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This is an entirely legitimate concern.

We're not meant to sit here stroking our chins and purring about the good deeds of our favorite companies. YC has an incredible position in Silicon Valley, built over a decade with the help and influence of people like us.

To whom much is given, much is required. I'm glad YC is helping ACLU out this winter. But ACLU took in more money in 1 day last week than NILC, the National Immigration Law Center, spends in a year. After they get done patting themselves on the back for the ACLU win, they should start figuring out how to help the smaller organizations that don't have ACLU's built-in advantages.

We're not here to feel sympathy for Y Combinator or Sam Altman. Most of us will never meet any of these people and, candidly, can't fathom the amount of financial success and security their position has brought them. More power to them! But they exist to us as abstractions, and rightly so, and any pressure we can bring to bear to more fully enlist them in the cause of shoring up our institutions and the rule of law is legitimate.

Push harder. Thanks for that comment.




I am not comfortable having big companies as the protectors of civil liberties, but I'd rather have them fighting for freedom than against.


I'm not saying that we should be unhappy about this, just that nobody should apologize for putting more pressure on YC. Their karmic debt is enormous.


No argument here, but...

> But ACLU took in more money in 1 day last week than NILC, the National Immigration Law Center, spends in a year.

On the bright side, NILC's national budget went from $5.5MM to $7.5MM in the past few months thanks to increased donations.


Thanks.




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