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After GitHub CEO backs Black Lives Matter, workers demand an end to ICE contract

latimes.com

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Re: After GitHub CEO backs Black Lives Matter, workers demand an end to ICE contract

#31

Post by mchanson »

johncena33 wrote: post #2

I guess this is the reason lot of corporates try to stay out of politics. Because once you set a precedence then people will use that as to push their own political agendas. I personally don't like the slippery slope argument since it's very lazy and justifies inaction in many cases. But at the same time when I see news like this, I just wonder how long it will take two different subgroups trying push their own confl…

We are going through a very strange and extreme period in US History. Corporations are a huge part of the political landscape. Of course workers who are powerful will demand things of their workplaces.

All corporations are political. By accepting the ICE contract previously it was political. Now by reversing they would be changing sides. They were already in the political fray.

Re: After GitHub CEO backs Black Lives Matter, workers demand an end to ICE contract

#32

Post by maga20yes »

karpierz wrote: post #17
johncena33 wrote: post #2

I guess this is the reason lot of corporates try to stay out of politics. Because once you set a precedence then people will use that as to push their own political agendas. I personally don't like the slippery slope argument since it's very lazy and justifies inaction in many cases. But at the same time when I see news like this, I just wonder how long it will take two different subgroups trying push their own confl…

This isn't people pushing their own political agenda; this is a consequence of the political stance they took. When a company takes a political stance, they should be held accountable for it.

Agreed, playing politics for marketing purposes shouldn't be free.

Re: After GitHub CEO backs Black Lives Matter, workers demand an end to ICE contract

#33

Post by salmon30salmon »

zachrip wrote: post #15
salmon30salmon wrote: post #5

I would have thought that the workers at GitHub would know as much as anyone that restricting access to one Git service would have a negligible impact on ICE. The real impact would be on GitHub themselves, as they would lose any opportunity to help guide policy or technology at ICE or any other government agency. It may feel better to watch and yell from the outside, and you may have the moral high ground in doing so…

I'm pretty sure github has zero impact on the tech choices made by ICE or any other government agency.

GitHub perhaps, but we are talking Microsoft, and we are talking other corporate powers. One of the things I hear all the time is that corporations influence public policy _too much_. Look at ALEC, look at PACs etc.

Companies _can_ influence policy. Look at Microsoft saying they won't offer facial recognition until laws are passed.

Re: After GitHub CEO backs Black Lives Matter, workers demand an end to ICE contract

#34

Post by jimbob45 »

johncena33 wrote: post #2

I guess this is the reason lot of corporates try to stay out of politics. Because once you set a precedence then people will use that as to push their own political agendas. I personally don't like the slippery slope argument since it's very lazy and justifies inaction in many cases. But at the same time when I see news like this, I just wonder how long it will take two different subgroups trying push their own confl…

Usually token action is taken ahead of time in the form of donations and community service work instead of hurting bottom-line profit. IMHO this is an irresponsible rookie CEO not knowing that he’ll have to fold to future political movements if he folds to this one.

Re: After GitHub CEO backs Black Lives Matter, workers demand an end to ICE contract

#35

Post by karpierz »

Kinrany wrote: post #3
johncena33 wrote: post #2

I guess this is the reason lot of corporates try to stay out of politics. Because once you set a precedence then people will use that as to push their own political agendas. I personally don't like the slippery slope argument since it's very lazy and justifies inaction in many cases. But at the same time when I see news like this, I just wonder how long it will take two different subgroups trying push their own confl…

Slippery slopes are not always a fallacy, roughly the same way appeal to authority is not a fallacy when the authority is indeed an expert. Relevant: https://www.lesswrong.com/posts/Kbm6QnJv9dgWsPHQP/schelling-...

Appeal to authority is a fallacy, because "authority says X is true doesn't imply X is true". If an expert says "X is true", it's not true because they're an expert, it's true because they provide evidence that shows that X is true.

Re: After GitHub CEO backs Black Lives Matter, workers demand an end to ICE contract

#36

Post by DudeInBasement »

salmon30salmon wrote: post #5

I would have thought that the workers at GitHub would know as much as anyone that restricting access to one Git service would have a negligible impact on ICE. The real impact would be on GitHub themselves, as they would lose any opportunity to help guide policy or technology at ICE or any other government agency. It may feel better to watch and yell from the outside, and you may have the moral high ground in doing so…

The taxpayer/citizens should influence ICE/government. Not GitHub. Government should serve/fear the people, not corps.

And people wonder why there is a military industrial complex.

Re: After GitHub CEO backs Black Lives Matter, workers demand an end to ICE contract

#37

Post by ivanbakel »

salmon30salmon wrote: post #5

I would have thought that the workers at GitHub would know as much as anyone that restricting access to one Git service would have a negligible impact on ICE. The real impact would be on GitHub themselves, as they would lose any opportunity to help guide policy or technology at ICE or any other government agency. It may feel better to watch and yell from the outside, and you may have the moral high ground in doing so…

If Github has a negligible technical impact on ICE, in what way are they meant to have any significant influence on ICE's policy?

Re: After GitHub CEO backs Black Lives Matter, workers demand an end to ICE contract

#38

Post by protomyth »

duxup wrote: post #6

Is GitHub a hug part of what ICE ... does? Personally I wouldn't want to work for a company actually detaining people, but call me terrible but I'm not sure I'd feel the same about letting them pay to host some code...

Considering they are the agency also tasked with stopping modern versions of slavery (human trafficking), it does make for some moral arguments.

Re: After GitHub CEO backs Black Lives Matter, workers demand an end to ICE contract

#39

Post by umvi »

I'm glad they aren't vetting who can use their platform based on arbitrary ideological whims, but I'm still salty about them caving to demands to change the default branch name to something other than "master".

We really need to stop this sort of mob thought policing that has taken over the internet and bullies corporations and individuals into conformance. This is not new, but it seems particularly egregious right now. But how do you stop/mitigate internet mobs without "streisanding" even bigger mobs?

> As Friedman spoke, dozens of employees expressed frustration and outrage in a company Slack channel with more than 1,200 people, according to screenshots reviewed by The Times.

We are letting small minorities (dozens out of thousands) amplify their outrage and impose their demands on everyone else. Same thing happens on Twitter, and I really don't like that. It's like that one xkcd[0] except instead of "the people listening" being rational and reasonable, "the people listening" are an angry minority on social media stirring up everyone around them into a blood frenzy.

[0] https://xkcd.com/1357/

Re: After GitHub CEO backs Black Lives Matter, workers demand an end to ICE contract

#40

Post by partiallypro »

ICE has done unethical things, but...they are also essential in many of their roles, and every country has a similar agency. Why not use the platform and power you have to push for changes instead of just severing ties? It doesn't really accomplish anything.
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