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Airbnb is providing free housing to refugees and anyone not allowed in the US

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Re: Airbnb is providing free housing to refugees and anyone not allowed in the US

#131

Post by lsh »

phil21 wrote: post #130
woodruffw wrote: post #121

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> All of the virtue signaling and moral feather preening surrounding this issue is something to behold. Spare us the rhetoric, please. The only purpose it serves is to confirm your alienation. Business mixing with activism is nothing new, although progressive businesses engaging in activism is. You'd do well to remember the recent fracas over churches and resorts choosing not to host gay weddings. That's conservative…

Let's say I disagree with you vehemently on this. I actually don't have an opinion (for the purposes of this comment) but I think there is a point to be had here the OP is trying to get at that is very important. You obviously were not in fear of career repercussions by posting your reply. I guarantee you that there are people reading your post now, who want to post a reasonable disagreement from the "conservative" v…

Thankyou.

Re: Airbnb is providing free housing to refugees and anyone not allowed in the US

#132

Post by woodruffw »

phil21 wrote: post #130
woodruffw wrote: post #121

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> All of the virtue signaling and moral feather preening surrounding this issue is something to behold. Spare us the rhetoric, please. The only purpose it serves is to confirm your alienation. Business mixing with activism is nothing new, although progressive businesses engaging in activism is. You'd do well to remember the recent fracas over churches and resorts choosing not to host gay weddings. That's conservative…

Let's say I disagree with you vehemently on this. I actually don't have an opinion (for the purposes of this comment) but I think there is a point to be had here the OP is trying to get at that is very important. You obviously were not in fear of career repercussions by posting your reply. I guarantee you that there are people reading your post now, who want to post a reasonable disagreement from the "conservative" v…

> You obviously were not in fear of career repercussions by posting your reply. I guarantee you that there are people reading your post now, who want to post a reasonable disagreement from the "conservative" viewpoint but will not because they are in (legitimate) fear of what negative affects it will have on their future employment.

Actually, I am. I'm a college student, and this account is (provably!) linked to my real-life identity. Everything I say here will have consequences for me as I enter the job market. I may be a member of the political majority (or zeitgeist), but the vast majority of companies don't want to see any sort of political writing linked to their candidates. Hello, future talent scouts!

I regret that my potential responders feel as if they have been silenced. However, they are under no obligation to reveal their real-life identities on Hacker News. Moreover, I would not be justified in blaming them for choosing to remain anonymous regardless of their political views - it's even in my interest to be anonymous.

Apart from the above, there's nothing I can do to assuage an individual's discomfort in responding to me. I don't feel qualified to comment on workplace politics - I simply don't have experience in them.

Edit:

I guess I can respond to the idea of outside speech making its way into the workplace. As a general rule, I don't think that the things people say and believe in their free time should be used against them in hiring and workplace decisions.

That being said, I understand the practical need of companies to protect themselves from both liabilities (e.g., the PR disaster of hiring a neo-Nazi) and from workplace clashes (e.g., hiring someone who genuinely believes that the immigrants on their team shouldn't be there because of their race or religion). As a society, we need to figure out how to balance these concerns in a way that eliminates the discomfort on both sides of the isle.

Re: Airbnb is providing free housing to refugees and anyone not allowed in the US

#133

Post by chandsie »

cronjobber wrote: post #30
chandsie wrote: post #25

Earlier quoted context omitted.

(I'm an employee) We have a disaster response program through which we solicit hosts to volunteer their homes for emergencies. More information here - https://www.airbnb.com/disaster-response (We're still working on figuring out the logistics of this event so it's not on that page.)

So AirBNB isn't providing any free housing. Seems you'll try to browbeat/hoodwinkle people who volunteered to offer "housing to displaced neighbors and relief workers" into providing free housing to people who are neither neighbors nor relief workers.

Not true - there is no "browbeat/hoodwinkle"ing happening. You choose to volunteer your home for any of the causes. The team has been working overnight and still hammering away to create an easy way for people to volunteer their homes specifically for this issue.

Re: Airbnb is providing free housing to refugees and anyone not allowed in the US

#134

Post by chandsie »

ivan_gammel wrote: post #35
chandsie wrote: post #24

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'm an employee, so for what it's worth, this isn't something out of the blue. Airbnb has a disaster response program that gets activated all the time for natural disasters and other tragedies - https://www.airbnb.com/disaster-response We're choosing to activate it in response to the executive order because it goes directly against our company mission to let people belong anywhere. I'm sure PR was part of the decisio…

Looks like it will be something different from what you already have. Housing is necessary for those who are outside USA and cannot return home and for those who's being deported, which means it has worldwide scale, not limited geography as before, right?

Yes, a lot of people have been working overnight and still working hard on putting out a slightly different way to volunteer for this service. As you point out it obviously has different challenges and opportunities than a natural disaster. We're working with organizations on the ground helping folks already to identify where we can help most. There's also work to prevent the inevitable attempts at abusing this system. And finally there's also work being done to try to help folks in areas we might not have any or enough volunteer hosts.

Re: Airbnb is providing free housing to refugees and anyone not allowed in the US

#135

Post by caminante »

grzm wrote: post #128
rhapsodic wrote: post #127

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Memories Pizza. Google it.

Thanks! If you're going to bring up Memories Pizza, I think it's fair to compare this to Pizzagate. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pizzagate_conspiracy_theory The idea that we have no further recourse other than total war is very troubling. I don't think a lot of people are willing to give up trying to work together quite yet.

The only common denominator appears to be pizza.

Memories Pizza's owners were interviewed about Indiana's Religious Freedom Restoration Act [0] and answered a hypothetical question by saying they wouldn't cater a gay wedding, but they'd serve anyone. The reporter ran a headline, "RFRA: First Michiana business to publicly deny same-sex service." This was false on numerous levels, but went viral, triggering a backlash.

Pizzagate is a human trafficking conspiracy with different mechanics. I guess Comet Ping Pong employees got backlash for allegations, but the similarities end there.

[0] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Religious_Freedom_Restoration_...

Re: Airbnb is providing free housing to refugees and anyone not allowed in the US

#136

Post by euyyn »

rhapsodic wrote: post #127
grzm wrote: post #124

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The left gleefully destroyed a family-run pizza joint Would you elaborate on this? What are you referring to?

Memories Pizza. Google it.

Thanks for the info. I fall on the left in the American spectrum, and I would never support anybody making death threats to another person. So please update your generalization that "the left did that;" it's wrong and blinding.

Re: Airbnb is providing free housing to refugees and anyone not allowed in the US

#137

Post by grzm »

caminante wrote: post #135
grzm wrote: post #128

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Thanks! If you're going to bring up Memories Pizza, I think it's fair to compare this to Pizzagate. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pizzagate_conspiracy_theory The idea that we have no further recourse other than total war is very troubling. I don't think a lot of people are willing to give up trying to work together quite yet.

The only common denominator appears to be pizza. Memories Pizza's owners were interviewed about Indiana's Religious Freedom Restoration Act [0] and answered a hypothetical question by saying they wouldn't cater a gay wedding, but they'd serve anyone. The reporter ran a headline, "RFRA: First Michiana business to publicly deny same-sex service." This was false on numerous levels, but went viral, triggering a backlash.…

Pizzagate similarly went viral across social media. Is the meaningful distinction you'd like to make is that it was reported in a newspaper? In this case, Michael Flynn, then part of Trump's transition team, tweeted vague insinuations of child sex crimes which surely did nothing to dampen suspicions.

U decide - NYPD Blows Whistle on New Hillary Emails: Money Laundering, Sex Crimes w Children, etc...MUST READ!

Even after the shooting, Flynn's son tweeted explicitly:

Until #Pizzagate proven to be false, it'll remain a story. The left seems to forget #PodestaEmails and the many 'coincidences' tied to it.

Here on HN there were plenty of comments if not actively promoting the Pizzagate conspiracy theory, entertaining the possibility that it was legit. The employees of Comet Ping Pong and nearby businesses received backlash, including death threats. This escalated to a shooting by someone who took it upon himself it investigate the matter personally. Fortunately no one was shot. Pizzagate was false on numerous levels.

Both of them are misrepresentations that went viral, supported by people driven by partisan issues. I think both of them are atrocious and shouldn't be excused. They are unfortunately a symptom of the terrible state of current political discourse.

I'm genuinely interested in the distinction you draw between them.

Re: Airbnb is providing free housing to refugees and anyone not allowed in the US

#138

Post by bogomipz »

ivan_gammel wrote: post #120
bogomipz wrote: post #110

Earlier quoted context omitted.

>Homelessness is not an acute crisis, which happens and develops as quickly as execution of order of insane U.S. president." Homelessness is not acute? I think you not be using that word correctly. For people living paycheck to paycheck they are often one check away from being homeless. It can happen overnight!

I know what is it and yes, it is neither a crisis, nor it's acute problem that should be invoked as an argument against helping others. If you are poor in developed country, you will not starve to death, you will not be tortured and you will not die from air strike or accidental bullet just to be called "inevitable collateral damage". Your life is hard, but you are not in grave danger like people fleeing from a civil…

>"I know what is it and yes, it is neither a crisis,"

Wow, homelessness is not a crisis? Can I ask where you live? Maybe you should take a stroll through the Tenderloin in San Francisco, or Skid Row in Downtown Los Angeles, or underneath the I-5 in Seattle. Then proclaim its not crisis. It's a huge crisis and I find it bizarre that you are trivializing it.

And yes, they do die, they die all the time. They die from heart diseases and diabetes and AIDs and drug overdoes. They die because they have no medical attention.

Just because there isn't a dictator involved or 24 hours cable news coverage does not mean it is any less of a crisis or there is any less suffering.

Re: Airbnb is providing free housing to refugees and anyone not allowed in the US

#139

Post by caminante »

grzm wrote: post #137
caminante wrote: post #135

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The only common denominator appears to be pizza. Memories Pizza's owners were interviewed about Indiana's Religious Freedom Restoration Act [0] and answered a hypothetical question by saying they wouldn't cater a gay wedding, but they'd serve anyone. The reporter ran a headline, "RFRA: First Michiana business to publicly deny same-sex service." This was false on numerous levels, but went viral, triggering a backlash.…

Pizzagate similarly went viral across social media. Is the meaningful distinction you'd like to make is that it was reported in a newspaper? In this case, Michael Flynn, then part of Trump's transition team, tweeted vague insinuations of child sex crimes which surely did nothing to dampen suspicions. U decide - NYPD Blows Whistle on New Hillary Emails: Money Laundering, Sex Crimes w Children, etc...MUST READ! Even af…

  Both of them are misrepresentations that went viral, supported 
  by people driven by partisan issues.
Though, I agree this criteria applies to both stories, it's also too general. Respectfully, this criteria fits ANY news event.

A key distinction I'd draw is that the Memories Pizza saga began due to a singular mistake in reporting that spun out of control. Had that one mistake not happened, Memories Pizza likely wouldn't have blown up. Whereas, Pizzagate became the label for an inter-related network of human trafficking conspiracies that had already gained critical mass. People that started piling on, weren't necessarily piling on false-hoods. Instead, they were piling on unverified conspiracies.

Re: Airbnb is providing free housing to refugees and anyone not allowed in the US

#140

Post by grzm »

caminante wrote: post #139
grzm wrote: post #137

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Pizzagate similarly went viral across social media. Is the meaningful distinction you'd like to make is that it was reported in a newspaper? In this case, Michael Flynn, then part of Trump's transition team, tweeted vague insinuations of child sex crimes which surely did nothing to dampen suspicions. U decide - NYPD Blows Whistle on New Hillary Emails: Money Laundering, Sex Crimes w Children, etc...MUST READ! Even af…

Both of them are misrepresentations that went viral, supported by people driven by partisan issues. Though, I agree this criteria applies to both stories, it's also too general. Respectfully, this criteria fits ANY news event. A key distinction I'd draw is that the Memories Pizza saga began due to a singular mistake in reporting that spun out of control. Had that one mistake not happened, Memories Pizza likely wouldn…

Agreed on the "too general" part. Not sure if it's useful to narrow it down, as I don't think that definition is doing any more work for the discussion.

People that started piling on, weren't necessarily piling on false-hoods. Instead, they were piling on unverified conspiracies.

What's the distinction here? That on the one hand they're saying "I'm not sure, but it sure looks suspicious!" and on the other "Look what they did!" Is that a meaningful distinction?

Why the focus on a singular mistake in reporting?

At the end of it all, adding weight to Memories Pizza with a statement like

The left gleefully destroyed a family-run pizza joint because of the answer one of the family members gave to a reporter.

while dismissing Pizzagate which was arguably fueled in part explicitly by the Trump campaign (as opposed to some amorphous "left") seems grossly unfair.

I don't think I have anything to add to this. It looks as empty and partisan as the original comment, unfortunately. I commend you for stepping up and taking the time to discuss this with me. I honestly appreciate it. I'd have liked to have heard from 'rhapsodic as well.

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