- One source from 30 years ago where Thiel said that the moral issues of apartheid were irrelevant to their economy. He did not say "apartheid is good", he just said it didn't matter to their economy. I wouldn't agree with that statement, but even more important, I would make the link "Thiel thinks apartheid is good".
- The first source has the standard "this has been a lump in my throat for 30 years". Thiel has been in the media for far longer than that, so I guess it's just a coincidence this was timed during the Trump campaign.
- The second source seem irrelevant. She simply says Thiel said "morality and governments shouldn't be connected". Hardly a statement in support of apartheid.
- Note both sources are from individuals who had separate conversations about hot political issues 30 years ago. I have no doubt they were upset, but again that doesn't mean Thiel supports apartheid and he has already stated he doesn't.
I'm not really surprised by the article because politics in the US has become a "win at all costs" and "score points whenever you can" game. Rationale, logical discourse is gone. It's all about how many negative sound bits you can get and how many people believe them.
If this is the worst they can dig up about Thiel (30 years ago), he's got a cleaner record than most people in politics.
Don't get me wrong - I'm a huge fan of NPR.[1] However, it's a problem when one uncritically accepts what they say. Many are predisposed to disliking him since his support for Trump, and so they lower their standards when it comes to pieces like this.
[1] Kind of sad that I feel I have to put this disclaimer.
2. He didn't say rape is made up! Certainly in theory rape can be either too broadly defined or too narrowly defined. Have certain situations moved toward too broad a definition? Thiel thinks so.
I have no idea if rape has or hasn't been too broadly defined, but seems a reasonable enough position to be part of the discussion.
My understanding of the apartheid thing was he said something in college that someone else heard and remembered for many years. I think that 1. People say stupid stuff in college, and 2. Thiel could have easily said something in an exploratory philosophical kind of way without fully believing it.
He has denied the apartheid comments and apologized for the rape comments. I'm not saying this should get him off scot-free, it just seemed important to note that he doesn't currently say these things, publicly at least.
(They also publish opinion pieces from other positions/ideologies, but that's a part of the whole liberal free market of ideas thing.)
The newspaper's reputation as a platform for liberal and
left-wing editorial has led to the use of the "Guardian
reader" and "Guardianista" as often (but not always)
pejorative epithets for those of left-leaning or
politically correct tendencies.
Are you disputing the quotations attributed to Thiel in the reporting? No, you don't seem to be.
You asked for examples of toxic viewpoints held by Thiel, someone delivered, and you plugged your fingers in your ears and said "lol facts don't matter". Don't be that guy.
Now, he may well be a white supremacist (although I haven't heard any complaints from his Jewish cofounders, FWIW), but these do not prove it at all.