Google cancels TGIF weekly all-hands meetings • Hacker News Board

Re: Google cancels TGIF weekly all-hands meetings

#111

Post by ThrowawayR2 » Fri, Nov 15, 2019, 9:15 PM UTC

umeshunni wrote: post #84

bitwize wrote: post #35

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I worked there as a contractor in 2014, well before the Damore flap, and while it wasn't as overt as it is now, I could certainly taste it in the air.

[flagged]

As an old school liberal, it pains me to see these activists described as "liberal". They don't even believe in freedom of speech for pity's sake, formerly a hallmark of being far right.

Call them progressives, call them identity politics advocates, but whatever they are, they are not liberals. Don't lump us in with them.

Re: Google cancels TGIF weekly all-hands meetings

#112

Post by Animats » Fri, Nov 15, 2019, 9:15 PM UTC

malvosenior wrote: post #5

I wonder if companies like Google and GitHub that actively courted activists are now regretting their decision. For a long time it was common knowledge that you would try to keep stuff like that out of the workplace. The past 10 years have been an about face to that strategy and now we're seeing more or less complete chaos internally at these previously pro-politics (some kinds of politics) workplaces. My guess is th…

Well, that's the price of expecting people to spend their whole life at work. If everybody knocks off at 5 and goes home, they can keep their politics at home. Google feeds 3 meals a day, and if you eat dinner at work, you're expected to return to work afterwards. They have lockers and showers at work. They'd have adult dorms if they could.

Re: Google cancels TGIF weekly all-hands meetings

#113

Post by golemiprague » Fri, Nov 15, 2019, 9:15 PM UTC

shadowgovt wrote: post #68

techie128 wrote: post #50

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Microsoft and Apple employees might care. However, workplace is not an appropriate forum to fight over politics or other non-work related topics. More importantly, it is important to maintain professionalism and focus on the job you've been hired to do. You can be an activist in your spare time. You may also not like your coworkers due to their political views but we live in a diverse world. Acknowledge that and work…

Some politics isn't work-related. Some is, especially when a company has 100,000 people. I think, perhaps, it is easy for people to forget that when some Googlers fought against the Dragonfly project, it's because they have friends and loved ones who are Chinese expats under threat from China's government (meanwhile, some Googlers are Chinese citizens). When some Googlers fought against project Maven, they were only…

I am sure some of them also have friends and family in the various American security forces who would have benefited from those projects, not to mention many other Americans protected by those security forces.

This is exactly the point, in a big company there are many people with various interests, if you want to lean to a certain political side you will always alienate a lot of people so better just to keep politics out of it as much as possible

Re: Google cancels TGIF weekly all-hands meetings

#114

Post by DoofusOfDeath » Fri, Nov 15, 2019, 9:15 PM UTC

darkwater wrote: post #77

techie128 wrote: post #55

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I think their diversity initiatives failed miserable. They created a monoculture that is violently intolerant of diverse viewpoints.

Yeah, absolutely! Poor little white straight men, nowadays you cannot find any of them working in Google. What a pity!

The GP talked about a diversity of viewpoints, but you're talking about diversity of race and sexual identity. At the very least, most persons don't consider race to be a viewpoint.

Re: Google cancels TGIF weekly all-hands meetings

#115

Post by manigandham » Fri, Nov 15, 2019, 9:16 PM UTC

euroPoor wrote: post #106

manigandham wrote: post #97

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The keyword there is "between". Google is a trillion dollar company and donates to lots of political causes all over the spectrum. We're talking about the internal politics which are clearly left-wing.

Sorry how is suppressing your right to organize in the workplace not internal politics?

Worker rights and working with the military and police are not left-vs-right politics.

Re: Google cancels TGIF weekly all-hands meetings

#116

Post by nkrisc » Fri, Nov 15, 2019, 9:16 PM UTC

techie128 wrote: post #50

paggle wrote: post #25

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You should consider Microsoft and Apple... employees there don't really care too much about these things

Microsoft and Apple employees might care. However, workplace is not an appropriate forum to fight over politics or other non-work related topics. More importantly, it is important to maintain professionalism and focus on the job you've been hired to do. You can be an activist in your spare time. You may also not like your coworkers due to their political views but we live in a diverse world. Acknowledge that and work…

It's also possible to like someone even if you don't like their views. There's one former coworker in particular that comes to mind whose views on politics made my eyes roll nearly to the back of my head, but he wasn't a bad person. He was still a decent guy with interesting hobbies who would probably be there for you if you needed him.

I find odious people in general hold a wide variety of beliefs across the entire political spectrum.

Re: Google cancels TGIF weekly all-hands meetings

#117

Post by narrator » Fri, Nov 15, 2019, 9:17 PM UTC

malvosenior wrote: post #5

I wonder if companies like Google and GitHub that actively courted activists are now regretting their decision. For a long time it was common knowledge that you would try to keep stuff like that out of the workplace. The past 10 years have been an about face to that strategy and now we're seeing more or less complete chaos internally at these previously pro-politics (some kinds of politics) workplaces. My guess is th…

This infiltration and chaos making by SJWs in the tech companies is just a continuation of Dutschke's "Long march through the institutions"[1].

[1]https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_long_march_through_the_ins...

Re: Google cancels TGIF weekly all-hands meetings

#118

Post by euroPoor » Fri, Nov 15, 2019, 9:19 PM UTC

manigandham wrote: post #115

euroPoor wrote: post #106

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Sorry how is suppressing your right to organize in the workplace not internal politics?

Worker rights and working with the military and police are not left-vs-right politics.

Ok. I see our definitions diverge too much for me to work on your assumptions.

Re: Google cancels TGIF weekly all-hands meetings

#119

Post by journalctl » Fri, Nov 15, 2019, 9:20 PM UTC

umeshunni wrote: post #84

bitwize wrote: post #35

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I worked there as a contractor in 2014, well before the Damore flap, and while it wasn't as overt as it is now, I could certainly taste it in the air.

[flagged]

More like “anyone who says racist, homophobic, sexist things is probably a racist, homophobe, or sexist”.

Re: Google cancels TGIF weekly all-hands meetings

#120

Post by ignoramous » Fri, Nov 15, 2019, 9:20 PM UTC

zozbot234 wrote: post #6

scohesc wrote: post #4

It's almost like the employees are slowly seeing Sundar as somebody they can't relate with under the company's now "controversial" common goals and objectives. Now Google management is panicking and doing everything they can to reduce employee's face time with the higher-ups since management knows the company is moving in a direction that a large number of employees disagree with!

> It's almost like the employees are slowly seeing Sundar as somebody they can't relate with I might agree but I'm not sure that this is news . Ever since Sundar became CEO there, there's been a somewhat widespread perception that he would focus on beancounting and running Google as a "mature" firm, with little or no innovation to speak of. (For that matter, you could even view this as a very reasonable response to i…

> ...would focus on beancounting and running Google as a "mature" firm, with little or no innovation to speak of.

Surprising that folks would think along those lines given Sundar's background as head of product with Chrome browser, Chrome OS, and Android before he took over as CEO in 2015.