
Ask HN: Will YC discriminate against founders who support Trump? - brentanderson
While Sam Altman has said that he will not cut ties to his grandma and Peter Thiel for supporting Donald Trump, one surely must wonder if the situation would be different if Thiel were not a billionaire, already part of YC, and have a profile that would mean his disavowal could cause negative headlines. Also, while Sam has made his views clear, it is not clear whether Sam&#x27;s stance is held by everyone at Y Combinator, especially those involved in selecting companies to join YC. Can we have a definitive statement from YC that anyone who applies will not be discriminated against based on their political opinions?<p>Note: Submitted anonymously for fear of discrimination.
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internaut
I can we can reasonably assume they believe politics and business ought to be
partitioned from one another.

My opinion has always been that right brains and left brains really do think
differently and comparing and contrasting is very important for metacognition.

As an Enlightenment scholar I often have trouble with with once said:

“He who knows only his own side of the case knows little of that. His reasons
may be good, and no one may have been able to refute them. But if he is
equally unable to refute the reasons on the opposite side, if he does not so
much as know what they are, he has no ground for preferring either opinion...
does not even understand that very well".

That quote is commonly known, but I find the next part most interesting.

"Nor is it enough that he should hear the opinions of adversaries from his own
teachers, presented as they state them, and accompanied by what they offer as
refutations. He must be able to hear them from persons who actually believe
them...he must know them in their most plausible and persuasive form."

J.S. Mill would have liked Scott Alexander.

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Red_Tarsius
I hope not. I always assumed (I still do) YC to be a beacon of reason and
tolerance. Like it or not, a solid percentage of US voters endorses Trump.
Professionalism means working together with people of diverging opinions. In
the past I failed to stand by this principle and I am ashamed of it. It was
_childish_ behaviour on my part.

I'm looking forward to Election Day. The propaganda war has been poisoning
foreign media too. I read and watch identity baiting on daily basis. It's an
American act of radicalization for the sake of votes.

Both candidates' slogans are deeply ironic ( _Stronger Together_ and _Make
America Great Again_ ) in light of their divisive and alienating actions.
After debates and rallies are over, in the real world left and right wingers
live and work together. No bridge bears the inscription " _Proudly built by
democrats only_ ".

~~~
vargalas
Well, it's interesting to read the words "Trump" and "tolerance" in the same
sentence.

