
Peter Thiel Parts Ways with Silicon Valley - alva
https://www.wsj.com/articles/tech-luminary-peter-thiel-parts-ways-with-silicon-valley-1518696120
======
factsaresacred
A readable non-paywall version:
[https://archive.is/N4qEP](https://archive.is/N4qEP)

------
SirensOfTitan
Tim Ferris on the same issue:

> Silicon Valley also has an insidious infection that is spreading -- a
> peculiar form of McCarthyism
> ([https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/McCarthyism](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/McCarthyism))
> masquerading as liberal open-mindedness. I'm as socially liberal as you get,
> and I find it nauseating how many topics or dissenting opinions are simply
> out-of-bounds in Silicon Valley. These days, people with real jobs (unlike
> me) are risking their careers to even challenge collective delusions in SF.
> Isn't this supposed to be where people change the world by challenging the
> consensus reality? By seeing the hidden realities behind the facades? That's
> the whole reason I traveled west and started over in the Bay Area. Now, more
> and more, I feel like it's a Russian nesting doll of facades -- Washington
> DC with fewer neck ties, where people openly lie to one another out of fear
> of losing their jobs or being publicly crucified. It's weird, unsettling,
> and, frankly, really dangerous. There's way too much power here for
> politeness to be sustainable. If no one feels they can say "Hey, I know it
> makes everyone uncomfortable, but I think there's a leak in the fuel rods in
> this nuclear submarine..." we're headed for big trouble.

Source:
[https://www.reddit.com/r/IAmA/comments/7erct8/i_am_tim_ferri...](https://www.reddit.com/r/IAmA/comments/7erct8/i_am_tim_ferriss_host_of_the_tim_ferriss_show_and/dq6zrh1/)

I've witnessed this first hand, and alongside the congestion and housing
problems that no one wants to handle, it was a big reason I decided to leave
the Bay Area for good.

~~~
overthemoon
What topics, exactly, are so taboo? McCarthyism was about a specific ideology.
And, mind you, people were getting dragged into court over it, which Ferris is
certainly not at risk of. In fact, this is in a thread about a guy who shut a
media outlet down. What is Ferris worried that he can't talk about?

~~~
jbooth
There are a tiny minority of liberals who, rather than embracing breaking down
barriers and a hunky-dory co-existence like the rest of us, erect barriers of
purity and constantly call people out.

They're annoying.

On the other hand, that's the dominant mode for the entire right half of the
spectrum so take their complaints with a grain of salt. And who gives the
above-mentioned annoying liberals their biggest platform? Right wing media.
Gotta feed the wurlitzer.

It's not a "differing and diverse political opinion" to think people of color
and women are inherently less worthy, it's just racist/sexist.

~~~
frgtpsswrdlame
Still no one is willing to name the beliefs that 'you just can't say.' In
McCarthyism it was communist/socialist beliefs. What political beliefs can't
you espouse in public without being shunned? For Thiel it's probably the pro-
authoritarian/pseudo-monarchist beliefs of the neo-reaction guys he runs
around with. Gotta be honest, I don't mind those being shunned.

~~~
ViktorV
You just named some of the beliefs that you can't say. Basically you agree
with Thiel.

One more thing to note: you've called the guy "pro-authoritarian/pseudo-
monarchist". Is this how he describes himself ( I guess no )? I grew up in a
country with strong far-right culture. Nazis are calling themselves nazis.

~~~
frgtpsswrdlame
Peter Thiel himself doesn't describe himself that way but the people he pays
attention to explicitly do. Here:

 _Yarvin told Yiannopoulos that he had been “coaching Thiel.”

“Peter needs guidance on politics for sure,” Yiannopoulos responded.

“Less than you might think!” Yarvin wrote back. “I watched the election at his
house, I think my hangover lasted into Tuesday. He’s fully enlightened, just
plays it very carefully.”_

and then combine that with the fact that Yarvin calls himself a Jacobite and
you've got the monarchy/authoritarian connection.

The Thiel thing goes a whole lot deeper than Damore or some of the other
common examples of "SJW" pushback.

------
spking
I grew up in Alameda and have lived in LA for 10 years now.
Oakland/Berkeley/SF notwithstanding, LA isn't that significantly different
when it comes to politics and I'm sure Mr. Thiel is aware of that.

~~~
tannhauser23
It goes beyond the general political mindset and what parties people in
respective cities vote for. In SV people will blacklist you and even publicly
call for you to be fired/ostracized if you are a conservative, as Thiel
himself experienced. I have many friends who are moderates - not even
conservatives - and they can't speak their minds among coworkers because they
fear that their careers will suffer. It's a weird echo chamber where only the
most radical left gets to dominate the conversation.

In LA, I mean entertainment is a fairly liberal industry, but it's not the
only game in town. Plus Orange County is nearby and that's the last bastion of
Republicans in the state.

~~~
busterarm
> last bastion of Republicans in the state.

[http://www.ppic.org/content/images/PoliticalGeogFigure-4_web...](http://www.ppic.org/content/images/PoliticalGeogFigure-4_web.png)

------
bkohlmann
I spearheaded the Lincoln Initiative study referenced in the article.

If you're interested, you can see 5 key findings here:

[http://joinlincoln.org/viewpoint-diversity](http://joinlincoln.org/viewpoint-
diversity)

We have a comprehensive report coming out in a month.

~~~
rdiddly
Quickly departed the site upon being interrupted by the pop-up.

------
RickJWagner
Society goes back and forth on what is considered 'right' and 'wrong'. You
only need to look at older movies to see how things change.

What was once considered neutral or even progressive is now considered
racist/sexist/etc. Watch 'Dumbo', 'Animal House', 'Blazing Saddles', etc. None
of those would be filmed today. Yet we still have not cured many of the ills
that plagued society in both times.

The left must relent and let conservative voices be heard. In the long run, it
will be destructive to the left if they do not.

~~~
RickJWagner
Sorry, I left two points disconnected:

If you are on the left side of the aisle and are not disturbed by this modern
day McCarthyism because you are absolutely certain you are 'right', you need
to review what was 'right' in past days and realize it is all relative and
will change. Persist in smothering free speech and you'll end up as tomorrow's
Nazi.

------
cm2187
Two thoughts:

1\. I have the feeling that this is not limited to the silicon valley. It
feels very similar in my industry (banking) and I assume some other industries
too.

2\. I think there is more than one force at hand. A more militant liberalism
may be one force but I can think of another major one: social medias.
Basically an army of "anonymous" twitter / facebook / other accounts (they may
not be individually anonymous but together they are), waiting for any pretext
to shout their indignation, always looking for new ways to be offended. I
don't think the population and opinions behind is a new evolution, but it just
has a very powerful way to express itself now, by inundating social medias
with angry comments, memes, effectively running virtual mob-lynchings.

This is combined with a traditional bias in medias to give some legitimacy to
"the street", i.e. if enough people are demonstrating, vociferating slogans,
they are deemed to somehow be representative of the opinion of the population
when in reality they only represent the opinion of this limited group. Combine
that bias with social medias, and medias tend to report these outrages as a
mainstream opinion, even if it is only that of a vocal minority, adding their
own weight to the lynching. I don't think we should give much credit to these
social media storms, no more than an angry mob should be a party to a
civilized debate.

~~~
sjg007
People should protest instead of tweet. It's more effective. I think a lot of
groups are also trying to get their voice heard and understood. I think the
essay style (that PG used) is a good one and maybe the speech format.

------
ythn
Sometimes I wish California would simply purge all republicans so it can
become the bluest of blue state. That way, we can have a large scale
experiment to see what kind of "utopia" will be cooked up under 100% liberal
control.

~~~
muzz
Don't we already have this on a small scale in the San Francisco Bay Area?

~~~
primewave
lol. SF home owners & board of supervisors have over time voted against
housing density to keep a neighborhood as-is, believe it was perfect the day
they arrived, and that proposed changes to it must be stopped, definition of a
conservative. Many of these were the anti-establishment in the 1960s and 1970s
turned conservative once they became the establishment. They just don't want
to admit it to themselves.

------
sjg007
This is good for LA and the broader community. I don't believe that Thiel will
be getting out of tech.. but maybe media tech is his next big thing. I think
there is a big play in the conservative social network news area. These filter
bubbles become their own verticals as Murdoch knows well. He can also have a
big impact shaping the LA tech industry. This is also good for UCLA and USC.

The Liberal / Conservative culture wars need to stop and we need to have
debate. There is too much passive aggressive behavior on both sides. If
debates have to be moderated than so be it but the moderators need to do their
jobs and people need to respect them.

~~~
taternuts
I just hope LA can carve out it's own culture and not become the next SV. I
really, really don't want that.

------
ErikVandeWater
Recommend using Read Across the Aisle if you want to get past the paywall:
[https://chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/read-across-the-
ai...](https://chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/read-across-the-aisle/)

------
balthasar
good riddance.

------
alva
Non-paywall [https://pastebin.com/krfQwUVt](https://pastebin.com/krfQwUVt)

------
baby
I can't read the article on the website.

------
PaulRobinson
It's a loss to the sector to lose somebody who thinks deeply (Zero to One is a
good book), cares and wants to make the World better through technology and
investment in firms dedicated to the same.

It's not a loss to the sector to lose somebody who thinks the path to doing
that is intolerance, dominance, lack of accountability and an insistence on
some Ayn Rand-ian gibberish philosophy of the World.

He was intolerant of Gawker. He dominated them by suing them to the hilt via
the Hogan case. He is anti-regulation which in this case is a synonym for
anti-accountability. Most of his political and economic philosophy seems to be
the same gauche pastiche of SV's obsession with Rand. So, yeah, good riddance.

If software is eating the World, it's important the people building and
operating it are as diverse as possible, otherwise there is a risk it
unconsciously or consciously becomes biased in its actions and consequences
towards a single social group at the expense of others.

Of course a one-party political philosophy is a problem in the long term, but
so is Trump's stance on equality - one Thiel endorses - and for now at least
it's important the voices of diversity and accountability win out for the long
run.

TL;DR: Bye! Don't let the door hit you on the ass on the way out! Come back
when you've got a little more mature and empathic towards others if you want!

~~~
tuna-piano
I feel like we're living in different universes.

-You seem to say diversity is good, but not diversity of political thought?

-What are Thiels stances on equality that you see as so abhorrent?

-He was involved (as a financier) of a lawsuit... I struggle to see the huge moral deal here. He didn't decide the outcome - six jurors did, abiding by the laws, in a court![1]

-Is being a strong supporter of Ayn Rand a good reason that someone shouldn't be involved in Silicon Valley?

[1][http://abcnews.go.com/Entertainment/gawker-trial-jurors-
made...](http://abcnews.go.com/Entertainment/gawker-trial-jurors-made-
absolutely-correct-decision-awarding/story?id=37887552)

~~~
milankovic
Why even bother? All this comment you've replied to actually does is prove
Thiel's point. It still amazes me that the irony is so lost on them..

~~~
tuna-piano
Haha.

Peter Thiel - "People here don't accept conservative ideas"

Commentor - "I love diversity, but get the hell out with those opinions!"

...

Obviously there are some opinions I find abhorrent and wouldn't want to be
associated with (Nazis, etc). However, I think both that I'm more tolerant of
offensive opinions than the commentor, and that I also find really nothing
very offensive about what I've read about Thiel.

Thiel doesn't seem that far right to me, and has been ostracized. But is any
thought too far-left to be accepted in SV? You can support Venezuelan
policies, Cuban policies, taxing rich people 90%, racism against whites and
asians... and no one's trying to kick them out of civil society.

~~~
andrewprock
Your list of straw-men is incredible. I'm certain I can find active criticism
from Silicon Valley regarding all of those topics.

~~~
tuna-piano
Yes, I think it's socially ok to criticize the extreme left (all my examples
were extreme left positions).

I do not think it's socially ok in SV to be more than a little conservative.
After all, companies Thiel was associated with were pressured to kick him out
just for the fact that he supported a candidate that was voted for by ~50% of
the country! Maybe that's because of Trump's other non-political
characteristics, but I'm not so sure.

------
guhcampos
Good news. I may now be available for relocation to SF.

------
supercanuck
Who cares what people like Tim Ferris and Peter Thiel think?

These guys get their ideas published, and linked to and shared left, right and
center, so is it possible, that maybe their political ideas suck?

Lack of exposure is not the issue, so what is? Maybe their ideas are just..
stay with me here... bad?

~~~
rdiddly
I'd stop short of knowing or caring whether their respective ideas suck or
not, because getting back to the first point, it's really not so all-fired,
gull-darned important what a guy thinks who's being quoted mainly because he's
rich (or some other variant of a cult of personality). Take me, add a billion
dollars, and boom: instant quotable thought-leader and visionary whose every
tantrum and brain-fart is broadcast for all. Elon Musk goes in that box as
well.

Besides which, you can move wherever you want. It's not like you have to turn
in your Silicon Valley membership card and secret key. And there's a big world
out there. Especially if you're rich. Just move, don't try to make a
"statement."

~~~
qaq
You honestly think it's purely based on money? You read many quotes from Rob
Walton or Jacqueline Mars?

~~~
rdiddly
I explicitly said "or some other variant of a cult of personality." But being
rich is enough. Some billionaires choose to be quiet, but if tomorrow they
decide to become "vocal proponents" of something or other, and make use of
their prerogative to be quoted, the outlets will absolutely carry it, knowing
the clicks will follow.

------
Molaxx
I don't get why should people be tolerant of bullies?

~~~
Caveman_Coder
I think it depends on how one defines "bullies"...

------
jstewartmobile
Was that young-people's blood thing ever verified, or is vanity fair getting
sued next?

------
drukenemo
Well, is it really that surprising that the Silicon Valley is not this thought
freedom paradise, being under such strong government control in so many
levels? Call me a conspiracy theorist if you want.

Silicon Valley companies are very much subjected to the NSA and other
governmental agencies. Have you seen all the projects funded by DARPA?
[http://www.alphr.com/features/373546/10-brilliant-darpa-
inve...](http://www.alphr.com/features/373546/10-brilliant-darpa-inventions)

------
JoeNr76
So basically Thiel is crying and running away because he now gets a little
taste of what is means to be a minority?

Ha!

------
virmundi
So torn about this being posted. I get his relationship to the tech scene. I
get how it makes sense. At the same time, the comments are going to quickly
devolve onto the very sniping he's leave. Probably more so today given the
Florida shooting.

With all due respect to @alva, can we let this post wither on the vine? Not
today. Not after yesterday.

~~~
aaron-lebo
Don't really see the connection. You sure your comment isn't more likely to
send the conversation that way?

~~~
virmundi
No. His stated reason in the article or leaving is an anti conservatism streak
in SV. Intrinsic to them is a belief in self defense and weapons ownership.
You can't debate the whole concept of his exodus without name calling and
vitriolic attacks lobbed by both sides.

In the past month there have been two, at least , posts that became so
political that they were flagged. Ironically one was on free speech. I just
don't have the stomach for it today. In general I'm not sure there is any good
to be had with this kind of material on HN.

~~~
Thriptic
You make a statement decrying the politicization of comments directly after
making a sweeping incorrect generalization about conservatives?

Owning a firearm is not some prerequisite for being a member of a political
party. There are large numbers of conservatives that do not own firearms and
do not care about firearms ownership. It may surprise you that there are also
large numbers of people who are socially liberal who own firearms, such as
myself. None of us are ok with school shootings. I am perfectly willing to
have rational conversations about the merits of responsible gun ownership with
people who are capable of having that conversation, but that has nothing to do
with the issue at hand here.

~~~
virmundi
I am too. I own an AR15. Sad, and looking at the comments was right, that this
particular post not going to provide a beneficial discuss on any topic defined
as good by the site guidelines. There are comments that say that conservatism
needs to be eradicated. Why is that HN appropriate?

