8 ms·
Airbnb is banning people trying to attend a white supremacist rally
- Daishiman 9y agoNot a problem.
- ggreer 9y agoYou aren't worried that Airbnb's net will catch innocent people? For example: Journalists covering the rally, or counter-protesters.
- Daishiman 9y agoThese people weren't hiding anything about their position on this matter. So no, not really.
- retox 9y agoDo you use AirBnB? How about I claim there is a rally in any city you want to stay, or complain to AB you are hosting ebil racists and get you blacklisted?
- bookmarkacc 9y agoIs it just a claim though? It seems quite factual
- ringaroundthetx 9y agoBanning SOME of the people that were trying to attend the event. What is actually going on here? The articles and comment go on like everyone is getting banned for any association to an event, and debating hypotheticals. Who is getting banned and for what actual reasons? Any hosts? Some guests? Who, what, and the nuances of why are notoriously missing from this
- deleted 9y ago[deleted]
- RickS 9y agoAwesome. The idea that companies are apolitical can't die fast enough. No person-to-person platform can reach scale and be apolitical. You end up with companies like reddit and twitter who are too timid to make a stand about what their rules really are, and then waffle until they're forced to deal either with the PR nightmare of suddenly changing directions at scale, or the PR nightmare of allowing shitbags nobody wants to deal with to run rampant on the platform because they don't want to change directions at scale. If you really want to support "anything goes" you have to be willing to be 2006 /b/. Turns out the legal, advertising, and financial implications of this decision are painful (even for 4chan). If you're not willing to be /b/, you've default accepted that free speech is off the table. If that's the case, the best thing you can do is actually spend thought and effort on your principles, and on enforcing them swiftly and evenhandedly. Speech is free on the internet, and it should be. Speech is not free on a single company's website, and it shouldn't be. Curation is a very important form of product design, and curation of users (or lack thereof) is no exception.
- deleted 9y ago[deleted]
- kkirsche 9y agoProbably a dumb question but what does /b/ reference here?
- simtel20 9y agoIt refers to the general conversation area in 4chan where most of the crazy there happened.
- flukus 9y ago> No person-to-person platform can reach scale and be apolitical. Companies that are too political can't scale at all, they put to many people off. Most overtly political business like feminist cafe's or LGBT bookshops die pretty quickly. In the tech world, if I could go back half a decade and know how political github would become I and many other people would have never signed up. > The idea that companies are apolitical can't die fast enough. Why do you want to make life more complicated? When I go get my morning coffee I don't want to know what the companies opinion on gay marriage is. When I go watch a movie I don't want to know what the makers opinions are on progressive taxation. When I buy a phone I don't want to know the manufacturers opinion on global warming.
- legostormtroopr 9y agoAs a non-American, I find it quite worrying that American companies (specifically tech and SV ones) that operate globally are so eager to police politics on their platforms. While I don't agree with White power rallies (which should go without saying), they have as much right to service as any other political group. StackOverflow already took an "open-borders, anti-Trump, or get out mentality", so its not a stretch to say that any right leaning belief, or more acurately any non-extreme left belief will be under fire from more and more companies. That is troubling indeed.
- flukus 9y ago> StackOverflow already took an "open-borders, anti-Trump, or get out mentality", so its not a stretch to say that any right leaning belief, or more acurately any non-extreme left belief will be under fire from more and more companies. This approach is burning bridges and giving up on any attempt to convince the other side. They'll still hold their views and they'll be forced into a bubble where their views are reinforced and are likely to become more extreme. Next election cycle could very well have people asking "how on earth did Trump get re-elected?" and the answer will be this style of attempted thought control. Even worse, it's burning bridges with people in the middle and in many cases even the ones that are on your side.
- mvid 9y agoPeople "in the middle" are not attending white power rallies.
- malandrew 9y agoBut there are people in the middle that believe in the constitutional right to assembly and association.
- glumpyfish 9y agoAssemblies and associations with names like "Nazi uber" and "Hate van"? No thanks. Shut it down.
- nodesocket 9y agoThe epidemic problem with bay area companies mixing their leftist politics and business is very disconcerting. They are alienating the majority population of the country, and are acting in the same manner as groups they claim to loathe. It is pure hypocrisy. Bay area companies enjoy diversity and inclusion, as long as it fits within their narrative.
- mrmcd 9y agoPro white supremacist comments on HN. A wonderful community lately!
- nodesocket 9y agoNope. But you are good at vilifying counter opinions. I am pro-free speech for all, as our constitution and founders intended.
- didgeoridoo 9y agoReally. THAT was a "pro white supremacist argument". You really think so. This is just sad.
- deleted 9y ago[deleted]
- flukus 9y agoThey're alienating people like myself who are firmly on the left. The left used to care about socio-economics, but they've abandoned the white working class (and the working class of every minority) in favor of identity politics. The left used to care about everyone getting access to a decent education and healthcare instead of denigrating the poor as racist rednecks. The left used to be in favor of helping their neighbors and not opening borders. Now people who are on the left and many of those that could be are left with no one to vote for.
- Larrikin 9y agoYour imagined idea of the left is probably fine with you leaving if you are leaving because a group can't spread a message of death against black people. The high road against disagreeable speech is fine, but aligning yourself with groups that have killed based on race shouldn't allow you to have the benefit of the doubt.
- partisan 9y agoThis could indicate the need for a company like Airbnb that proactively markets to people who think this way. Markets abhor a vacuum. If companies become political, then they should expect competitors who will use politics as a market differentiator. They should also expect customers to differentiate between their options based on politics as well.
- losteverything 9y agoHoliday Inn: "Yes, we have availability. How many nights?" Airbnb: fuck off. To me, this is a perfect example of why hotels and motels will ALWAYS matter.
- Daishiman 9y agoAre you really so naive as to think that most hotel chains just turn a blind eye to white supremacist groups? I bet you almost none of them would host a KKK conference in their premises. And I bet the net return for them would still be positive for that.
- losteverything 9y agoI am naive for sure. Would a hotel reservations agent google my name to find information? No. Would an abb or home away person google me? Maybe - probably? No reason individuals could book rooms independently in a hotel.
- deleted 9y ago[deleted]
- averagewall 9y agoBanning people because of their beliefs and customs is the opposite of what they tell their users to do their Nondiscrimination Policy: ... to engage with each other respectfully, even when views may not reflect their beliefs or upbringings. Airbnb’s members bring to our community an incredible diversity of background experiences, beliefs, and customs. Words like that sound hostile and hateful to me nowadays. They're so often used to ostracize people who are already widely hated.