beliefs. As far as I can tell, Silicon Valley/Bay Area beliefs are mercurial and change by the month.

It has to do with the moral panic over intelligent people dissenting from The Narrative. This is a new and extremely illiberal phenomenon, and it's probably going to get much worse before it gets better.

Re: Like Peter Thiel, Tech Workers Feel Alienated by Silicon Valley ‘Echo Chamber’

#203

Post by twblalock »

downandout wrote: post #199
_skel wrote: post #169

I don't get it. I grew up in Silicon Valley and I work in tech, and so do many other people I know. They run the gamut from far-left socialists to libertarians to own a bunch of guns. They have all kinds of ethnic backgrounds and religious views. Some of my most libertarian/pro-gun friends have not been shy about their political views and it hasn't hurt their tech careers at all. They are far more welcome here than l…

If he can't take the heat he should stay out of the kitchen. I think that's the whole point though. The article is saying that there is too much heat simply because they express their opposing viewpoints. "Stay out of the kitchen" means "close your mouth around Silicon Valley liberals" or you'll experience backlash. While this may not be your personal experience, the article essentially says that the somewhat ironic…

> "Stay out of the kitchen" means "close your mouth around Silicon Valley liberals" or you'll experience backlash.

No, it means don't expect to be able to say controversial stuff without people who disagree with you also having their say.

Re: Like Peter Thiel, Tech Workers Feel Alienated by Silicon Valley ‘Echo Chamber’

#204

Post by adventured »

acjohnson55 wrote: post #198
walshemj wrote: post #138

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Yes but there are no far left parties in the USA to vote for.

Not only that, but anything that would be considered truly leftist by global standards has tiny support within the Democratic party. What Bernie Sanders advocates, for example, is firmly centrist by European standards.

There is no such thing as European standards.

Czech and Poland are entirely different from France and Denmark when it comes to such. Germany and Switzerland are also far different from France.

There are at least a dozen nations in Europe with very aggressive hard right parties, often derived from former neo-Nazi parties, that have won a political seat at the table in the last decade. That trend is still continuing. Europe overall has a worse far right problem than the US does and it's getting worse at an alarming rate. Europe even has multiple fascist dictatorships, in Belarus, Turkey and Russia.

Re: Like Peter Thiel, Tech Workers Feel Alienated by Silicon Valley ‘Echo Chamber’

#205

Post by alexnewman »

I have seen the far left and far right discriminate in nearly every job I've been in since the mid two thousands. It was worse on the right in the finance industry, but recently someone provided me with a blacklist of right wing individuals in which my name was on it. I found this funny as I am basically a socialist who dedicated a huge portion of my spare time to helping minorities in tech. The world is polarized, just make sure to call it out when you see people being stupid.

Re: Like Peter Thiel, Tech Workers Feel Alienated by Silicon Valley ‘Echo Chamber’

#206

Post by closeparen »

saget wrote: post #62
Barrin92 wrote: post #39

Earlier quoted context omitted.

>but the ideology of the south is just as homogeneous as SF this is an interesting asymmetry I've noticed too. There are countless of places where salt of the earth Americana is the de facto monoculture. If I'd go there and try to create a liberal-hippie space for myself they'd probably flip me the finger and tell me that's not the local way of life, and somehow everybody seems to agree that this is perfectly fine. Y…

They key difference between Nashville and SV is Nashville doesn't claim to be anything but what's it is. SV culture claims to be inclusive and value diversity of thought. However, plenty of people experience exactly the opposite of this and that makes people feel lied to. Eventually the true SV culture will become more understood but until then I can understand people's frustrations

Where has SV claimed to be tolerant of conservative thought? The suggestion that it claims to or ought to welcome racist/sexist/homophobic/anti-welfare-state politics did not appear to arrive on the scene until the fallout of the Damore memo.

Re: Like Peter Thiel, Tech Workers Feel Alienated by Silicon Valley ‘Echo Chamber’

#207

Post by sho »

friedman23 wrote: post #187
frgtpsswrdlame wrote: post #176

Earlier quoted context omitted.

>If that doesn't point to a presence of insane, insufferable far left (or at least leftist) crazies I don't know what does. I think you're mistaking how extreme their political beliefs are with how extremely devoted to their political beliefs they are. Most of these people aren't 'far left' they're just very, very committed to their center/center-left politics.

Let me tell you, if you shed tears because Trump won the election you are mentally unstable.

> if you shed tears because Trump won the election you are mentally unstable

Upvoting you to counter your ridiculous downvotes. What the hell people. If you shed tears because Trump won then you are actually part of the problem. You are on "Team Blue" and crying because "Team Red" won. This simplistic tribalistic nonsense is not how you run a society.

update for the downvoters: unless you view Team Red as intrinsically illegitimate, in which case you need to ask yourself - do you live in a democracy? Really - a one-party democracy? What a splendid innovation!

Re: Like Peter Thiel, Tech Workers Feel Alienated by Silicon Valley ‘Echo Chamber’

#208

Post by mlazos »

sho wrote: post #132
wellboy wrote: post #121

Earlier quoted context omitted.

He mean public figure in the western world.

He literally said "literally one of the worst human beings on the planet". I am pretty unsympathetic to any argument that starts with "he meant to say...". I can see what he said, in black and white. I'm going to address that. He can post what "he meant to say" separately.

Clearly he isn’t talking about murder, he is talking about the seven Christian virtues, and yes Trump pretty much embodies the opposite of all them. I feel like you’re conflating “taking something at face value” with ignoring context.

Re: Like Peter Thiel, Tech Workers Feel Alienated by Silicon Valley ‘Echo Chamber’

#209

Post by downandout »

twblalock wrote: post #203
downandout wrote: post #199

Earlier quoted context omitted.

If he can't take the heat he should stay out of the kitchen. I think that's the whole point though. The article is saying that there is too much heat simply because they express their opposing viewpoints. "Stay out of the kitchen" means "close your mouth around Silicon Valley liberals" or you'll experience backlash. While this may not be your personal experience, the article essentially says that the somewhat ironic…

> "Stay out of the kitchen" means "close your mouth around Silicon Valley liberals" or you'll experience backlash. No, it means don't expect to be able to say controversial stuff without people who disagree with you also having their say.

The problem is that among this crowd, simply saying "I voted for Trump" or "I hated Hillary so I just didn't vote" is considered "controversial" and worthy of personal and professional backlash.
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