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Isn't the fact that they're making it clear that they're against Trump enough? Why do you think they need to also be against Thiel, "just" because of his politi

by edanm 10y ago

Isn't the fact that they're making it clear that they're against Trump enough? Why do you think they need to also be against Thiel, "just" because of his political activities? Clearly everyone would find it incredibly wrong if someone would withdraw support for someone just because they supported Hillary Clinton, and while most people here think Trump is much worse, he is the head of one of the 2 major parties. You might not like it, but his actions and views do represent a significant portion of the mainstream (which is why this isn't the same as supporting someone from the KKK, which does thankfully lie outside the mainstream). Note: I am in no way endorsing or defending Trump, or Thiel.

tptacek 10y ago
In a real way, Thiel is Trump. He's a part of Trump's political campaign. He's no mere supporter: he's a surrogate. He was placed on stage at the RNC to suggest to the world that Silicon Valley supported Trump. His recent donation to Trump is still on the front page of CNN. You cannot coherently oppose Trump and support Trump's political campaign. Let me put it this way: According to the logic that Altman and Graham are using, if Donald Trump himself were a "part-time partner" at YC, they would be unable to disassociate themselves from him.
- edanm 10y ago
  There's certainly a line where someone stops being "just" a supporter and becomes something more. E.g. a big complaint against Brendan Eich was that he wasn't just anti-gay-rights, he actually contributed money for the Prop 8 fight. The big question is where that line should be drawn. You say Thiel is a Trump surrogate, but I'm not so sure. Then again, he did donate a substantial amount of money in the last few days, so maybe he really is close enough to the campaign to act as a surrogate, especialy since he is being explicitly given as an example of someone from Silicon Valley who is supporting Trump. It's a hard question - I'm not sure, personally. "You cannot coherently oppose Trump and support Trump's political campaign." Well this part I don't really agree with. A big part of democracy is coherently opposing other people's ideas, while not opposing their right to voice those ideas.
  - tptacek 10y ago
    Let me make this even more fun for you: I have a real problem with what happened to Brendan Eich. From what I understand, there wasn't a major effort inside Mozilla to oust him --- he did not make his own employees feel uncomfortable. His relationship with Mozilla was employer/employee. His support for Prop 8 was quiet, and, painful as it is for us to recognize this now, very much in the American mainstream: Barack Obama ran in 2008 opposing marriage equality.
- nostrademons 10y ago
  He's not, though. There are still boundaries between individuals even when individuals come out in support of someone.

by edanm 10y ago

tptacek 10y ago

In a real way, Thiel is Trump. He's a part of Trump's political campaign. He's no mere supporter: he's a surrogate. He was placed on stage at the RNC to suggest to the world that Silicon Valley supported Trump. His recent donation to Trump is still on the front page of CNN. You cannot coherently oppose Trump and support Trump's political campaign. Let me put it this way: According to the logic that Altman and Graham are using, if Donald Trump himself were a "part-time partner" at YC, they would be unable to disassociate themselves from him.

edanm 10y ago
There's certainly a line where someone stops being "just" a supporter and becomes something more. E.g. a big complaint against Brendan Eich was that he wasn't just anti-gay-rights, he actually contributed money for the Prop 8 fight. The big question is where that line should be drawn. You say Thiel is a Trump surrogate, but I'm not so sure. Then again, he did donate a substantial amount of money in the last few days, so maybe he really is close enough to the campaign to act as a surrogate, especialy since he is being explicitly given as an example of someone from Silicon Valley who is supporting Trump. It's a hard question - I'm not sure, personally. "You cannot coherently oppose Trump and support Trump's political campaign." Well this part I don't really agree with. A big part of democracy is coherently opposing other people's ideas, while not opposing their right to voice those ideas.
- tptacek 10y ago
  Let me make this even more fun for you: I have a real problem with what happened to Brendan Eich. From what I understand, there wasn't a major effort inside Mozilla to oust him --- he did not make his own employees feel uncomfortable. His relationship with Mozilla was employer/employee. His support for Prop 8 was quiet, and, painful as it is for us to recognize this now, very much in the American mainstream: Barack Obama ran in 2008 opposing marriage equality.
nostrademons 10y ago
He's not, though. There are still boundaries between individuals even when individuals come out in support of someone.