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This is just a thinly veiled partisan attack. I don't agree with all of Thiel's actions or beliefs but he's getting singled out for being different. Anyone wit

This is just a thinly veiled partisan attack. I don't agree with all of Thiel's actions or beliefs but he's getting singled out for being different. Anyone with billions of dollars is gonna be able to pack up and sit high and tidy in case of disaster. Someone with homes spread across several states or countries and the money to buy their own security and healthcare has the same opportunities and and no reason to be loyal to any given state, anyway, but we are not forming online lynch mobs to get them. It's a horrific thing when Iranian PhD students might be banned from the country (yes) but fuck Thiel for being a citizen of the world. Huh?

rybosome 10y ago
What of the fact that he is serving as a member of the transition team for the current administration? Doesn't the idea that someone closely tied to the government has an escape hatch into another country disturb you?
- aaron-lebo 10y ago
  Not really. As I said, anyone with money has an escape hatch anyway. If the world goes to hell there's plenty of nations that will gladly invite money. The article suggests Thiel acquired the citizenship before Trump was elected - is it not possible given Thiel's political views that he was ready to leave the country given other events or another electee? It's only an "escape hatch" because people are calling it that.
  - deleted 10y ago
    [deleted]
- crystalmeph 10y ago
  The Techcrunch article is framing it as an "escape hatch," but offers no evidence that Thiel actually purchased it for that reason. He may have purchased the NZ citizenship for tax purposes, or so he could buy this "sensitive land." Neither of which are going to win him a Humanitarian Of The Year award, but neither do they indicate that he foresees or is trying to bring about an economic catastrophe in the United States.
et-al 10y ago
Thiel is being criticised because he doesn't have to live with his actions. If Thiel had been opposed to Trump and sought secondary citizenship elsewhere, he wouldn't be receiving so much flak.
- jdenning 10y ago
  To be fair, he got his NZ citizenship in 2011 [0]. [0] - http://www.forbes.com/sites/ryanmac/2017/01/25/peter-thiel-obtained-new-zealand-citizenship-possibly-because-of-exceptional-circumstances/#6cb85d6460df http://www.forbes.com/sites/ryanmac/2017/01/25/peter-thiel-o...
martythemaniak 10y ago
He's getting attacked because he's a high profile hypocrite. Also, those students are getting banned thanks to Thiel's work in getting them banned, so there's that.
anigbrowl 10y ago
He's not getting singled out for being different, but because he's close enough to the new administration that he was personally advising the President-elect during the transition period. Generally that sort of responsibility is reserved for people whose loyalty to their country is not a matter of debate.

rybosome 10y ago

What of the fact that he is serving as a member of the transition team for the current administration? Doesn't the idea that someone closely tied to the government has an escape hatch into another country disturb you?

aaron-lebo 10y ago
Not really. As I said, anyone with money has an escape hatch anyway. If the world goes to hell there's plenty of nations that will gladly invite money. The article suggests Thiel acquired the citizenship before Trump was elected - is it not possible given Thiel's political views that he was ready to leave the country given other events or another electee? It's only an "escape hatch" because people are calling it that.
- deleted 10y ago
  [deleted]
crystalmeph 10y ago
The Techcrunch article is framing it as an "escape hatch," but offers no evidence that Thiel actually purchased it for that reason. He may have purchased the NZ citizenship for tax purposes, or so he could buy this "sensitive land." Neither of which are going to win him a Humanitarian Of The Year award, but neither do they indicate that he foresees or is trying to bring about an economic catastrophe in the United States.

et-al 10y ago

Thiel is being criticised because he doesn't have to live with his actions. If Thiel had been opposed to Trump and sought secondary citizenship elsewhere, he wouldn't be receiving so much flak.

jdenning 10y ago
To be fair, he got his NZ citizenship in 2011 [0]. [0] - http://www.forbes.com/sites/ryanmac/2017/01/25/peter-thiel-obtained-new-zealand-citizenship-possibly-because-of-exceptional-circumstances/#6cb85d6460df http://www.forbes.com/sites/ryanmac/2017/01/25/peter-thiel-o...

martythemaniak 10y ago

He's getting attacked because he's a high profile hypocrite. Also, those students are getting banned thanks to Thiel's work in getting them banned, so there's that.

anigbrowl 10y ago

He's not getting singled out for being different, but because he's close enough to the new administration that he was personally advising the President-elect during the transition period. Generally that sort of responsibility is reserved for people whose loyalty to their country is not a matter of debate.