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Garry Tan, the CEO of YC, accused me of unethical reporting

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Re: Garry Tan, the CEO of YC, accused me of unethical reporting

#191

Post by UncleMeat »

tptacek wrote: post #130
JumpCrisscross wrote: post #121

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> the second most important urban index crime after murder Can you comment on why this is? Is it because it's common? Or so visibly impactful?

Carjacking is a subset of motor vehicle theft, which is an index crime, but carjacking commands more public attention than anything except for murder; this is a vibes-based assertion but I feel like I could back it up easily. Importantly: the carjacking wave wasn't Foxx's fault (it was in fact Kia's fault). She was in an incredibly tough position --- she also had to deal with Chicagoland police departments that have…

Carjacking is when somebody opens your door at a stoplight, points a gun at you, and tells you to get out of the car. Are you instead referring to vehicle theft in general? How is this Kia's fault?

Re: Garry Tan, the CEO of YC, accused me of unethical reporting

#192

Post by UncleMeat »

Traster wrote: post #179

I'm always a bit sad that silicon valley just doesn't get free speech. Or rather, their view of free speech is "I can say what I want". The damning part for Tan here isn't the defence that Balko makes of their work. It's this >The DA’s office, which should have been prosecuting the people attacking Asian Americans, was orchestrating a media hit on the journalist covering those attacks. A reporter being in contact wit…

Everything makes sense when you see it as an expression of hierarchy. Tan is an anti-liberal. He does not believe everybody should have the same rights. So of course "free speech" means different protections for him and his buddies.

Re: Garry Tan, the CEO of YC, accused me of unethical reporting

#193

Post by UncleMeat »

tevon wrote: post #117
vrganj wrote: post #13

[flagged]

Dude there is nothing "far right" about him. Way too broad a brush to paint with. If we want to retain any sort of liberal democracy we need to stop with the rhetoric that "if you're not as far in X direction as I am, you must be on the other side". Its destroying the democratic party. I'm a staunch democrat, and this is just sad to see. Progressive and centrist should both be able to coexist. We should be able to ca…

Tan does not believe in equal franchise.

Re: Garry Tan, the CEO of YC, accused me of unethical reporting

#194

Post by derangedHorse »

Snow_Falls wrote: post #18
SwellJoe wrote: post #11

I've come to be convinced that having a huge amount of money causes some kind of mental breakage, a need to control other people that is unhealthy for everyone it touches. I don't mind everyone having or expressing an opinion, even opinions I disagree with, but when someone uses their disproportionate wealth and influence to spread misinformation and disrupt and dismantle democratic systems it crosses a line. It take…

I would agree with you, I see people like Jeff Bezos who's unfathomably wealthy but also treats his workers so terribly that they have to pee in bottles and I wonder why? What compels someone to so obssesively seek wealth that they must treat people like that. I can only see it as some sort of mental illness. When someone compulsively hoards trinkets to the detriment of all around them, we call that a disease and I d…

> When someone compulsively hoards trinkets to the detriment of all around them, we call that a disease and I don't see why we should treat it differently when it's dollars they're collecting

He doesn’t hold dollars, he mostly holds equity. Also it doesn’t seem like he’s directly involved in the day to day tasks assigned to delivery drivers so it’s weird to assign blame to him for that as well.

One could argue that if drivers were unhappy with the work, they could just quit. Another would argue that that’s a callous way to view the problem as a new job may not be easy to get.

I’d link these 2 issues and say my view is that if Bezos were to sell his stock to give to charity, Amazon’s own stock would plummet which would indirectly force the decision to leave Amazon onto their drivers. A depreciating stock price means their corporate RSU grants look less attractive, which I speculate would make working at Amazon less attractive, leading to worse talent and declining company performance. If a decline was to happen in this way there would probably be more demands on drivers, potentially decreasing demand for the job as the whole, and leaving the drivers who stay behind in worse conditions.

Re: Garry Tan, the CEO of YC, accused me of unethical reporting

#195

Post by rationalist »

samtp wrote: post #146
rationalist wrote: post #133

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> “If you don’t participate in politics you’re evil” is an argument that you completely made up. Incorrect. People were saying if you don't vote at all, you're supporting Trump.

Once again, I have no idea what you're responding to, but it's not arguments that people are actually making in this thread. It creates a much better discussion if you respond to what people write rather than what you may have heard other random people say anytime over the last few years.

So anecdotes are completely banned now? You better let the thousands of other HN users that use them, know.

> I have no idea what you're responding to

You're being disingenuous. Obviously I'm replying to the comment that I replied to.

If you don't have any good rebuttals, don't try to attack the messenger instead.

Re: Garry Tan, the CEO of YC, accused me of unethical reporting

#197

Post by DonsDiscountGas »

tqi wrote: post #139

In the about page, this author states that they produce "original reporting and commentary on the criminal justice system and civil liberties." I really think it is a mistake to blur that line. These days it feels like you can pretty reliably predict what narrative a journalist will present on any given story based on their individual poltics. How can you reasonably expect to be viewed as an objective reporter of fac…

It's really not realistic to expect people to have deep knowledge of a topic and also have no opinions on it.

Re: Garry Tan, the CEO of YC, accused me of unethical reporting

#198

Post by loeg »

jrflowers wrote: post #95

It is hilarious that Garry Tan is still talking about Chesa Boudin. I thought Tan & co. solved crime in San Francisco with their super PAC four years ago?

> I thought Tan & co. solved crime in San Francisco with their super PAC four years ago?

I mean, kind of? You can definitely point at certain quantified types of crime falling since Boudin left office in 2022: https://sfstandard.com/2026/01/02/san-francisco-2025-crime-s... . (Of course progressives wave their hands and say, it's random, or caused by structural oppression, or whatever.) And Lurie seems to be taking steps in a reasonable direction as well. The Board of Supervisors is still packed with nuts, of course.

Re: Garry Tan, the CEO of YC, accused me of unethical reporting

#199

Post by Traster »

rayiner wrote: post #187
Traster wrote: post #180

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The person you're replying to is making the argument "Would you object to a book publisher that only signed writers who were white" or "Should a coffee shop be allowed to only hire white barristas". Which is a sound logical argument if you ignore the entire history of racism in the United States.

That principle is not only logical, it’s a core premise of the civil rights laws, as the supreme court reaffirmed 9-0 in a decision recently: https://www.supremecourt.gov/opinions/24pdf/23-1039_c0n2.pdf . Two wrongs don’t make a right. I guess it’s not illegal to have a publishing house that promotes white authors. I’m no expert in that area.

It's logic that is incompatible with about 60 years of affirmative action policies that the United States has carried out.

Re: Garry Tan, the CEO of YC, accused me of unethical reporting

#200

Post by sharts »

at-fates-hands wrote: post #77
burkaman wrote: post #32

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I don't think having the money causes the problem, it's the journey to get to that point. People like MacKenzie Scott or lottery winners generally don't act like this. But aside from those rare instances, in order to make it to a billion dollars you need to consistently exploit people and absolutely refuse to use your power to help others in any significant way. You have to wake up every day with a hundred million do…

>> in order to make it to a billion dollars you need to consistently exploit people and absolutely refuse to use your power to help others in any significant way. I would categorically disagree with your statement. Jeff Bezos Elon Musk Bill Gates Mark Zuckerberg All billionaires. All have created one (or multiple in Musk's case) products that have greatly benefitted society in numerous ways. The Gates Foundation has…

All of these people have also significantly contributed to societal collapse. You can’t look at a stock going up $100 but ignore the drop of $92.
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