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

(www.wsj.com)
370 points sillypuddy | 2 comments | 18 Feb 18 16:50 UTC | HN request time: 0.421s | source
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twblalock ◴[18 Feb 18 21:03 UTC] No.16408620[source]▶
I don't get it. I grew up in Silicon Valley and I work in tech, and so do many other people I know. They run the gamut from far-left socialists to libertarians to own a bunch of guns. They have all kinds of ethnic backgrounds and religious views.

Some of my most libertarian/pro-gun friends have not been shy about their political views and it hasn't hurt their tech careers at all. They are far more welcome here than liberals are in other parts of the country.

It seems to me, from personal experience, that the people who feel alienated are the ones who bring politics to work in an overbearing contrarian way, seeking to cause offense under the guise of "debate," and then pretend to be shocked when people don't want to put up with their shit. Work is for working; it's not a debating society, and especially not when the debating is done in bad faith.

Peter Thiel has been more politically vocal than most, and he is vocal about things he knows to be unpopular. He can't be surprised that people who disagree with him are also vocal. If he can't take the heat he should stay out of the kitchen.

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tomsthumb ◴[18 Feb 18 21:12 UTC] No.16408700[source]▶
On the other hand, I have seen a coworker strongly imply that someone is a white nationalist for suggesting that it’s possible to be a non-racist republican.
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enraged_camel[dead post] ◴[18 Feb 18 21:54 UTC] No.16408953[source]▶
One can be a non-racist conservative, in the sense of wanting a smaller government and less regulation. However, today’s Republican Party is undeniably racist, and supporting them also makes one racist in my opinion.

This is especially true since today’s Republican Party is not actually conservative. One cannot want smaller government while simultaneously supporting a drastic increase in immigration and border security and a whopping $25 billion for a 2000-mile long wall.

Pxtl ◴[18 Feb 18 22:01 UTC] No.16408998[source]▶
You don't have to be racist to support the modern Republicans, but you do have to decide that racism really isn't a deal-breaker for you.
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1. Daishiman ◴[18 Feb 18 22:09 UTC] No.16409063[source]▶
If racism isn't a deal-breaker for you...
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2. berberous ◴[18 Feb 18 22:23 UTC] No.16409165[source]▶
In a multi-party system, I would agree with your implication. But when you have a system with only two realistic choices, it is possible to vote for a candidate because you think the other one is even worse, without endorsing the candidate you voted for.