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Like Peter Thiel, Tech Workers Feel Alienated by Silicon Valley ‘Echo Chamber’

(www.wsj.com)
370 points sillypuddy | 1 comments | 18 Feb 18 16:50 UTC | HN request time: 0.254s | source
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sho ◴[18 Feb 18 19:32 UTC] No.16407784[source]▶
What is crazy about the the situation in SF is that even 5 or so years ago if you asked me what the "echo chamber" there was echoing I would have said libertarianism and some kind of techno-utopianism. The takeover by the proscriptive far-left has been astonishingly rapid, and it is absolutely real. I also know people who have left, and many more who absolutely keep their political and even philosophical views to themselves, especially after Damore.

It's been an extraordinarily fast takeover and I'd really like to know exactly what happened those 5 or so years ago to precipitate this seismic shift.

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gameswithgo ◴[18 Feb 18 19:39 UTC] No.16407829[source]▶
I have no idea what SF is like, so in these discussions I never can tell if there really is an influx of insane, insufferable far left crazies, or if people who insist on remaining racist and keeping gays in the closet are mad that nobody is having that anymore. The latter is what I see in my own circle of humans but I live in Texas.

I can say though that I've moved further to the left as I've gotten older, from a libertarian tech-stereotype when I was younger, and in large part it has been from seeing the conservative half of american slide slowly further into insanity and horribleness, seemingly driven by fox news, at least among family.

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friedman23[dead post] ◴[18 Feb 18 20:57 UTC] No.16408569[source]▶
> I have no idea what SF is like, so in these discussions I never can tell if there really is an influx of insane, insufferable far left crazies

I'm not a Trump supporter by any means but I remember clearly the morning after the election and seeing people walking through the street in SF on their way to work in tears.

If that doesn't point to a presence of insane, insufferable far left (or at least leftist) crazies I don't know what does.

It was very difficult not laugh.

frgtpsswrdlame ◴[18 Feb 18 21:05 UTC] No.16408637[source]▶
>If that doesn't point to a presence of insane, insufferable far left (or at least leftist) crazies I don't know what does.

I think you're mistaking how extreme their political beliefs are with how extremely devoted to their political beliefs they are. Most of these people aren't 'far left' they're just very, very committed to their center/center-left politics.

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friedman23[dead post] ◴[18 Feb 18 21:10 UTC] No.16408679[source]▶
Let me tell you, if you shed tears because Trump won the election you are mentally unstable.
sho[dead post] ◴[18 Feb 18 21:21 UTC] No.16408764[source]▶
> if you shed tears because Trump won the election you are mentally unstable

Upvoting you to counter your ridiculous downvotes. What the hell people. If you shed tears because Trump won then you are actually part of the problem. You are on "Team Blue" and crying because "Team Red" won. This simplistic tribalistic nonsense is not how you run a society.

update for the downvoters: unless you view Team Red as intrinsically illegitimate, in which case you need to ask yourself - do you live in a democracy? Really - a one-party democracy? What a splendid innovation!

1. dabbledash ◴[18 Feb 18 22:08 UTC] No.16409053[source]▶
I don’t think this follows. Trump has very little in common with traditional “team red” politicians, and much more in common with European ethno-nationalist populism. I had no problem with Mitt Romney or John McCain, but consider the fact that so many Americans would vote for Trump to be profoundly disappointing.