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Previous discussions on this topic have involved debate on whether or not Terry Davis is racist, the defence being that his use of the word "nigger" is an (extr

Previous discussions on this topic have involved debate on whether or not Terry Davis is racist, the defence being that his use of the word "nigger" is an (extremely) unfortunate side-effect of a schizophrenic condition. I don't pretend to have an in-depth understanding of schizophrenia so, although I'm dubious, I'm minded to give Terry the benefit of the doubt. However, Terry, you could resolve this once and for all by clearly explaining to us whether or not this is the case.

oneeyedpigeon 12y ago
Can you explain why you downvoted an objective, calm, not-inflammatory request for information?
- joshmn 12y ago
  He is not his disease. Bringing it up every time he tries to talk isn't going to help anyone. He's passionate about his work. His work has done more for him personally than I think anyone can even imagine. It's given him so much. Like I said in another comment, people with cancer can't control it, just like Terry can't help but have his disease.
  - oneeyedpigeon 12y ago
    Fair enough, I understand all of that. If his language and behaviour are solely as a result of his disease, then I fully agree. All I want is clarification of whether or not that is the case. Just because someone is schizophrenic, doesn't mean they can't be a racist. And many companies would find it impossible to work with someone who genuinely holds those kind of views. Heck, if ycombinator effectively endorses those views, without knowing if they are genuinely held, many will feel uncomfortable working with ycombinator.
    - catshirt 12y ago
      i almost don't want to get involved in this, and i don't intend to take sides, but wouldn't many companies find it impossible to work with someone "disingenuously" racist as well? i am hearing that incontrollable spouts of racism should be overlooked if the person is "not actually racist". something doesn't add up to me. are racist jokes ok? i'm just trying to say this is complicated. taking either side of this argument seems short sighted.
todd_whitehead 12y ago
Who cares if he is racist? I don't. It is the most irrelevant thing to talk about. An operating system cannot be racist. Consider a career in HR if you like being so ridiculously petty.
- catshirt 12y ago
  you didn't think about your question very hard, did you? investors, for one. no one wants to fund a company whose founder is publicly racist (sans other racists). at the very least we can agree it is a PR nightmare? more though, i'm surprised to hear someone call racism "petty". there is a first time for everything i guess. i'm curious as to why aren't you posting on your real account?
  - todd_whitehead 12y ago
    It's a PR nightmare because money-grubbing journalists realize the amount of money they make is a linear function of the amount of "controversy" they can produce. Take Ferguson, for example. I would fund anyone with a good product because I don't care for grade-school gossip about what type of inflammatory posts someone might write on obscure forums in his free time - which, by the way, is why contemporary racism in the West is petty. As much as the media's incessant race-baiting would like to convince you otherwise, the only legitimate expressions of racism seem to be on obscure online forums. If we could reset the clock 50 years racism wouldn't be petty, but racism as a concept has been so diluted by the media that it is hard to take seriously any more. Calling someone a racist is just a way to make money now, and the public, especially the younger generation, is so forcefully anti-racist that is hard to care if one or two people are racist, even harder to see how it undermines one of their technological accomplishments. This is my real account. I joined a week ago. People seem to dislike everything I say.
    - atroyn 12y ago
      "If you smell dog poo everywhere you walk, check your shoes".
- dang 12y ago
DrPsion 12y ago
Well I have no idea if Terry really does have schizophrenia. I believe he has stated he does but I also remember reading that he was not official diagnosed? I might be wrong, please correct me. If he is mentally ill in some way I would presume his use of the word nigger, etc. are related to that, perhaps in a similar way that somebody with Tourette's will use such words?
tacojuan 12y ago
I don't really understand how you're capable of looking past his incoherent rambling about the CIA actively persecuting him for his cooperation with IRAN to produce BigBang weapons and instead focusing solely on the n-word sprinkled throughout said ramblings. Sure, out of context, Terry is completely racist. He's also helping Iran build weapons of mass destruction.

oneeyedpigeon 12y ago

Can you explain why you downvoted an objective, calm, not-inflammatory request for information?

joshmn 12y ago
He is not his disease. Bringing it up every time he tries to talk isn't going to help anyone. He's passionate about his work. His work has done more for him personally than I think anyone can even imagine. It's given him so much. Like I said in another comment, people with cancer can't control it, just like Terry can't help but have his disease.
- oneeyedpigeon 12y ago
  Fair enough, I understand all of that. If his language and behaviour are solely as a result of his disease, then I fully agree. All I want is clarification of whether or not that is the case. Just because someone is schizophrenic, doesn't mean they can't be a racist. And many companies would find it impossible to work with someone who genuinely holds those kind of views. Heck, if ycombinator effectively endorses those views, without knowing if they are genuinely held, many will feel uncomfortable working with ycombinator.
  - catshirt 12y ago
    i almost don't want to get involved in this, and i don't intend to take sides, but wouldn't many companies find it impossible to work with someone "disingenuously" racist as well? i am hearing that incontrollable spouts of racism should be overlooked if the person is "not actually racist". something doesn't add up to me. are racist jokes ok? i'm just trying to say this is complicated. taking either side of this argument seems short sighted.

todd_whitehead 12y ago

Who cares if he is racist? I don't. It is the most irrelevant thing to talk about. An operating system cannot be racist. Consider a career in HR if you like being so ridiculously petty.

catshirt 12y ago
you didn't think about your question very hard, did you? investors, for one. no one wants to fund a company whose founder is publicly racist (sans other racists). at the very least we can agree it is a PR nightmare? more though, i'm surprised to hear someone call racism "petty". there is a first time for everything i guess. i'm curious as to why aren't you posting on your real account?
- todd_whitehead 12y ago
  It's a PR nightmare because money-grubbing journalists realize the amount of money they make is a linear function of the amount of "controversy" they can produce. Take Ferguson, for example. I would fund anyone with a good product because I don't care for grade-school gossip about what type of inflammatory posts someone might write on obscure forums in his free time - which, by the way, is why contemporary racism in the West is petty. As much as the media's incessant race-baiting would like to convince you otherwise, the only legitimate expressions of racism seem to be on obscure online forums. If we could reset the clock 50 years racism wouldn't be petty, but racism as a concept has been so diluted by the media that it is hard to take seriously any more. Calling someone a racist is just a way to make money now, and the public, especially the younger generation, is so forcefully anti-racist that is hard to care if one or two people are racist, even harder to see how it undermines one of their technological accomplishments. This is my real account. I joined a week ago. People seem to dislike everything I say.
  - atroyn 12y ago
    "If you smell dog poo everywhere you walk, check your shoes".
dang 12y ago

DrPsion 12y ago

Well I have no idea if Terry really does have schizophrenia. I believe he has stated he does but I also remember reading that he was not official diagnosed? I might be wrong, please correct me. If he is mentally ill in some way I would presume his use of the word nigger, etc. are related to that, perhaps in a similar way that somebody with Tourette's will use such words?

tacojuan 12y ago

I don't really understand how you're capable of looking past his incoherent rambling about the CIA actively persecuting him for his cooperation with IRAN to produce BigBang weapons and instead focusing solely on the n-word sprinkled throughout said ramblings. Sure, out of context, Terry is completely racist. He's also helping Iran build weapons of mass destruction.