Cliff Asness, AQR Founder and Libertarian Firebrand, Tells Staff That ‘Black Lives Matter’

Outspoken AQR Capital Management co-founder Cliff Asness is not one for holding his tongue. Following the murder of George Floyd more than two weeks ago, he penned a 549-word email to the firm’s 800 employees supporting the Black Lives Matter movement that亚博赞助欧冠has obtained.

“The phrase ‘Black Lives Matter’ does not mean ‘matter more’ rather it is meant to raise awareness that to society today they still don’t matter enough. We must all change that,” he wrote.

ASINGS., who calls himself a “life-long libertarian,” also took aim at the state, which he finds “abhorrent, ” as he decried the police action of “wantonly taking the life of a citizen. The state, with its incredible power, must be held to the highest standard and we have just seen its lowest action.”

Here is the full text of the memo, titled “A personal note during trying times,” which was sent June 2 with an importance noted “high.”

亲爱的同事，

The tragic events that have recently unfolded, in the midst of a global pandemic no less, are unimaginably senseless and deeply distressing. All Americans are struggling to make sense of them.

Speaking personally, as a life-long libertarian (an ethos currently derided by hyper-partisans of all stripes!), there is nothing more abhorrent to me than the state, in this case through one of its representatives, callously and wantonly taking the life of a citizen. The state, with its incredible power, must be held to the highest standard and we have just seen its lowest action. Perhaps the only thing that can make it even more abhorrent is when such an act is motivated by bias and hate. Racism is truly the lowest, meanest, and most despicable form of collectivism.

虽然这是一个明显的真实性，即“所有生活都很重要”，也是完全错过了这一点，有时会肆无忌惮地肆虐。“黑人生活”这句话并不意味着“更多”，而是为了提高对社会的认识，他们今天仍然无所谓。我们必须改变这一点。我们需要听到美国人的言论，真正试图了解许多人正在经历的痛苦，而不仅仅是来回喊口号。

Of course, while peaceful protest is the most American thing I can imagine, violent protest and looting, often injuring innocents, is the opposite. Observing this unfold nightly only adds to the pain of the original horrific injustice. Peaceful protest must be protected, even encouraged. Violent protest and economic opportunism at the expense of innocents must be stopped before we destroy our own communities. That these two ideas, encouraging peaceful yet preventing violent protest, feel mutually exclusive to some is sad.

这些事件的经验深刻是个人的，我们每个人都以不同的方式影响。然而，我希望AQR社区的单位是我们彼此拥有的尊重，同理心和支持。我们每个人都应该受到尊严和尊重的待遇。请帮助我们保持这种精神的心灵，特别是现在，在AQR中以及我们所有人的对待世界。

As a firm, we remain resolute in our commitment to diversity and inclusion and stand against racism of any kind. It is our mission to foster a culture of respect, and an environment that gives every employee a sense of belonging rooted in truth. Though we are not all together physically, we encourage each of you to reach out to colleagues and friends, to foster understanding, to participate in our firmwide networks, to listen to each other, and to continue to give back to your communities as I know you already do.

我们仍然可以在一起的同时分开。

Thank you for living these values every day and for carrying this vision forward. As our country works through these social and economic challenges, though that seems too mild a word for what we’ve witnessed, we must come together in unity and be part of the solution working towards peace and justice for all.

And I can end, with no contradiction to the value we should, and must, place on all lives by saying Black Lives Matter. We all need to live up to those words.

Cliff