11 ms·

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 t

• ErikVandeWater 10y ago
  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 http://twitter.com/paulg EDIT: I changed "conservatives" to "people who identify as conservatives" to clarify. Some replies below referred to the philosophical conservatism, which is somewhat different.
  • JCzynski 10y ago
    Authoritarians are very possibly not welcome. Non-authoritarian members of the religious right, cultural conservatives, etc. are very likely welcome. (And of course any variety of libertarian.)
    • joshred 10y ago
      Cultural conservatives are authoritarian. They argue for restricted social liberty.
      • beaconstudios 10y ago
        I think that depends, and the issue is more complicated than you make out. To play devil's advocate, consider the conflict between freedom of association (or religious freedom) and anti-discrimination laws. You could argue that valuing either is a pro-liberty stance. The notion of liberty is kind of difficult to pin down when you're talking about interactions between free individuals.
      • int_19h 10y ago
        There are some people out there that are culturally conservative personally, but don't believe in forcing their beliefs on other via laws. Not many, but they do exist. And they generally vote libertarian.
  • eddieroger 10y ago
    The unfortunate thing is that the ACLU should be non-partisan and only fighting for those who are having their rights threatened. It just so happens that in the last week or so, it was Conservatives doing the threatening. There aren't a lot of incidents in recent memory of liberals taking away rights from folks, so you get a slant of ACLU vs Conservatives. The irony of wanting a small government I guess.
    • ErikVandeWater 10y ago
      Yes I agree the ACLU should be (and IMHO is) non-partisan. It's just that if YC appears to fund and partner with the ACLU only when conservatives gain power, that will be negative for YC.
      • hsod 10y ago
        Not if there is some inciting incident that coincided with conservatives gaining power, like, say, a partial Muslim ban. In that case it wouldn't be an attack on conservatism as an "identity" but against certain specific policies that are being carried out by conservatives. Some good evidence against your interpretation of YC's actions here as simple partisan attack: * YC did not partner with the ACLU on election day, or on inauguration day, but only after a partial Muslim ban became the law of the land. * YC quasi-defended Peter Thiel and allowed him to remain as a partner in the face of pretty strong pushback from the left.
    • azernik 10y ago
      Theoretically, yes. However, the ACLU has historically been perceived (especially by the right-wing) as a left-wing organization, since it stood for things like racial equality, religious equality, and most importantly the end to (mostly anti-Communist) restrictions on political expression. Hence the attacks on Dukakis for being a member of the ACLU during his election campaign, and his joking self-labeling as a "card-carrying member of the ACLU" (in reference to McCarthy's references to "card-carrying Communists"). EDIT: And for yet more historical background - it was originally founded (as the Civil Liberties Bureau) to defend anti-war speech and conscientious objection during World War I, which were mostly left-wing and far-left-wing phenomena. Post-war, in addition to serving as an ethnically-neutral counterpart to ethnic civil-liberties organizations such as the ADL (Jewish) and the NAACP (African-American), it spent a lot of time defending free political speech. And the free political speech that was most under attack through its seminal period in the 1920s was labor organizing and socialist politics. (Because of the phenomenon of white-supremacist Southern Democrats, minority-rights issues did not necessarily line up with party politics, but they were indeed perceived as left-right issues in the sense that racial equality was considered a far-left position.)
  • rattray 10y ago
    Conservatives of a libertarian bent are likely to feel quite welcome, and AFAICT have always been well-represented.
    • beaconstudios 10y ago
      I'm not sure that's so true any more. See: calls to sever ties with Peter Thiel on every political thread on HN right now.
      • rqebmm 10y ago
        Well that's because he's publicly backed Trump, who is as un-libertarian as you can get.
        • beaconstudios 10y ago
          that depends entirely on whether you view a global job market as intrinsic to libertarianism. For nationalist libertarians, Trump's economic focus would presumably be a good thing. as far as I've seen, a global job market has resulted in more exploitation than prosperity. Most of the profit seems to go to international businesses that have little interest in giving back to their host nation in the form of jobs or taxes.
          • dragonwriter 10y ago
            > nationalist libertarians That's not entirely a coherent combination of labels; the closest thing in the real USA to that seems to be bog-standard conservatives who selectively deploy libertarian rhetoric against programs they oppose.
            • beaconstudios 10y ago
              >That's not entirely a coherent combination of labels what is incoherent about it? Both libertarianism and nationalism are vast repositories of political thought that can be combined in any number of ways. Libertarianism at its core does not require forfeiting national interests, nor do national interests require forfeiting a global economy founded on capitalist principles.
  • jackmott 10y ago
    >I get the feeling conservatives may not feel welcome at YC. Among most people with an education conservatives are not really welcome right now. If you feel welcome, people are being polite, but we are all really really mad at you right now. -honest feelings. -Honest feelings, sorry.
    • lixquid 10y ago
      My, disregarding all external political input is an awfully conservative viewpoint, don't you think?
    • jMyles 10y ago
      I have a degree in political science. I run in a number of highly educated circles, generally from left to libertarian. I can assure you, without any shadow of a doubt, that > Among most people with an education conservatives are not really welcome right now is untrue. I don't think that most educated people lump Trumpian ignorance and the politics of idiocy with conservatism; the two traditions have completely different origin stories and share relatively little philosophical or political underpinnings. It is precisely people in the academic community who are most keen to recognize this.
    • lol214365 10y ago
      >Everyone who doesn't think exactly as I deem acceptable is evil "Tolerance"
  • brandon272 10y ago
    > I get the feeling conservatives may not feel welcome at YC. What we are seeing over the last week and what is expected to be coming from the Trump administration in the near future have little to do with liberal vs. conservative. I know many conservatives who are outright horrified by what they are seeing.
    • redblacktree 10y ago
      Who did they vote for?
      • deleted 10y ago
        [deleted]
    • coldpie 10y ago
      Doesn't matter how they feel, it matters how they vote.
  • justinlaster 10y ago
    > I get the feeling conservatives may not feel welcome at YC. Sounds like a personal problem. "Oh no, an organization that defends people's liberties is making me feel uncomfortable!"
    • lol214365 10y ago
      More like: "Oh no, an organization that casts advocacy for their leftist politics as defense of people's liberties is making me feel uncomfortable!" Opposing a border wall defends no one's civil liberties.
      • freehunter 10y ago
        So they're not going to have to use eminent domain to purchase the land to build the wall? A lot of conservative landowners on the border are very much against the idea, and private property ownership is part of the reason the current fence has gaps in it. http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/2016/09/17/texas-border-wall-trump/90503360/ http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/2016/09/17/texas-border-w...
      • deleted 10y ago
        [deleted]
      • camel_Snake 10y ago
        Ya know, some of us are fine with defending our borders but realize that the image of a big wall in our head is a lot nicer than the reality of seizing land and spending billions ineffectively.
  • ajamesm 10y ago
    The ACLU, in the past week, received as much $ in online donation as it has over the past six years. Cash talks and bullshit walks. Tell me, if you're a free-market conservative, why YC or the ACLU should disregard such a resonating and clear message from the market.
    • beaconstudios 10y ago
      one opinion: there's nothing wrong with YC supporting the ACLU or even openly opposing Trump, but consider any Trump supporters (either public or private) that they currently work with. How can they be sure that they won't be discriminated against if YC has taken a stance against their political beliefs? And for those supporters who were planning on applying to YC, how can they know that YC will treat them neutrally? If YC wants to be politically oriented, they can and should, but it strikes me as something they should be open about.
      • ajamesm 10y ago
        I don't think there's any neutrality in the process and we shouldn't pretend there is. Participating in YC is assenting to American capitalism and working to enrich YC investors, which is a political act. Cooperating with Peter Thiel is a political act. Expanding the labor supply in markets with unions is a political act. Disrupting healthcare is a political act. Employment under H1B visas is political. YC can admit [your candidate here] supporters and say 'we won't discriminate based upon your political affiliations or your vote' but they will absolutely discriminate against each other's political aims because of the political ramifications of the any work done by technologists.
        • beaconstudios 10y ago
          > Participating in YC is assenting to American capitalism and working to enrich YC investors, which is a political act. With a number of layers of indirection, maybe. Capitalism is a system of economic organisation and is not inherently political. The wide variety of both left-leaning and right-leaning capitalist countries speaks to that. what I mean when I say political is overt politics. You can argue that "the personal is political" or "everything is political" but there's a considerable difference in granularity between agreeing to work with a libertarian or trying to improve the healthcare industry, and donating money to an anti-Trump cause. Donating to the ACLU is an act of political affiliation given their recent spotlight, whereas simply agreeing to work with Thiel or employing a H1B worker is an economic act in the frame of capitalism.
  • nickparker 10y ago
    I think neither PG's tweets nor this ACLU post are actually against the broad ideas of conservatism. If you believe in individual freedom, small government, low taxes, and heavy use of market solutions, I haven't seen anything from YC that runs against those ideas. The issues YC seems to oppose are nativism/xenophobia and authoritarianism. Opposition to the former is a wholly rational decision to preserve YC's access to the best international founders, and authoritarianism presents slightly more round-about problems for YC in reduced press freedom and tighter relationships between large corporations and government, both of which make life more difficult for startups. Lastly, there exists a wing of American conservatism which is significantly more racist, sexist, and homophobic than the national average. I think you're right, that group would not feel welcome at YC nor should they. Their exclusion is based on their personal views, which they are capable of changing. Their inclusion would make others feel excluded on the basis of immutable traits, which is far worse in my opinion.
    • lol214365 10y ago
      The problem is one can label anything nativism/xenophobia or authoritarianism regardless if that thing objectively fits the criteria of either label.
      • nickparker 10y ago
        I don't think that's a significant issue. Ycombinator's political positioning goes beyond a one line statement "We oppose nativism, xenophobia, and authoritarianism." The partners in their individual capacities largely stick to statements on specific issues, and YC itself mostly promotes specific organizations and policies, eg permissive immigration rules for entrepreneurs. There's little ambiguity in those statements and actions, so it's up to every individual applicant to determine whether the sum indicates an overall culture they could enjoy. If you have a specific YC action/statement which you think runs counter to a conservative position outside of nativism, xenophobia, authoritarianism, the HN readers would probably enjoy reading it so they can weigh its meaning for themselves.
    • nvahalik 10y ago
      > Lastly, there exists a wing of American conservatism which is significantly more racist, sexist, and homophobic than the national average. I think you're right, that group would not feel welcome at YC nor should they. Their exclusion is based on their personal views, which they are capable of changing. Their inclusion would make others feel excluded on the basis of immutable traits, which is far worse in my opinion. I'm not sure which "wing" of conservatism you are speaking of but I'm neither "alt-right" but my views are likely to be labeled as something like "homophobic." I get the feeling that national average you speak of isn't really average so much as it's left-leaning and acceptable in your views. I do agree that there are people who are vehemently and dangerously bigoted and I gladly condemn them. However, there are people who have extremely reasoned yet different beliefs than most people you'd likely find at YC. If the left is going to continue to preach "inclusivity" and "diversity" then it would behoove them to actually ensure that there are those things rather than limited everyone to a particular worldview that makes people feel comfortable.
  • TorKlingberg 10y ago
    * 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.
    • koolba 10y ago
      (Emphasis mine) > 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 screwed businessman. Surely he will get some decent advisors and not breaks things. Intentional, typo ("shrewd"), or Freudian slip?
      • TorKlingberg 10y ago
        typo
    • coldpie 10y ago
      Time for conservatives to sack up, speak out, and vote their conscious, then. They've been extremely quiet so far.
      • TillE 10y ago
        There are like two dozen actual "conservative" true believers in America, and most of them (Bill Kristol, David Frum, etc) hold some pretty odious views about things like war and torture.
      • mattnewton 10y ago
        They are; the party loyals use softer language (like John McCain), but there are plenty who owe trump nothing and are a bit louder (like the Koch Brothers)
  • chasing 10y ago
    The ACLU didn't have $24m burning a hole in their pocket four months ago. Also, conservatives need to get off their "persecuted" high horse for a second and take a look around themselves. Donald Trump is the one butt-fumbling his way into empowering organizations like the ACLU by scaring the shit out of right-minded people. As these groups experience spikes in popularity and cash, they're going to reach out and start working on new initiatives.
  • mattnewton 10y ago
    Many conservatives, from traditional big government conservatives like John McCain and Dick Cheney to small government advocates like the Koch brothers are coming out against this change. It is not a clean partisan divide. Don't let the people kissing up because they have to work with him fool you. This is broadly alarming in many conservative circles too. https://www.google.com/amp/mobile.reuters.com/article/amp/idUSKBN15D0V5?client=safari https://www.google.com/amp/mobile.reuters.com/article/amp/id... https://www.google.com/amp/amp.timeinc.net/time/4652905/koch-brothers-donald-trump-immigration-ban-order/%3Fsource%3Ddam?client=safari https://www.google.com/amp/amp.timeinc.net/time/4652905/koch...
  • notgood 10y ago
    Did any president before a few days ago denied the entry to green card residents? No? Well they may think it's a sign of things to come so it's rational to start supporting the ACLU now; and sure there are another million problems they turned a blind eye before, doesn't mean they have to turn a blind eye to all the problems forever
  • cdelsolar 10y ago
    Please, a startup incubator/accelerator, and the SV culture, are the pinnacle of capitalism.
  • mschuster91 10y ago
    > Combined with the outspoken politics of Paul Graham1, I get the feeling people who identify as conservatives may not feel welcome at YC. Peter Thiel is still a partner at YC. So there is someone high-profile openly allied with Trump at YC, YC is not as radical left-wing as some people try to paint it.
• alpha_squared 10y ago
  Isn't the ACLU non-partisan?
  • beat 10y ago
    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.
    • LesZedCB 10y ago
      Link for those interested in this piece of history. https://www.aclu.org/other/aclu-history-taking-stand-free-speech-skokie https://www.aclu.org/other/aclu-history-taking-stand-free-sp...
  • jessriedel 10y ago
    Nominally, but so are other organizations that are clearly partisan in practice. I don't think anyone disputes that members of the ACLU are overwhelmingly democrats. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_Civil_Liberties_Union#Allegations_of_bias https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_Civil_Liberties_Union... It's hard to imagine this doesn't have real-world consequences, e.g., strategically choosing to not defend right-leaning speech as vigorously as left-leaning speech.
    • TheCoelacanth 10y ago
      They defend actual Nazis. That's about as right-leaning as you can possibly get.
      • lol214365 10y ago
        Well that is a zero-risk move politically. Defending Nazis gives you credibility and it's not like that makes Republicans any more influential.
      • DashRattlesnake 10y ago