Kalanick faced pressure not just from consumers #DeletingUber, but from his own team. Uber is locked in bitter competition for talent with a bunch of smart, well-funded Silicon Valley companies all of whom offer fun challenges and comparable compensation packages. Talent in the valley is overwhelmingly concerned by Trump and in opposition to racist immigration bans, war in Asia, and pretty much the rest of the Trump issue portfolio.

I'm glad to see Kalanick distancing himself from Trump. But we should look at things like this not as a hopeful sign that Silicon Valley leadership is growing a conscience, but that it's ultimately responsive to the focused desires of its rank-and-file employees, without which none of these companies can accomplish anything.

If we're looking to create change, we should keep laser-focused on what we can do as the real engines of growth that tech companies depend on. We should look at things like Kalanick buckling as an indication that the pressure we can bring to bear works. And we should look for more ways to focus that pressure uncomfortably on our employers to ensure that none of us end up looking back 10 years from now and realizing we were culpable for something horrible that we could have avoided.