Omaha man ‘liked’ a tweet, then lost his job • Hacker News Board

Re: Omaha man ‘liked’ a tweet, then lost his job

#161

Post by nostrademons » Sat, Mar 24, 2018, 2:57 AM UTC

garmaine wrote: post #116

mirimir wrote: post #66

Earlier quoted context omitted.

There are activists who argue that all of the southwestern US should be returned to Mexico. And indeed, the idea generally isn't that unpopular in Mexico. For what that's worth.

Californian here. Why would that be “offensive”?

Relevant PG essay:

http://www.paulgraham.com/say.html

"The statements that make people mad are the ones they worry might be believed."

At present, the idea that California might be returned to Mexico or that all non-native-Americans might be kicked out of America is sufficiently ridiculous that nobody will take you seriously. Thus, there's no reason to get offended. You can say whatever you want, you're just a nutcase.

That China gets mad whenever you suggest that Tibet become its own country or when you mention Tiananmen Square indicates that it worries its citizens might actually take you seriously...

Re: Omaha man ‘liked’ a tweet, then lost his job

#162

Post by ggg9990 » Sat, Mar 24, 2018, 2:57 AM UTC

Please give me a trade war with China. I’ll pay $5000 for a TV and $2000 for an iPhone if it means we can stick it to those shitstains.

Re: Omaha man ‘liked’ a tweet, then lost his job

#163

Post by fouc » Sat, Mar 24, 2018, 2:57 AM UTC

ixacto wrote: post #149

JPKab wrote: post #62

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It gets abused for sure, but more often, businesses get to fire bad employees, and this means they are more likely to give some people a chance who wouldn't get one otherwise. Hiring in certain countries is very risky, because it is so costly to fire a bad employee.

Bullshit. It is 100% advantage for the employee. Another employee and myself got laid off with 2 days notice from my former employer when they decided they were going to try to use less people. This is really annoying since I now am working as a temp for 6mo until I'm hired at another company and have to pay $400/mo out of pocket for insurance. This is in the biotech industry not the tech industry, maybe things are b…

you mean for the employer?

Re: Omaha man ‘liked’ a tweet, then lost his job

#164

Post by realusername » Sat, Mar 24, 2018, 2:58 AM UTC

banned1 wrote: post #70

JPKab wrote: post #62

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It gets abused for sure, but more often, businesses get to fire bad employees, and this means they are more likely to give some people a chance who wouldn't get one otherwise. Hiring in certain countries is very risky, because it is so costly to fire a bad employee.

Which is why many companies don’t hire many people in France http://www.nortonrosefulbright.com/knowledge/publications/14...

From what I've discussed with a lot of small businesses in France, workers-friendly laws are not an obstacle at all and unlike what you can see in the news, it plays almost no part in hiring (the laws are actually very reasonable and it all makes sense). The main obstacle is by far the high taxes.

Re: Omaha man ‘liked’ a tweet, then lost his job

#165

Post by jdironman » Sat, Mar 24, 2018, 3:01 AM UTC

My father was 'Rookie of the Year' in 1988 for Marriott hotels. He got to take my mother to an actual grand ball at the time for their ceremonies, crystal chandelier and all. He was only a cook at the time but an exceptionally hard worker who really stood out. He worked two jobs at the time. One being at Marriott hotels, and the other cleaning a whole Kroger's floor by himself. 20 something thousand square feet, swept, mopped, buffed, and shined single-handed after a full shift at Marriott. For some reason this story stood out to me. The world these days is sometimes too connected for its own good that it forgets to relate to the individual.

Re: Omaha man ‘liked’ a tweet, then lost his job

#166

Post by musage » Sat, Mar 24, 2018, 3:01 AM UTC

letslightafire wrote: post #99

thisacctforreal wrote: post #81

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Cute, but for anyone who thinks China and the US are similar, please research the persecution of Falun Gong. Here's some heavily sarcastic coverage: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T_cURws4UaY

China Uncensored is a horribly biased news site which is funded by the Falun Gong. Not saying that China's treatment of Falun Gong isn't terrible but China Uncensored is a pretty bad news source. I'd put it akin to some fake news sites.

> Not saying that China's treatment of Falun Gong isn't terrible

Then what that is actually relevant here are you saying?

I'm not a racist, but. Not saying that China's treatment of Falun Gong isn't terrible, but.

Re: Omaha man ‘liked’ a tweet, then lost his job

#167

Post by greglindahl » Sat, Mar 24, 2018, 3:03 AM UTC

John_KZ wrote: post #156

banned1 wrote: post #70

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Which is why many companies don’t hire many people in France http://www.nortonrosefulbright.com/knowledge/publications/14...

This is also why people in France have stable, long-term jobs, instead of being fired by Wallmart every 6 months due to some war veteran scheme that allows them to save 0.1% on employee salaries. In this particular case, if the man wasn't trained appropriately to handle international PR while doing so, the wrongdoing lies with the company. The article itself seems to adopt a certain attitude that I really dislike. Fo…

A lot of young people in France are on short-term contracts, precisely because long-term employees are hard to fire.

Imagine that you are a startup in France, with long-term employees, and suddenly you realize you screwed up, and you have to cut your expenses in half. Today, that means your startup is dead and all employees are screwed, but in the US, your startup continues with a much lower valuation. Which is better for the worker? There is no right answer, but in France, there's a startup-killing answer.

Re: Omaha man ‘liked’ a tweet, then lost his job

#168

Post by cinquemb » Sat, Mar 24, 2018, 3:05 AM UTC

ucarion wrote: post #137

chrischen wrote: post #56

Earlier quoted context omitted.

That depends if you think some Americans would be offended if you claimed Hawaii was its own country. It was also invaded and then forcibly gentrified and colonized. That's not to even mention the entirety of the United States. It's not so much if China has legitimate claims on Tibet so much as it's the pot calling the kettle black. The greatest conquerer on Earth and its modern beneficiaries telling another country…

The government of the United States does not demand that mainland China relinquish control of Tibet. Nor does the USA insist on censoring mainland controversies or on punishing foreigners who say inconvenient things. This difference is essential. You are free to criticize America. People, including politicians, regularly do so. China, despite claiming to be a strong, ascendant power, is remarkably sensitive when it c…

>or on punishing foreigners who say inconvenient things

I wonder how many people are/will be affected by current DHS policy…[0].

Also like another comment here said, with the passage of the CLOUD act (which mostly legalizes behavior that of which was already being engaged in), the US can get foreign powers to act on their behalf if they so choose.

As an US citizen who has been living abroad for almost two years now, I'm not here to point out equivalencies, but state that technology will be leveraged by those who see fit regardless of the country or if one believes in their "foremost defender of the modern rules-based order".

>This difference is essential.

Only if one believes it to be so (and I suspect many people do), though the ones who seem to suffer most will be the poor and the marginalized, and will continue to be so long after when the war drums eventually stop and the battles breakout…

[0] https://papersplease.org/wp/2018/01/05/new-dhs-policy-on-dem...

Re: Omaha man ‘liked’ a tweet, then lost his job

#169

Post by greglindahl » Sat, Mar 24, 2018, 3:05 AM UTC

realusername wrote: post #164

banned1 wrote: post #70

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Which is why many companies don’t hire many people in France http://www.nortonrosefulbright.com/knowledge/publications/14...

From what I've discussed with a lot of small businesses in France, workers-friendly laws are not an obstacle at all and unlike what you can see in the news, it plays almost no part in hiring (the laws are actually very reasonable and it all makes sense). The main obstacle is by far the high taxes.

You might want to also talk to small businesses in France that deal with with unexpected setbacks -- from what I have observed, this usually ends up with a dead startup.

Re: Omaha man ‘liked’ a tweet, then lost his job

#170

Post by tinza123 » Sat, Mar 24, 2018, 3:05 AM UTC

intopieces wrote: post #25

Even if it wasn't an accident -- even if he saw the Tweet, and on behalf of Marriott and in full intention of broadcasting such, he clicked "Like" on this tweet, it's completely insane he would be fired for it. The tweet exhibits a positive sentiment. I would not expect most people to know that this sentiment matters to China. This is another example of China exerting influence on the open web, and it's shameful that…

It is not that hard to imagine being fired by "clicking" likes, let's not oversimplify like this. Official tweeter accounts carry weights. Plus this is not about China at all, what if this is a Nazi tweet? An ISIS tweet? An anti-LGBT tweet? It's either the company's way of dealing with PR problems, or the employee's misconduct, but not about China.