
Voters Backed Donald Trump Because He ‘Just Got It,’ Says Investor Peter Thiel - walterbell
http://www.wsj.com/articles/voters-backed-donald-trump-because-he-just-got-it-says-investor-peter-thiel-1478800508
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redwood
What about asking him about all the "truth-less" stuff his propagandist in
chief Bannon out of Breitbart (future Chief of Staff) has pushed for years?
The Birther BS? How the extreme supremacist elements backing the campaign will
be kept at bay; how basic rights will be maintained.

I guess he figures Palantir can make a bunch of money tracking down people who
fit into non-billionaire-white-male (gay or not) categories for [...insert
some action....] to "make America great".

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Scirra_Tom
I'm perplexed as to why Thiel backed Trump when Thiel is gay, and Trump/Pence
seem to want to roll back a lot of hard fought rights won by the homosexual
community.

~~~
smakrybust
I won't claim to know why, but when we discriminate in this country, you
probably put race at the top. But we discriminate in this order:

    
    
      1. Wealth (that is, lack of)
      2. Education
      3. Race
      4. Gender
      5. Other stuff (appearance, sexual identity, etc)
    

I doubt a successful homosexual like Thiel feels terribly discriminated
against. I'm guessing this because I work with a bunch of black physicians;
they say they're all doing just fine.

~~~
Lawtonfogle
I have to disagree with the list. How we discriminate can't be put in a list
because it is different for different issues. For one example, consider that
the legal system discriminate far more on gender than race. In some areas your
list is close to accurate (I would definitely put mental health much higher),
but in general a list is a poor data structure to represent how discrimination
occurs. It also ignores interactions between groups.

~~~
smakrybust
That's a fair point, and your remark about mental health is true (it might
even be number one on this oversimplified list). I wasn't trying to be
authoritative on the subject or list, but to present a general idea about who,
practically-speaking, feels disenfranchised. Thiel, even if he was a fat,
ugly, uneducated, transgendered black person, would still be one of the most
advantaged people in the world.

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fixxer
For everyone suggesting Thiel, a gay man with outspoken libertarian views,
donated $1.25m as part of some pay-to-play scheme, let's do a little math...

He is worth $2.7b last I checked.

1250000/2700000000 = 0.00046296296

Suppose someone with a net worth of $1m donated $500... That would be a
greater fraction of net worth donated. I know a lot of people who donated
above that ratio.

I propose an alternative theory: Thiel is a true believer, much like many of
you.

~~~
redwood
Thiel has described himself as a Libertarian, but Palantir is proof that he is
in fact an advocate of the surveillance state.

~~~
fixxer
I'm far more on your side when it comes to surveillance, but I don't accept
"government contracts" as a motivator. I think you're being reductionist and
neglecting the fact that technology has a place in stopping terror and crime
in general... We just don't know where to draw the line yet.

~~~
arkitaip
It's like you live in this world where greed for money and power don't exist.
What good has Thiel done to be able to bypass all resonable criticism of
people in power?

~~~
fixxer
It's like you live in this world where the only beliefs that matter are your
own and nobody else can believe something contrary and be genuine.

FYI 9/10 top defense manufacturers in the world donated to HRC. What the fuck
do you think they expected in return? Peter donated as an individual and
defended his stance publicly.

~~~
arkitaip
I apologize for the tone of my previous comment. It was unnecessarily harsh
and confrontational. I have serious doubts about Trump's and Thiel's
underlying motives but I shouldn't have insulted you like that. Sorry.

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vaadu
People voted for Trump for 2 reasons, they were tired of business-as-usual
from the out of touch elites and they saw the other candidate(Clinton) as
having no redeeming value.

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pavlov
_" You may fight ISIS, but if that’s the only thing we do, defeating ISIS
seems like a manageable goal."_

Oh man. This is the Middle East. You can never just do one thing and imagine
it won't affect everything else. "We'll just topple Saddam and that's the only
thing we do."

"Manageable goal" will have the same ring as "Mission accomplished" in a
couple of years.

It's strange how Thiel is so worried about the bubble economy, yet Trump is
the quintessential face of the bubble since early 1980s. Manhattan real
estate, casinos, reality TV -- these are all "boom or bust" businesses.

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VMG
don't forget to use the HN "web" link in the second line if you hit the
paywall

~~~
awinder
What's the HN web link? I get snagged on this all the time and just search
through google to bypass but now I feel like I'm doing something the hard way

~~~
alexmorenodev
At right of "X minutes ago". It actually just performs a google search.

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netrus
Good read, he appears quite sane. In a nutshell, he has hope we do only know
Trump on steroids, and he might not be a likable person, but in the end Trump
has the necessary discomfort with the status quo to move the economy ahead -
not the perfect candidate, but rather the better alternative at this moment in
time.

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mrgordon
Unfortunately Trump's cabinet appointments have already proven him wrong.
Carson, Palin, the leading anti-global warming crazy for head of the EPA...

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tzm
Political polarization has been a topic among moral psychologists like Dr.
Jonathan Haidt. I recommend watching this talk to understand the political
discourse: [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vAE-
gxKs6gM](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vAE-gxKs6gM)

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jackmott
peter, history is not going to remember you kindly.

~~~
jrnichols
It might remember little things like this:
[http://www.sacbee.com/news/politics-government/capitol-
alert...](http://www.sacbee.com/news/politics-government/capitol-
alert/article112777458.html)

He donated $300k to the "Yes on 64" campaign in California.

