Oh i agree on that. Just like i can say he isnt really making an argument, just stating an opinion on a very simplistic base. Questioning peoples morales is always shaky ground. No one is just one thing.

> I think you are mixing things, Democracy does not give anyone the right to be liked even when they say awful stuff ... support[ing shameful things/people] at such scale is shameful too.

I have some sympathy for both perspectives (Marco's and Altman's), and I have a great dislike of Trump, but ultimately this leads to some very difficult questions related to the intersection of public and private life, and how the same intersection could and should affect (or not) employment, eligibility–recognition (e.g. for scholarships, invitations to speak, awards, public office, etc.) and other junctions of persons and institutions.

Without intending (at any level, in this context) to dive into some of the issues I'll mention shortly, I want to consider the implications from a personal angle. The Catholic Faith is important to me, and I consider it an obligation – as occasions arise – to be something of an apologist for any/all of the Catholic Church's teachings, no matter how unpopular: on contraception, abortion, the nature of marriage, sexual morality, and so on. I have, do, and will speak and write publicly about those things. I have been and will likely continue – on occasion – to be chastised for doing so. I get no enjoyment from vitriol, but as I said, I think I have a moral obligation to speak up.

So, in a society that largely rejects such teachings, what should the consequences be for my publicly defending and promoting those beliefs? Is it desirable that (if not now, eventually) I should not be able to be gainfully employed among, say, the mainstream tech crowd? If I were launching a startup, should my venture be disqualified from funding by VCs or other investors that learn of my views and public defense–promotion of the same? Should I be disallowed to speak at popular tech conferences if I applied to do so? Should the answers to those questions be different if the way I go about my unpopular activities is devoid of personal attacks and discourtesy (i.e. shown to individuals with whom I have disagreements in public or private).

The reason I've made this so personal is because I've actually worried, a bit, about these matters in recent years. I've wondered too, if I have children, and if they follow in my footsteps in these matters (I hope they would), what would be the consequences for them?

But the personal angle is really just for perspective. More broadly, how should our society treat those with unpopular views (even very unpopular ones)? I suppose one might judge that exclusion–rejection at the level of affecting quality of life and participation in "the mainstream" might be a deterrent to such views or might even "cleanse" them from individuals and communities. But where does it stop, and what does it mean if tolerance convulses into its opposite? I worry we're only headed toward a deeper fracturing of our society and ideological ghettoization. I don't think that will make our society stronger; no, quite the opposite.

`Supporting` someone who supports Trump? You do realize he's not their employee, he's wealthy, and most certainly wouldn't change his mind if YC or all of you disagreed with him, right?

This is all political/"moral outrage" theater.

Right, since that can't possibly be the point, then the point is to demonstrate moral outrage at someone's political position by proxy of YC?