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Welcome, ACLU

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Re: Welcome, ACLU

#291
post #21

Does YC have a page of their particular positions on various political matters which guides their decisions on which non-profits to support and which ones not to? I'm genuinely interested in reading a "platform" as it were on what YC believes and is willing to support.

Yes this is somewhat dangerous for YC. I would like to see that this was planned before November and their support was not determined by who the president turned out to be. Combined with the outspoken politics of Paul Graham1, I get the feeling people who identify as conservatives may not feel welcome at YC. 1 http://twitter.com/paulg EDIT: I changed "conservatives" to "people who identify as conservatives" to clarif…

* Much of pg's writing leans libertarian or even conservative.

* Many conservatives do not support Trump's policies. Conservativism is traditionally about preserving stable society and carefully evaluating changes before radically changing society.

I think many took a wait-and-see approach to Trump. Sure, he was bombastic during the campaign and said a lot of bad things, but he's a screwd businessman. Surely he will get some decent advisors and not breaks things.

The last week has made it clear that is not the case. Trump and Bannon are determined to reshape society in their own image, and that is really scary. It is clear Trump's executive orders have not been run past anyone sensible, and they make no attempts to limit unnecessary damage to people's lives.

Re: Welcome, ACLU

#292
post #266

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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There are per-nation limits on the number of green card holders that can become citizens every year. Maybe they want to be citizens, but aren't allowed to be? Meanwhile, a lawyer friend of mine had to advise a client of his not to go home to visit his dying father, because he might not be allowed back in. He's lived in the US for twenty years. He owns a business that employs six US citizens. He won't get to see his f…

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Re: Welcome, ACLU

#293
post #41

Although I think the American Civil Liberties Union is incredibly valuable and I'm glad they have a lot more money now to fight for the American people, I'm questioning all of this. Where was the outpouring of funding when black people were being gunned down by cops from West Coast organizations? Where has YCombinator been as our own impoverished African-Americans are getting slaughtered in the streets of Chicago? Wh…

> Where was the outpouring of funding [...]

Build the thing that needs funding. Then, seek support and apply.

Re: Welcome, ACLU

#294
post #41

Although I think the American Civil Liberties Union is incredibly valuable and I'm glad they have a lot more money now to fight for the American people, I'm questioning all of this. Where was the outpouring of funding when black people were being gunned down by cops from West Coast organizations? Where has YCombinator been as our own impoverished African-Americans are getting slaughtered in the streets of Chicago? Wh…

I'm not 100% sure what all the ACLU does so correct me if I'm wrong, but I thought they were a bunch of lawyers? What can they do for Chicago or people shot by police? Who could they sue and for what to fix those problems? Isn't this like complaining about Habitat for Humanity not doing enough to prevent forest fires?

The profiling and killing of black men by police is most certainly a civil rights issue.

The NYC division of the ACLU has done work on the illegal and racist stop and frisk law that was in place here, for example.

Re: Welcome, ACLU

#295

So when we were dropping bombs on them it wasn't worth making an official statement, but now that they get held up at the border for a few hours it's suddenly worth talking about? I can't think of a case where the term "Virtue Signaling" is more apt.

(The parent comment has been edited: at the time of this comment it claimed that there was no Muslim ban, citing the absence of Saudi Arabia, Egypt, etc. from the list.)

Who's doing the "virtue signaling"? I thought that would be Trump's lackeys who keep insisting to their xenophobic fans that this is what they got when Trump asked for a Muslim ban that might pass legal muster.[0] Of course, that being what they're going for doesn't make it legal, or even likely legal: certainly Bush, and even Obama sometimes struggled to do "national security" in a manner consistent with the constitution.[1]

[0] http://thehill.com/homenews/administration/316726-giuliani-t...

[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hedges_v._Obama

Re: Welcome, ACLU

#296
post #41

Although I think the American Civil Liberties Union is incredibly valuable and I'm glad they have a lot more money now to fight for the American people, I'm questioning all of this. Where was the outpouring of funding when black people were being gunned down by cops from West Coast organizations? Where has YCombinator been as our own impoverished African-Americans are getting slaughtered in the streets of Chicago? Wh…

This is an entirely legitimate concern. We're not meant to sit here stroking our chins and purring about the good deeds of our favorite companies. YC has an incredible position in Silicon Valley, built over a decade with the help and influence of people like us. To whom much is given, much is required. I'm glad YC is helping ACLU out this winter. But ACLU took in more money in 1 day last week than NILC, the National…

Thanks.

Re: Welcome, ACLU

#297
post #21

Does YC have a page of their particular positions on various political matters which guides their decisions on which non-profits to support and which ones not to? I'm genuinely interested in reading a "platform" as it were on what YC believes and is willing to support.

Isn't the ACLU non-partisan?

Yes, they are. The thing that really put them on the map was decades ago, when they defended the right of Nazis to march in the heavily Jewish community of Skokie, IL.

Re: Welcome, ACLU

#298

I don't know exactly what this means, as the implementation details are hazy, but if this entails substantial support to the ACLU (in terms of lawyers, money, or both), then that is awesome. I donated to the ACLU yesterday and I'm encouraging everyone I know to do the same.

I don't donate to the ACLU because I believe in the civil rights for all people, outside the womb, and inside. Is there a similar organization I can donate to?

Oh, yeah there is, and you can donate here: https://action.aclu.org/secure/donate-to-aclu

Re: Welcome, ACLU

#299

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Maybe I'm too cynical and look at these moves (AirBnB, Uber, Google, etc...) as marketing moves. I strongly disagree that this is purely for marketing. As someone working for one of the aforementioned companies, we are all aghast at how quickly this administration has jumped to eroding everything we believe in. These companies' moves are motivated by very real horror at the US going down a dark path. The worst you…

"This temporary hold on people entering the country from one of 7 countries for 90 days affects a lot of my coworkers" And then "I don't care about the dozens of black people gunned down every day" Seems a little selfish no? This is exactly the same mentality that Trump supporters had, just exchange Americans with coworkers and refugees with black people. Maybe they aren't purely marketing moves, but I just have a ha…

Because the temporary restriction on new people entering the US affects his company's ability to get lots of cheap labor.
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