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Too bad. I think that the more tech insiders remain at arms length from Trump, the better. But Kalanick reports that he was pressured to resign from this positi

Too bad. I think that the more tech insiders remain at arms length from Trump, the better. But Kalanick reports that he was pressured to resign from this position not from Trump or his cabinet, but by those that felt it was an endorsement of Trump. I think that we need more of the Valley close to Trump, not avoiding him. They might be the ones he ends up listening to.

untog 10y ago
> I think that the more tech insiders remain at arms length from Trump, the better. > I think that we need more of the Valley close to Trump, not avoiding him. Eh? In any case, I think "stay close to Trump so he'll listen to you" is an idea that has been proven wrong over and over and over again since the second he became President. And you're going to be contending with his trusted advisor Steve Bannon, who thinks there are too many Asians in Silicon Valley. So... I'd love to be proven wrong, though.
- bennyg 10y ago
  Arm's length here means close in his/her original statement.
  - untog 10y ago
    That's not what "arm's length" typically means. Of course, OP might not be a native English speaker.
    - Alterlife 10y ago
      'at arms length' vs 'within arms reach'. The phrases are similar, but different. It's an easy mistake to make.
    - logfromblammo 10y ago
      "At arm's length" means that the two parties are impersonal business acquaintances. They treat each other just like they would treat anyone else with the same amount of goods to sell or money to spend. When you sell a car to your nephew for $1, that is not an "arm's length" trade. In some situations, a trade that is not "at arm's length" may be taxed on an independently assessed value, rather than the actual purchase price. In most places in the US, arm's length is literally the distance you stand from someone when closing a business deal. You can't shake hands from further away, and you can't hug each other without getting closer. OP might have meant something along the lines of "keep your friends close, and your enemies closer." Or you can't be heard if you aren't even there to speak. I'm not sure if there's another idiom that would be more precise without also being less concise, but "arm's length" is probably not the best phrasing.
    - jrnichols 10y ago
      I am, and that is exactly what I meant, even if some disagree on the phrasing. (Sorry, I wasn't an English Lit major.) Keep your friends close and enemies closer. Arm's length is close enough to reach them but still far enough away. That's where I think the tech industry needs to keep Trump and stand firm. Otherwise, they're completely on the outside, which I don't think helps.
norea-armozel 10y ago
Hard to change his mind when that mind is manipulated by Stephen Bannon. If Bannon leaves then I suspect he would fall more in line with a typical Republican President.
- pfarnsworth 10y ago
  If you read anything besides the headlines, you'd realize he's more of a Democrat than a Republican. Most of the policies he supports are more traditional Democrat views, except for the anti-Muslim ones.
  - mjmsmith 10y ago
    Oh my god. Please list the traditional Democratic views he holds, starting with abortion, health care, gun rights, separation of church and state, and undocumented immigrants. Please list the cabinet nominations he's made that would be typical for a Democrat. Please list the Supreme Court justices he's considered that would be typical for a Democrat. Please list the interactions with foreign leaders he's had that would be typical for a Democrat.
    - pfarnsworth 10y ago
      Very much pro-American workers, and anti-globalization. Rejection of TPP, increasing taxes on hedge funds by getting rid of carried interest, decreasing drug prices, full unequivocal support of LGBTQ, If you were following the Republican nominations, the other Republicans were accusing him of being a Democrat.
      - michaelchisari 10y ago
        full unequivocal support of LGBTQ What has he done, or promised to do, other than lip service?
        pfarnsworth 10y ago
        What has he done that goes against his lip service?
mjmsmith 10y ago
This inevitably has the effect of normalizing his behavior. At some point, you have to decide if his behavior is so far outside the bounds of acceptable that the only option left is to disengage from it.
- concinds 10y ago
  There is nobody, anywhere along the political spectrum, that decided Trump was good because Kalanick was an advisor, and nobody that will now change their mind because he quit. "Normalization" is the angry mob's buzzword. It has no basis in reality, only in "you're either with us or against us" hysteria.
  - mjmsmith 10y ago
    The fewer sane people who will work with him, the harder it is to maintain the fiction that the way he's behaving is within any normal frame of reference. It's a cumulative effect. Spare me the talk of "hysteria" when he spent the entire election fear-mongering the rubes. The "angry mob" is the people who elected him.
    - concinds 10y ago
      Both his base and the people calling him a fascist are angry, hysterical mobs. Again, you're proving my point that Kalanick's move is good for the left, bad for America. All that matters is how you prioritize both. Silicon Valley corps not working with POTUS on new jobs and better regulation is a lose-lose for them and for America, and objectively only serves to appease the mob.
      - hackuser 10y ago
        > Both his base and the people calling him a fascist are angry, hysterical mobs. Why? Because you say so? Because you repeat it?. Because it's an equivalency?
        10y ago

untog 10y ago

> I think that the more tech insiders remain at arms length from Trump, the better. > I think that we need more of the Valley close to Trump, not avoiding him. Eh? In any case, I think "stay close to Trump so he'll listen to you" is an idea that has been proven wrong over and over and over again since the second he became President. And you're going to be contending with his trusted advisor Steve Bannon, who thinks there are too many Asians in Silicon Valley. So... I'd love to be proven wrong, though.

bennyg 10y ago
Arm's length here means close in his/her original statement.
- untog 10y ago
  That's not what "arm's length" typically means. Of course, OP might not be a native English speaker.
  - Alterlife 10y ago
    'at arms length' vs 'within arms reach'. The phrases are similar, but different. It's an easy mistake to make.
  - logfromblammo 10y ago
    "At arm's length" means that the two parties are impersonal business acquaintances. They treat each other just like they would treat anyone else with the same amount of goods to sell or money to spend. When you sell a car to your nephew for $1, that is not an "arm's length" trade. In some situations, a trade that is not "at arm's length" may be taxed on an independently assessed value, rather than the actual purchase price. In most places in the US, arm's length is literally the distance you stand from someone when closing a business deal. You can't shake hands from further away, and you can't hug each other without getting closer. OP might have meant something along the lines of "keep your friends close, and your enemies closer." Or you can't be heard if you aren't even there to speak. I'm not sure if there's another idiom that would be more precise without also being less concise, but "arm's length" is probably not the best phrasing.
  - jrnichols 10y ago
    I am, and that is exactly what I meant, even if some disagree on the phrasing. (Sorry, I wasn't an English Lit major.) Keep your friends close and enemies closer. Arm's length is close enough to reach them but still far enough away. That's where I think the tech industry needs to keep Trump and stand firm. Otherwise, they're completely on the outside, which I don't think helps.

norea-armozel 10y ago

Hard to change his mind when that mind is manipulated by Stephen Bannon. If Bannon leaves then I suspect he would fall more in line with a typical Republican President.

pfarnsworth 10y ago
If you read anything besides the headlines, you'd realize he's more of a Democrat than a Republican. Most of the policies he supports are more traditional Democrat views, except for the anti-Muslim ones.
- mjmsmith 10y ago
  Oh my god. Please list the traditional Democratic views he holds, starting with abortion, health care, gun rights, separation of church and state, and undocumented immigrants. Please list the cabinet nominations he's made that would be typical for a Democrat. Please list the Supreme Court justices he's considered that would be typical for a Democrat. Please list the interactions with foreign leaders he's had that would be typical for a Democrat.
  - pfarnsworth 10y ago
    Very much pro-American workers, and anti-globalization. Rejection of TPP, increasing taxes on hedge funds by getting rid of carried interest, decreasing drug prices, full unequivocal support of LGBTQ, If you were following the Republican nominations, the other Republicans were accusing him of being a Democrat.
    - michaelchisari 10y ago
      full unequivocal support of LGBTQ What has he done, or promised to do, other than lip service?
      - pfarnsworth 10y ago
        What has he done that goes against his lip service?

mjmsmith 10y ago

This inevitably has the effect of normalizing his behavior. At some point, you have to decide if his behavior is so far outside the bounds of acceptable that the only option left is to disengage from it.

concinds 10y ago
There is nobody, anywhere along the political spectrum, that decided Trump was good because Kalanick was an advisor, and nobody that will now change their mind because he quit. "Normalization" is the angry mob's buzzword. It has no basis in reality, only in "you're either with us or against us" hysteria.
- mjmsmith 10y ago
  The fewer sane people who will work with him, the harder it is to maintain the fiction that the way he's behaving is within any normal frame of reference. It's a cumulative effect. Spare me the talk of "hysteria" when he spent the entire election fear-mongering the rubes. The "angry mob" is the people who elected him.
  - concinds 10y ago
    Both his base and the people calling him a fascist are angry, hysterical mobs. Again, you're proving my point that Kalanick's move is good for the left, bad for America. All that matters is how you prioritize both. Silicon Valley corps not working with POTUS on new jobs and better regulation is a lose-lose for them and for America, and objectively only serves to appease the mob.
    - hackuser 10y ago
      > Both his base and the people calling him a fascist are angry, hysterical mobs. Why? Because you say so? Because you repeat it?. Because it's an equivalency?
      - 10y ago