Most Cities Would Welcome a Tech Billionaire, But Peter Thiel? (bloomberg.com)

Sarah McBride, writing for Bloomberg: Tech billionaire Peter Thiel is moving to Los Angeles from San Francisco, adding another dose of legitimacy to a burgeoning startup scene in Southern California -- along with some controversy. The co-founder of PayPal and an early investor in Facebook, Thiel runs Founders Fund, one of the more-respected venture capital firms in Silicon Valley. He comes with a little baggage, though, including his staunch support for President Donald Trump, his secretive funding of the legal battle between Hulk Hogan and Gawker.com, and comments some people say have been derogatory toward women. "I'm not sure why Peter Thiel believes he'll receive a warmer reception on the L.A. tech scene than he's had in Silicon Valley," said Tracy DiNunzio, chief executive officer of Tradesy, a fashion-reselling company based in Santa Monica, California. "Our venture and startup ecosystem is fairly left-leaning."

Comments

Why do his politics matter?

[Ritz_Just_Ritz]

If you're a startup and you need funding and you've got a demonstrably astute tech investor with a deep rolodex and sacks of money to invest, why do you care who he votes for?

I certainly wouldn't.

This politicization of every aspect of life is way out of hand.

Re:Why do his politics matter?

[Anonymous Coward]

The anti-Gawker lawsuit? You mean the one concerning whether or not it is okay to publish someone's private sex tape after a judge had ordered it to be taken down? That anti-Gawker lawsuit?

I don't know anything about the guy's politics, but that one sounds about right to me.

Re:Why do his politics matter?

[Solandri]

So 25 years ago when GLBT people were still seen as "queer" by the majority, you would've been OK with businesses shunning people who were overtly pro-GLBT?

70 years ago when interracial marriages were frowned upon by the majority, you would've been OK with businesses shunning interracial couples?

100 years ago when women didn't have the right to vote, you would've been OK with businesses shunning people who thought women should be able to vote?

160 years ago when slavery was the norm in half the country, you would've been OK with businesses shunning anyone advocating freeing the slaves?

See, the problem with basing acceptance on what's deemed "normal" by the masses is that "normal" changes over time. People are fickle, and tend to follow what's popular, not necessarily what's right. What's normal today won't be what's normal 25, 50, 100 years from now.

Democracy's strength doesn't come from the majority imposing its will upon the minority. Its strength comes from allowing a wide variety of viewpoints to coexist. That allows it to find and take advantage of better ideas more quickly. Other systems of government may not even consider that idea because they've suppressed and subjugated the minority who would've brought it up for consideration. Minorities like people who were anti-slavery in the early 1800s, pro women's suffrage in the late 1800s, for racial integration in the first half of the 20th century, and opposed to discrimination against GLBT people in the second half of the 20th century.

Democracy's strength comes from preserving that minority, even if you disagree with it. Especially if you disagree with it. If democracy hadn't protected people with those ideas when they were unpopular, those reforms never would've happened. That's why we don't discriminate against people based on how they voted (secret ballot), or their political opinions, or their religious views, or their race, or gender, or a myriad of other things which simply aren't relevant to running a business. Sure if you don't like that racist, you don't have to go camping with him. But discriminating against people in an activity which is completely orthogonal to the reason you dislike them - that is destroying the fundamental basis of democracy.

The whole point of democracy is protecting and preserving people's right to disagree. Advocating discrimination against people who hold a different opinion than yours, for no other reason than because they hold a different opinion, makes you a bigot. What, you thought that term only applied to racists? Perhaps you should look up its definition in the dictionary. Take away the right to disagree (while still living a normal life) and you've gutted democracy.

Tolerance doesn't mean accepting only people who hold the same beliefs you do. It means accepting and coexisting with and even defending people who hold different beliefs than you do.

"'I disapprove of what you say, but I will defend to the death your right to say it." - Evelyn Beatrice Hall

The real reason

[u19925]

The real reason why he wants to move out of Silicon Valley is that he can't afford housing in this area. All others are just excuses.