What People Think You Can’t Say in Silicon Valley
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Re: What People Think You Can’t Say in Silicon Valley
#2Are you allowed to discuss income equality for male porn actors? Or is that taboo?
Re: What People Think You Can’t Say in Silicon Valley
#3So basically people with opinions on both extremes feel marginalized and unheard. I guess that's maybe a message to consider a more nuanced position.
Re: What People Think You Can’t Say in Silicon Valley
#4I read through the list.
My only comment is that if you cannot discuss an idea then the idea cannot evolve, and you probably won't change your mind.
Maybe the problem is not oppression of ideas, but the lack of a discussion culture which can tolerate a wider spectrum of ideas for the sake of debunking some of them.
Re: What People Think You Can’t Say in Silicon Valley
#5SV has championed a super toxic, toe-the-liberal-line-question-nothing atmosphere in the workplace for years now. The damage is done.
You'd have to be a total fool to bring up any of the non-left-wing, yet totally valid comments on that post in a tech workplace in 2017.
Re: What People Think You Can’t Say in Silicon Valley
#6It seems regardless of one’s viewpoint, there is a strong reluctance to digging deeper to examine the roots of one’s beliefs.
A lot of these people might not believe what they believe if they were to attempt to justify their beliefs in a rigorous and intellectually honest way.
Re: What People Think You Can’t Say in Silicon Valley
#7I can think of one taboo opinion - supporting prop 8. Results - being fired. Also it was made effective with back date. The firing of Brendan Eich was as chilling effect as possible.
In the current climate you could get a pitchfork mob after you extremely easy for even stuff perceived as homophobic - as the recent suicide of August Ames showed.
Re: What People Think You Can’t Say in Silicon Valley
#8"Silicon Valley" is a workplace, and it's generally considered rude to bring your political views into the workplace. Everyone has met the very passionate on both the left and the right, and having someone stand outside your cube or in the lunch line trying to "win" you over to their view just isn't conducive to getting your work done and making money.
Re: What People Think You Can’t Say in Silicon Valley
#9It's funny, I don't see it on the list but by far the biggest taboo in SV in my experience is talking about things going badly. You're doing great, killing it even, or you should keep it to yourself.
Re: What People Think You Can’t Say in Silicon Valley
#10I read through the list. My only comment is that if you cannot discuss an idea then the idea cannot evolve, and you probably won't change your mind. Maybe the problem is not oppression of ideas, but the lack of a discussion culture which can tolerate a wider spectrum of ideas for the sake of debunking some of them.
I think this is key.
In the south (and other places) you're more apt to spot people who have deep bias against people for intrinsic things - in the North (including CA, and Northwest) those ideas are so completely unacceptable, that those people never get called out on them.