I don't think this is really saying anything at all, other than to drum up a negative association (or positive, depending on how you look at it). Thiel is not involved with YC-backed ACLU, just as he is not involved with the YC-backed company I work at.<p>Business is as business does. Sam Altman has stated he is not going to cut ties with Thiel over political issues [1]. At their level of influence, doing so burns bridges unnecessarily, and sends a clear message that polarization and bubble-creating is OK, and its not. YC wants to set a good example for the tech community by influencing the world in a positive way (e.g. ACLU) and not in a negative, spiteful way (dropping Thiel).<p><a href="http://www.recode.net/2016/10/16/13302120/y-combinator-sam-altman-peter-thiel-donald-trump" rel="nofollow">http://www.recode.net/2016/10/16/13302120/y-combinator-sam-a...</a>
So he's never been a partner and doesn't work "very closely with the companies." Yet he's still affiliated with YC?<p>Actions speak louder than words: drop him or acknowledge that YC at some level acknowledges his views (this isn't bad, or good, just something that should be done in my view).<p>Even something as simple as "we acknowledge that people have differing political views, yadda yadda... would be sufficient).<p>Why say anything about him? Well, clearly he's the elephant in the room. They should acknowledge this and move on.
> “He is not a partner,” Manalac said. “He never has been. We have 19 full-time partners who work very closely with the companies.” She went on to say that she “can understand why people would be very scared and nervous about that but he will definitely have no interaction with the ACLU.<p>So why not cut ties already? If Thiel isn't involved anymore, and he's working with the Trump administration, why doesn't he resign his partnership and move on?
Sorry if negative, but I like my tech companies pushing their political agendas on me, as much as I like Hollywood stars doing it.<p>I'm sure they're all good guys, but now that the Prez has proven you can get elected as a billionaire non-politician it took about 45 seconds to start hearing about candidate Zuck.<p>Would argue, the Hacker way is to be skeptical of all of it.
I think people vastly overestimate how much ideology matters once you get past a certain net worth. At that point, they're all in it for the same reasons<p><i>cue the picture of the Clintons laughing at Trump's wedding</i>
I imagine Peter Thiel is on a small list of people that could leave YC and start an incubator on par. Probably best to keep him around.<p>p.s. We also never know how many individuals at YC personally hold views closer aligned with thiel or with sama or somewhere else completely who don't make a statement because they're not as bold / don't want to stick their name out.
Does Peter Thiel still consider himself a libertarian? I just can't imagine how Trump's positions on immigration can be justified on libertarian grounds.
It's a worrying trend that tech and Silicon Valley are increasingly politicizing. Excepting direct regulations, I'd like to keep business and politics separate.
This is reaching the point of parody.<p>Imagine saying about your partner that you "can understand why people would be very scared and nervous about [him] ... and then keeping him.
Whatever sincere doubts and supposed nuances may have lead YC to continue to tolerate Thiel's presence before Trump took power, there can be no more doubts today.<p>An organization that associates itself with both the ACLU and a fascist regime lacks any kind of credibility. This reeks of PR driven opportunism.