Hacker News Board Hacker News, browsed like a classic message board
Live data from Hacker News

Some Facebook Employees Unite to Challenge Its ‘Intolerant’ Liberal Culture

nytimes.com

Post reply on HN
Print view View original

181–190 of 728 posts

Re: Some Facebook Employees Unite to Challenge Its ‘Intolerant’ Liberal Culture

#181

Post by kronin »

jmeyer2k wrote: post #132
_8j50 wrote: post #84

Worked across very liberal and very conservative places in tech. Neither is pleasant. In my opinion, the American self-image and self-worth largely characterized by subscription to a political ideology is the problem. What bothers me is not dress codes,free meals,open offices,etc... But the very idea that a company would display or promote politics in the work place. Why are companies promoting "pride",donating to tr…

Gay/LGBTQ rights and tolerance in the workplace is way different than donating to Trump. I understand if you don't think a company should support a political party, but LGBTQ/gay tolerance meetings don't fall into that category. If you put this into the context of some other progressive social movement such as giving women equal opportunity to men, it makes more sense. A company would not be out of line giving semina…

"tolerance" swings both ways. Unless you choose to be intolerant.

The majority of people who spout tolerance and acceptance at me are the least tolerant and acceptant of other beliefs.

Re: Some Facebook Employees Unite to Challenge Its ‘Intolerant’ Liberal Culture

#182

Post by some1else »

manfredo wrote: post #140
some1else wrote: post #111

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Views are free to be had, and command no respect whatsoever. I respect criticism of any human rights violation, the rest of the list doesn't pertain to me. I support the freedom of people to have those views, but also welcome the prudent choice of restricting the ability to utilize the most powerful medium of our time to spread hatred. Hate all you like, but you don't get the platform on the count of first amendment.…

Sure, not all views command respect, but would you actually fire an employee if a co-worker showed you records of a campaign distribution to Trump? Or if they showed you a post criticizing a Saudi cleric's views of women's rights or LGBT rights? This memo isn't about what Facebook allows on it's platforms it's about policing the views of it's employees.

The way I read the article is that HR told the complainers that everyone is entitled to their opinion.

On the other hand, how many Marxsists are hired into Wall Street companies, and what is their sway on the company culture?

Re: Some Facebook Employees Unite to Challenge Its ‘Intolerant’ Liberal Culture

#183

Post by gameswithgo »

paulcole wrote: post #120
_8j50 wrote: post #84

Worked across very liberal and very conservative places in tech. Neither is pleasant. In my opinion, the American self-image and self-worth largely characterized by subscription to a political ideology is the problem. What bothers me is not dress codes,free meals,open offices,etc... But the very idea that a company would display or promote politics in the work place. Why are companies promoting "pride",donating to tr…

If my coworker doesn’t believe I have a right to not die from a chronic illness, thinks I shouldn’t have the right to get married, or thinks less of someone because of the color of their skin, then I don’t respect them as a coworker or a human being.

That this is downvoted here is really a depressing thing. Does hackernews actually represent the average, highly educated tech professional? If so we are in for a very bad time.

Re: Some Facebook Employees Unite to Challenge Its ‘Intolerant’ Liberal Culture

#184

Post by manfredo »

landryraccoon wrote: post #157
manfredo wrote: post #30

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The following views were listed on the memo: * Support of President Trump (e.g. Thiel's and Palmer Lucky's campaign contributions) * "All lives matter" * Criticism of Islam's human rights record. * Calling the company's art politically radical . Which, if any, of these views don't deserve respect?

I'm genuinely curious what "All lives matter" stands for except for being opposed to the idea that "Black lives matter". There's a key difference here - "Black lives matter" attempts to point out that there is discrimination in law enforcement that seems to single out minorities. Correcting this discrimination would be good. What policy change does "All lives matter" advocate? Do those policy changes indeed benefit "…

One could argue that "black lives matter" is exclusory to all other races. "All lives matter" is often meant as a means to include the rest of the population (and thus, have better chances of creating change). It's viable to argue that sticking with the former is worth the exclusive rhetoric because Black people suffer disproportionately. But the notion of actually _firing_ someone over using "all lives matter" as the memo alleges seems absolutely insane.

Re: Some Facebook Employees Unite to Challenge Its ‘Intolerant’ Liberal Culture

#185

Post by _8j50 »

gameswithgo wrote: post #166
_8j50 wrote: post #148

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Why is disrespecting or demeaning a coworker for any reason allowed? If I disrespect you because your haircut is unfashionable,would that be ok? If the meeting was about supporting neo-nazis ,would that not be saying the conmpany tolerates neo-nazis and does not welcome those who hate neo-nazism? Yet, you should respect your neo-nazi coworker,even if you were not told so.

It seems there are many valid reasons to disrespect a coworker, and being a neo-nazi is one of them. You cannot hide a violent philosophy behind a shield of "it is my beliefs". None of us shall ever accept it. If it becomes the law that I must accept neo nazis, I still will not.

No,they are your coworker. Period. They're not your friend. They are not promoting neo-nazi beliefs at work or direspecting other coworkers,what business of yours is their neo-nazi activity? Peace has a price.

Re: Some Facebook Employees Unite to Challenge Its ‘Intolerant’ Liberal Culture

#186

Post by h4b4n3r0 »

austinheap wrote: post #95
saudioger wrote: post #48

Kind of moot considering how hard Zuckerberg stanned for Peter Thiel. How much was that Palmer Luckey payout? I'd argue that if you're working for Facebook you're kind of superficially liberal to begin with. Zuckerberg is only liberal until he has to worry about his bank account.

Right? I'm always super confused when people profess to know a super liberal Facebook. I've yet to hear/see an actual super liberal defend Facebook as such. It's just whatever conveniently fits the narrative at hand. Also...Oculus' Head of Computer Vision was busted in an underage prostitution ring after all the Palmer non-sense. Yay.

Oh they were defending it all right, when it gave the Obama campaign the complete US social graph, which helped Obama to secure his second term.

Re: Some Facebook Employees Unite to Challenge Its ‘Intolerant’ Liberal Culture

#187

Post by guipsp »

ericdykstra wrote: post #128
megaremote wrote: post #108

> Why are companies promoting "pride"...telling workers to attend 'lgbt tolerance' meetings,etc... Wth!!!! You ask this question, then answer it in your very next line. People don't respect everyone. They are intolerant.

If an employee is harassing or demeaning their coworker based on their beliefs, that's enough grounds to fire an employee. Is there any evidence that promoting "pride" and "lgbt tolerance" makes employees treat each other well in cases where they otherwise wouldn't have?

It would certainly ward off some employees that don't agree with the values being promoted (a good thing!).

Re: Some Facebook Employees Unite to Challenge Its ‘Intolerant’ Liberal Culture

#189

Post by taysic »

_8j50 wrote: post #163
austinheap wrote: post #127

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It's called corporate social responsibility. Companies advocate for their bottom line and their employees at the same time. As a gay dude that grew up in Ohio -- and had people yell "fag" when I got my diploma at graduation -- I'm beyond happy that the next generation of LGBTQ engineers won't grow up with the same level of hate I experienced. The arc of moral justice is only bent when force is applied.

You only say that because it's convenient for you. You would not like it one bit at the conservative places I worked at. It really is a two way street and u-turns are allowed.

This is an important question - how much personalization is ok within a workplace? I am grateful I've worked in really professional environments - nothing overtly political or anything. It might have been a bit bland, but honestly it helped us stay focused on the work.

Re: Some Facebook Employees Unite to Challenge Its ‘Intolerant’ Liberal Culture

#190

Post by euroclydon »

tptacek wrote: post #169
euroclydon wrote: post #139

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I associate unions with homogenized labor, stratus of equivalent positions, but we’re all too unique 10x butterflies for that. I mean, what part of your career arc would have been better served in a unionized environment?

Who says it has to be an according-to-Hoyle union? The NLRA covers all concerted organized action. Start a professional association. The doctors and lawyers have them. We don't get one? Why?

That’s interesting. I figure we’re more like PEs than MDs or JDs.
Post reply on HN