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Mark Zuckerberg Defends Peter Thiel's Trump Ties In Internal Memo (theverge.com) 562

Soon after it was announced that Project Include, a community for building meaningful, enduring diversity and inclusion into tech companies, would no longer work with Y Combinator startups, Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg defended Thiel's status as a Facebook board member in a message to employees. "We can't create a culture that says it cares about diversity and then excludes almost half the country because they back a political candidate," Zuckerberg wrote. "There are many reasons a person might support Trump that do not involve racism, sexism, xenophobia, or accepting sexual assault." The Verge reports: A screenshot of the memo was posted to Hacker News yesterday, and it later surfaced on Boing Boing. A Facebook spokesman confirmed the authenticity of the five-paragraph memo to The Verge. It appears to have been posted on Facebook for Work, the enterprise version of Facebook that the company recently made available to other companies. Thiel's endorsement of Trump has put those CEOs in a difficult position. On one hand he is a close adviser; on the other, his support for an erratic, racist demagogue has outraged many of their employees and partners. Like Y Combinator's Sam Altman before him, Zuckerberg defended the company's ties to Thiel by saying that the company has a moral obligation to consider a variety of viewpoints, no matter how abhorrent. "We care deeply about diversity," Zuckerberg wrote. "That's easy to do when it means standing up for ideas you agree with. It's a lot harder when it means standing up for the rights of people with different viewpoints to say what they care about. That's even more important." Of course, as the designer Jason Putorti wrote on Medium this week, Thiel already has an outsized capacity to stand up for ideas he agrees with: he spent $1.25 million to promote them. Zuckerberg's memo reads as if he is defending Thiel's right to post on Facebook. In fact, the question is whether someone who promotes opposition to gender and racial equality should be allowed to serve as a steward for a company whose stated mission is to connect the world.
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Mark Zuckerberg Defends Peter Thiel's Trump Ties In Internal Memo

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  • Minefield (Score:5, Insightful)

    by 110010001000 ( 697113 ) on Wednesday October 19, 2016 @05:32PM (#53110365) Homepage Journal
    This SJW stuff is a minefield for companies that are trying to actually accomplish stuff. I suggest staying away and not answering their calls.
    • Re:Minefield (Score:5, Insightful)

      by cayenne8 ( 626475 ) on Wednesday October 19, 2016 @05:37PM (#53110417) Homepage Journal

      the question is whether someone who promotes opposition to gender and racial equality should be allowed to serve as a steward for a company whose stated mission is to connect the world.

      Ok...I'm not the biggest Trump fan, hell, I con't care for either one of them...

      But with all that Trump has said or promoted, I've not seen yet where he came out to promote the agenda that is against equality in matters of gender and race.

      Has Thiel himself come out for these views against equality? If so, I missed that.

      Trump has said a lot of stupid shit, but I've not heard him yet say he was against racial or gender equality.

      This is really getting dangerous in this country, if people start getting blackballed, hired or fired for having expressed mere support for X political party or Y viewpoint.

      • by OzPeter ( 195038 )

        This is really getting dangerous in this country, if people start getting blackballed, hired or fired for having expressed mere support for X political party or Y viewpoint.

        Its worse than that. The other day I was in a supermarket buying yogurt just as this old guy was walking past. When he saw the brand I was buying he commented loud enough for me to hear "Chobani supports the Muslim Brotherhood". Absolute pure full on conspiracy theory grade bullshit, yet I was virtually accosted in public for it. That is an indicator of the level of political discourse in the US at the moment.

        I look forward to the debate tonight because I need a good laugh.

        • by jedidiah ( 1196 )

          Why is that so hard to swallow? Their are people that will make excuses for Hamas. The Brotherhood is much like Sinn Fein in that it's the political arm of a group willing to blow up sh*t. The IRA had plenty of American sympathizers.

          • by OzPeter ( 195038 )

            Why is that so hard to swallow?

            Because it was a bullshit conspiracy theory that was floated around the beginning of the year about how the CEO of Chobani wanted to import muslims to take away the jobs of americans. And he supported ISIS in the process. Thoroughly debunked a long time ago yet still believed to be true by a lot of people. There is nothing so dangerous as a falsehood that is passionately believed to be true.

            It's on the same level as a friend of mine who keeps posting conspiracy theory stories on her FB page. One of the

        • "Has your dad ever bought a Jaffa orange?... Right, he’s buying nukes for Israel, bro. He’s a Jew."

          i highly recommend Four Lions.

          great movie.

      • Re: (Score:2, Insightful)

        by ADRA ( 37398 )

        He wants to ban all Muslims from entering the US. If that's not an "agenda that is against equality", then what is?

        For women, apparently Google's your friend:
        http://www.telegraph.co.uk/wom... [telegraph.co.uk]

        When you endorse a candidate you bind yourself to them warts and all. Don't like it? Rescind it and tell people you regret it... such as..
        http://rarehistoricalphotos.co... [rarehistoricalphotos.com]

        • He does not (Score:5, Informative)

          by melted ( 227442 ) on Wednesday October 19, 2016 @07:25PM (#53111193) Homepage

          >> He wants to ban all Muslims from entering the US.

          Will you stop spreading this tired bit of propaganda? He merely wants to stop the flow of people from Muslim countries _with may of which we're de-facto at war_, and then only until appropriate vetting procedures are established. This never was about a blanket "Muslim" ban.

          Can you guys and galls get it through your thick skulls that letting in military-age men of an uncertain background from the countries where radical Islam is a dominant ideology is an absolutely idiotic thing to do? What's so bad about figuring out how to make sure you're not letting in an ISIS or Al Quaeda operative?

        • He wants to ban all Muslims from entering the US. If that's not an "agenda that is against equality", then what is?

          Indiscriminately bombing and burning hundreds of Islamic men, women, and children alive [theguardian.com]?

          Oh, but we've already been at war with Eastasia, right?

        • by Raenex ( 947668 )

          You fucking asshole. What's under contention: "against racial or gender equality"

          What you said: "He wants to ban all Muslims from entering the US. If that's not an "agenda that is against equality", then what is?"

          Islam is not a race or a gender. It's a dangerous political ideology founded by a conquering warlord that does not share Western values. It's the most militant religion on the planet that's stated goals are to subjugate the rest of the world to Islam.

          And the stupidest thing about you useful idiots

      • by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday October 19, 2016 @06:02PM (#53110611)

        Trump was labeled anti-Hispanic because he wants to close the border with Mexico and correct the illegal immigration issue (uh oh, I used the bad phrase). He discussed the issues of bringing in even more immigrants and refugees from the Middle East which got him labeled Islamophobic and xenophobic. He talked about Obama's birth certificate which somehow landed him as a racist but ignores the Hillary camp who ran the same story before Trump. Hillary still hangs out with Bloomenthal so he has to be an open racist.

        The woman thing is a bit more complex because Trump has high beauty standards, says so, and was a Celebrity in a position where lots of offers came his way, and had an interesting audio leak(1). Sorry kids, but some women know that sex appeal is a way of getting ahead in the world and are not afraid to use it. I think that makes him a bit shallow, but not different than most men who have beauty standards too. They just happen to be less vocal about it and lack the soap box.

        (1) Audio starts with him telling Bush that he tried hard to get with someone and was turned down. That is not sexual assault, that's called dating. We know that this happened in the past because he says "now she has those fake boobs and such". Middle of the audio is talking about a particular type of woman, so stop the crap generalizations. If you have not at least heard people talk about legs, butts, boobs, bulges, etc.. and you are past puberty you are 100% hearing impaired. I'll bet that you actually talked about those things more than once when you thought you were in close company. The end of the audio and video, Trump comes out and is a complete gentlemen. Bush tells HER to give HIM a hug, and within 2 seconds Trump volunteered to her that he was spoken for. That is not a sexual predator.

        The whole narrative at this point is contrived and abused to point of being senseless. I got bored listening to speeches and reading transcripts to disprove the media narrative so now I get maybe 1 in 3. The media keeps rehashing the few "Gotcha" lines they caught weeks and months ago as if that was all Trump said. It's crap, not journalism.

        Posting anonymously because the Leftist's aversion to people reading the truth will get this moderated to hell in short order. Stefan Molyneux has a great series called the Truth about Trump which breaks down all of these facts and more regarding the narrative of the left to install a candidate.

      • Re:Minefield (Score:5, Informative)

        by topologist ( 644470 ) on Wednesday October 19, 2016 @06:12PM (#53110673)

        Has Thiel himself come out for these views against equality? If so, I missed that.

        Thiel has stated that the 19th amendment to the United States constitution (granting female suffrage) has "rendered the notion of ‘capitalist democracy’ into an oxymoron.” [time.com]

      • In my opinion, Trump is a loudmouth not unlike Howard Stern, and definitely should not be president. When it comes to RACIST remarks, these are some of the comments I've come across:
        Calling employees "n*gger" (Hillary)
        https://www.youtube.com/watch?... [youtube.com]

        Calling people "f*cking Jew bastard" (Hillary, confirmed by three witnesses)
        https://www.theguardian.com/wo... [theguardian.com]

        Hillary said publicly that her mentor is Robert Byrd, former KKK leader.

        That idiot trump *has* talked about building a wall; Hillary actually voted to

        • On a separate but related note, although the liberals' implied, assumed racism in most of their policies is the most infuriating to me, there's another kind that also bugs me greatly, one that is easy to quantify objectively and see the difference.

          In my opinion, the constant focus on race and gender is stupid and highly counter-productive. I think we should be talking about the QUALIFICATIONS of Supreme Court nominees, not going on and on about where their great-great-grandfather was born, nor the contents

      • But with all that Trump has said or promoted, I've not seen yet where he came out to promote the agenda that is against equality in matters of gender and race.

        You've apparently never heard him judge women overwhelmingly based on their looks and sex appeal.

        Or say that a Mexican judge wasn't fit to judge him explicitly because of his race.

        Or repeatedly imply that all black people lived in the ghettos.

        Or promise to keep ban Muslim immigration (race and religion are well correlated).

        Or you know, campaign at all, including all of the subtler stuff he implies, but I won't mention because there's no point in arguing subtle implications with people who can't even admit h

        • Who gives a fuck about any of this shit? Trump's insensitive. Hillary's never met a war she doesn't LOVE. Not just like. LOVE. I don't think there has ever been a more bloodthirsty politician than Hillary Clinton. In Syria alone she's got 400k dead. Migrant crisis that's destabilizing all of Europe. Make her president and we'll get a few million more slaughtered in pursuit of some geopolitical scheme for cash or another, but hey, at least she won't have said mean things (in public).

      • Trump has said a lot of stupid shit, but I've not heard him yet say he was against racial or gender equality.

        Actions speak louder than words...

      • by msauve ( 701917 )
        "Trump has said a lot of stupid shit, but I've not heard him yet say he was against racial or gender equality."

        Whereas Clinton has openly and unabashedly worked and voted to take away people's civil rights, specifically those detailed in the 2nd Amendment.
      • if people start getting blackballed, hired or fired for having expressed mere support for X political party or Y viewpoint.

        What do you mean, start getting blackballed? Too young to remember the wholesale blackballing of actors because of their supposed views [wikipedia.org]?

        This doesn't even begin to touch the surface of the obvious and hidden blacklisting which goes on every day. Numerous studies have shown your name alone [cnn.com] can get you blacklisted from a job.

        States have had to pass laws [nolo.com] to prevent all kind
      • We need diversity of opinions in this country. We need diversity of opinions in tech. We need diversity of opinions everywhere. While I dislike Trump and can't really view what he says as "opinions" but rather as verbal hiccups, we're stuck in a difficult political decision trying to figure out who the lesser evil is and quite a lot of your family, friends, and neighbors will be choosing someone other than your preference. This does not mean that they're morons or evil.

        Think about the long term. If it'

    • Why there is a culture war explains the whole SJW movement: http://www.hoover.org/research... [hoover.org]

      I think the best defense Zuck could have given is that we need to include the traditional patriarchy and its hegemonic value system in our corporate dialog.

      • Sorry for replying to my own post, but I just came up with THE PERFECT paragraph justifying Thiel's board seat.

        " We incorporate hegemonic values such as pure meritocracy regardless of race, as represented by Thiel, but also the values of inclusion and diversity through our more progressive board members. By including both these perspectives we can selectively choose between these values where appropriate in order to maximize shareholder value effectively, which of course remains our highest and most import

    • by PraiseBob ( 1923958 ) on Wednesday October 19, 2016 @06:17PM (#53110715)
      Michael Jordan once said, "Republicans buy shoes too." He has political views, but didn't want his brand associated with only 50% of shoppers. Some companies want to be part of culture wars. Chick-fil-a doesnt believe in equal rights for gays, Target makes a big deal about letting transgender people pee. That's part of their image and identity that they want their brand to be. Shoppers can make their own choices.

      FB seems to be going a third way, and supporting both candidates, which in turn pisses off both sides. So the angry people can then... post rants on Facebook which generates hits and more traffic from political discussions, and more ad revenue. Ah, clever...
    • Well, why not just "celebrate diversity"?

      Oh... it's only supposed to be SJW's "diversity" and not any other views.

      Ya gotta love it.

      Is everyone supposed to think the same?

  • by paiute ( 550198 ) on Wednesday October 19, 2016 @05:34PM (#53110385)
    Those who have forgotten the origin story of Facebook had also forgotten that you are a self-centered prick with no morals. Thanks for hitting refresh on that turd icon.
  • Propaganda (Score:5, Interesting)

    by s.petry ( 762400 ) on Wednesday October 19, 2016 @05:40PM (#53110453)

    Apologize while bashing the hell out of the Political Candidate you dislike. The propaganda is so thick you can taste it.

    So can Facebook say "Thanks" to Mark followed by "On behalf of the Corrupt politician, corrupt political party, and corrupt media trying to install her we give our thanks!"

    • Hey thanks finally for pointing out the conspiracy theory in this story. I've already scrolled down 3/4 of the page and haven't seen any others yet! Come on /., we need to remind casual readers that the establishment is plotting to steal our precious bodily fluids!

  • by tomhath ( 637240 ) on Wednesday October 19, 2016 @05:45PM (#53110491)
    After her speech, I have to wonder how she would react if her husband was caught getting a blowjob in the Oval Office from a girl about the age of Michelle's daughter. She seems to think it's okay for Hillary to ignore it.
  • two bad choices (Score:4, Informative)

    by ooloorie ( 4394035 ) on Wednesday October 19, 2016 @05:46PM (#53110501)

    his support for an erratic, racist demagogue has outraged many of their employees and partners

    So, support for a corrupt, lying manipulator shouldn't be cause for outrage? Because that's the only realistic alternative in this election. We have two horrible candidates running. If you don't see that and hurl epithets at people who make a different choice from you, the problem is with you.

    • by AHuxley ( 892839 )
      A third way.
      Limit your US staff to a legal, branding and PR role only. Have just enough US staff to keep the US gov happy.
      Lawyers to ensure complacence and keep political donations flowing. Former US gov workers with clearances to keep PRISM like networks compliant.
      PR kept in house to ensure good optics at every public event, the happy, well arranged images for social media.
      Move all long term design work well away from the USA to nations that offer merit based academic advancement. Build your real c
  • "We can't create a culture that says it cares about diversity and then excludes almost half the country because they back a political candidate,"

    When Brendan Eich was ousted from Mozilla [usatoday.com], it was for his private backing of California Proposition 8 [wikipedia.org], which won the backing of over 52% of California voters. By the hateful logic of Mr. Eich's detractors, the entire State of California should've been boycotted by the freedom-loving web-sites until the State purged their thought-criminals.

    Where Mr. Zuckerberg stood on that boycott is unclear, but the words he is preaching now, should've been uttered then.

    • "We can't create a culture that says it cares about diversity and then excludes almost half the country because they back a political candidate,"

      When Brendan Eich was ousted from Mozilla [usatoday.com], it was for his private backing of California Proposition 8 [wikipedia.org], which won the backing of over 52% of California voters. By the hateful logic of Mr. Eich's detractors, the entire State of California should've been boycotted by the freedom-loving web-sites until the State purged their thought-criminals.

      Yeah, but that would come with an actual *cost*. In the same way, they should quit using Eich's work, particularly the javascript language.

      Remember, SJWs will do everything as long as it doesn't inconvenience them personally in any way.

    • Eich publicly supported Proposition 8, and donated a large sum of money, all to deny certain people the right to marry the ones they loved. He was a bad cultural fit for Mozilla.

  • They love diversity so much they'd buddy up to Pol Pot, if he was still alive.

    • Choosing not to punish someone on the payroll who supports a controversial candidate == befriending a blood thirsty dictator. Alrighty then.
  • by sootman ( 158191 )

    Nice backhanded compliment: "There are many reasons a person might support Trump that do not involve racism, sexism, xenophobia, or accepting sexual assault."

    The age-old question: if you claim to be inclusive, do you have to include people who exclude others?

    Similar to "what happens to 'alternative' when it becomes mainstream?"

  • "There are many reasons a person might support Trump that do not involve racism, sexism, xenophobia, or accepting sexual assault."

    That may be, but those are my personal favorites!!!

  • by shutdown -p now ( 807394 ) on Friday October 21, 2016 @02:16AM (#53120465) Journal

    Looking at all the "5, Insightful" comments - did I miss something? Has /. been taken over by 4chan redpillers lately?

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