Amazon VP Resigns, Calls Company ‘Chickenshit’ for Firing Protesting Workers

If you are very idealistic I would recommend working for a smaller company that aligns with your values. It is naive to join a company like Amazon or Google and imagine it is some progressive utopia. These are mega corps, and in my imagination I see them like The Empire from Star Wars, and you will be a storm trooper on the death star - just one worker among many. You will be on the winning team, well compensated, and destroying your competition. But don't pretend you aren't employee #517384 even if you are a higher-ranking manager. Darth Vader will still strangle you if you get in his way.

All that being said, I would still consider working for the empire, just as in the past I can envision myself working for a major European military power or the Dutch East India Company, or like ancestors of mine who worked for Standard Oil and AT&T. Amazon and Google are the big corporate powers of today and your silly blog posts about unions won't stop them.

Re: Amazon VP Resigns, Calls Company ‘Chickenshit’ for Firing Protesting Workers

#6

Post by elliekelly » Mon, May 04, 2020, 2:44 PM UTC

seibelj wrote: post #5

If you are very idealistic I would recommend working for a smaller company that aligns with your values. It is naive to join a company like Amazon or Google and imagine it is some progressive utopia. These are mega corps, and in my imagination I see them like The Empire from Star Wars, and you will be a storm trooper on the death star - just one worker among many. You will be on the winning team, well compensated, an…

Perhaps if there were more people like Tim Bray the Death Star might be a little more progressive and might not be the de facto “winning team”.

Re: Amazon VP Resigns, Calls Company ‘Chickenshit’ for Firing Protesting Workers

#7

Post by ryanmcbride » Mon, May 04, 2020, 2:45 PM UTC

seibelj wrote: post #5

If you are very idealistic I would recommend working for a smaller company that aligns with your values. It is naive to join a company like Amazon or Google and imagine it is some progressive utopia. These are mega corps, and in my imagination I see them like The Empire from Star Wars, and you will be a storm trooper on the death star - just one worker among many. You will be on the winning team, well compensated, an…

"...I can envision myself working for a major European military power..."

Hmmm

Re: Amazon VP Resigns, Calls Company ‘Chickenshit’ for Firing Protesting Workers

#8

Post by seibelj » Mon, May 04, 2020, 2:47 PM UTC

ryanmcbride wrote: post #7

seibelj wrote: post #5

If you are very idealistic I would recommend working for a smaller company that aligns with your values. It is naive to join a company like Amazon or Google and imagine it is some progressive utopia. These are mega corps, and in my imagination I see them like The Empire from Star Wars, and you will be a storm trooper on the death star - just one worker among many. You will be on the winning team, well compensated, an…

"...I can envision myself working for a major European military power..." Hmmm

Prussian military, British military, French military. I am speaking about middle ages to modern era. A lot of management and scientific progress happened there, and it was a way for the lower classes to rise in a more meritocratic way. It was also a mechanism to learn sailing skills so you could become a trading merchant.

Re: Amazon VP Resigns, Calls Company ‘Chickenshit’ for Firing Protesting Workers

#9

Post by lawnchair_larry » Mon, May 04, 2020, 2:48 PM UTC

The implication that race or gender is involved in the firings is pretty silly.

Re: Amazon VP Resigns, Calls Company ‘Chickenshit’ for Firing Protesting Workers

#10

Post by switch007 » Mon, May 04, 2020, 2:49 PM UTC

seibelj wrote: post #5

If you are very idealistic I would recommend working for a smaller company that aligns with your values. It is naive to join a company like Amazon or Google and imagine it is some progressive utopia. These are mega corps, and in my imagination I see them like The Empire from Star Wars, and you will be a storm trooper on the death star - just one worker among many. You will be on the winning team, well compensated, an…

In my experience, small companies are fine until the point they get board members who have run bigger companies. Which is quite early on. The only answer is to run your own company, with all the trade-offs that entails.