Coinbase offers exit package for employees not comfortable with its mission • Hacker News Board

Re: Coinbase offers exit package for employees not comfortable with its mission

#311

Post by dmos62 » Wed, Sep 30, 2020, 1:56 PM UTC

chii wrote: post #140

wwright wrote: post #127

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I (and many others) are of the opinion that you can’t truly be apolitical; claiming to be so is its own form of politics (and generally one that supports the status quo). Politics is ultimately about how we engage and collaborate with each other as a society, not just which “party” you like. The very act of being a company is very relative to the laws and regulations your country has, which are of course determined b…

> you can’t truly be apolitical; that's one of those "you're either with us or against us" type of deal - which is not the right way to deal with anything imho. You _can_ be apolitical - as in, you do not let your political views affect what you do. You keep your political views private. You do not try to change anyone else's political views as part of your job.

> not let your political views affect what you do

That's a political stance. As long as you're part of society, you'll always have a political stance. That's what the other commentor was getting at.

Why would you ever want your views to not influence what you do? If not yours, whose perception would you use to inform what you do? And why would you want to keep your views private?

If you think that your views are so inappropriate or unimportant that you can't share them, that's a view in of itself and that's what people will see.

> You do not try to change anyone else's political views as part of your job

Whether you should try to actively change someone's view is a big question. It's a very different question than whether or not you should have/share your worldview. Whether you like it or not, your views are what they are because of others sharing theirs (explicitly or implicitly).

Re: Coinbase offers exit package for employees not comfortable with its mission

#312

Post by ldd » Wed, Sep 30, 2020, 1:57 PM UTC

I will offer a personal take on keeping politics out of my 1-man video game company.

In theory, I am all for it. I do not use hashtags on twitter, or openly support any ideologies.

However, as a light brown dude whose parents immigrated here to Canada, my existence itself is a political statement (in support of legal immigration) that is bound to offend people.

I try, to the extent that is possible, to not say political statements on twitter, but I am only human. And for many humans, existing itself is a political statement.

I sometimes feel like a platypus. There are plenty of taxonomist that want me dead. There are plenty of well intentioned people that will protest for me to keep my rights to exist while never getting close to me.

And all I wanna do is keep platypusing every day. It's just hard to do that in deeply divisive times, I guess.

Re: Coinbase offers exit package for employees not comfortable with its mission

#313

Post by amyjess » Wed, Sep 30, 2020, 1:57 PM UTC

michaelt wrote: post #200

chii wrote: post #140

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> you can’t truly be apolitical; that's one of those "you're either with us or against us" type of deal - which is not the right way to deal with anything imho. You _can_ be apolitical - as in, you do not let your political views affect what you do. You keep your political views private. You do not try to change anyone else's political views as part of your job.

IMHO it's job-dependent. For example, can you be a gun shop owner without being pro-gun? Some would say actions speak louder than words. On the other hand, if you own a bakery being apolitical is a lot simpler. Avoid the Masterpiece Cakeshop case and there's as little politics as you'll find anywhere.

> For example, can you be a gun shop owner without being pro-gun? Some would say actions speak louder than words.

That's a false dichotomy. There are multiple stances on guns besides "guns should be completely unregulated" and "civilians shouldn't be allowed to own guns".

Working at a gun shop is, for example, very compatible with the notion that people should be subject to buying background checks before being able to buy a gun. After all, it's the brick-and-mortar gun shops who have to abide by background checks; the more these shops dominate the market, the smaller the market will be for gun shows where such background checks aren't required.

Re: Coinbase offers exit package for employees not comfortable with its mission

#314

Post by rbecker » Wed, Sep 30, 2020, 1:57 PM UTC

baron_harkonnen wrote: post #289

chii wrote: post #140

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> you can’t truly be apolitical; that's one of those "you're either with us or against us" type of deal - which is not the right way to deal with anything imho. You _can_ be apolitical - as in, you do not let your political views affect what you do. You keep your political views private. You do not try to change anyone else's political views as part of your job.

The view you just described is active support for the status quo. One fairly non-controversial part of the status quo right now is our dependence on fossil fuels and co2 emissions to keep our economy running. Saying "I'll keep my views private" means I'm giving an okay to what's happening now. If every individual shares the thinking at every company then it is impossible to even imagine how the most catastrophic clim…

> The view you just described is active support for the status quo. [..] fossil fuels and co2 emissions to keep our economy running.

So there's really no difference between doing nothing, and donating to FUD campaigns against climate science? They're both equally active in their support for fossil fuels, both equally "apolitical"? Or have you diluted the term "apolitical" to the point of meaninglessness, if it can describe such wildly different behavior?

Would you describe yourself as "actively supporting" Kony (or some other, similar warlord)?

Re: Coinbase offers exit package for employees not comfortable with its mission

#315

Post by eeh » Wed, Sep 30, 2020, 1:57 PM UTC

eeh wrote: post #47

detaro wrote: post #6

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It's kinda interesting to see because the cryptocurrency space is surely one of the more political tech developments at the core - replacing fiat money, new financial instruments, self-governing contracts, ...?

The CEO is declaring the focus political issue is cryptocurrency. The focus is not whales, forests, ice caps, malaria. Why is this controversial?

For the record, I am pro sustainable fishing, sustainable foresty, tackling climate change, and eliminating malaria.

I think governments and dedicated organisations are best placed to do this: they can better enforce compliance, and have greater visibility on all of our pressing needs.

Re: Coinbase offers exit package for employees not comfortable with its mission

#316

Post by dalbasal » Wed, Sep 30, 2020, 1:59 PM UTC

md_ wrote: post #36

From some point of view, this might be viewed as management taking a harsh line against employees who make demands on their employers to do something other than maximize shareholder returns. One of the longstanding contradictions of Silicon Valley ethos is that we will simultaneously talk about "mission" and "impact"—and, implicitly, the social impact of our work—while applauding management efforts to stamp out emplo…

Counbase's approach here is fairly on-the-nose. That's unlikely to be the lasting/widespread one.

OTOH, if the trend continues towards employees and/or management demanding more political positioning from their companies... some sort of "on board or out" dynamic is inevitable. Maybe "on board or shut up," in reality.

No position, including neutrality, will be comfortable for everyone and no company wants political factioning in their ranks.

Ultimately though, I think employee opinions are less operative than some of these reports would have us think.

Re: Coinbase offers exit package for employees not comfortable with its mission

#317

Post by flyingfences » Wed, Sep 30, 2020, 1:59 PM UTC

baron_harkonnen wrote: post #289

chii wrote: post #140

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> you can’t truly be apolitical; that's one of those "you're either with us or against us" type of deal - which is not the right way to deal with anything imho. You _can_ be apolitical - as in, you do not let your political views affect what you do. You keep your political views private. You do not try to change anyone else's political views as part of your job.

The view you just described is active support for the status quo. One fairly non-controversial part of the status quo right now is our dependence on fossil fuels and co2 emissions to keep our economy running. Saying "I'll keep my views private" means I'm giving an okay to what's happening now. If every individual shares the thinking at every company then it is impossible to even imagine how the most catastrophic clim…

> The view you just described is active support for the status quo.

A passive stance is, by definition, not active support for anything.

Coinbase is actively working on financial infrastructure. That's what they "actively" do.

> Saying "I'll keep my views private" means I'm giving an okay to what's happening now.

No, it means that what's happening now is, while certainly important to many employees as people, not a part of or in any way related to the company's business.

Re: Coinbase offers exit package for employees not comfortable with its mission

#318

Post by _dh54 » Wed, Sep 30, 2020, 1:59 PM UTC

baron_harkonnen wrote: post #289

chii wrote: post #140

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> you can’t truly be apolitical; that's one of those "you're either with us or against us" type of deal - which is not the right way to deal with anything imho. You _can_ be apolitical - as in, you do not let your political views affect what you do. You keep your political views private. You do not try to change anyone else's political views as part of your job.

The view you just described is active support for the status quo. One fairly non-controversial part of the status quo right now is our dependence on fossil fuels and co2 emissions to keep our economy running. Saying "I'll keep my views private" means I'm giving an okay to what's happening now. If every individual shares the thinking at every company then it is impossible to even imagine how the most catastrophic clim…

Being apolitical at work is not active support for the status quo. It’s simply not using your role as an employee for your company as a vehicle to advance your political agenda. An agenda which is most likely irrelevant to the mission of your company.

You can be apolitical at work while still opposing the so called status quo with your vote. Or you can oppose the status quo in an explicitly political organization outside of your job.

Re: Coinbase offers exit package for employees not comfortable with its mission

#319

Post by [deleted] » Wed, Sep 30, 2020, 1:59 PM UTC

wwright wrote: post #127

Zenbit_UX wrote: post #120

Why is a company wanting to be apolitical is controversial? That should be the default, is this an American thing like how masks and healthcare are controversial? I would expect a government to have proper separation from church and state, so why is it weird to want a company to separate politics and mission? I can't see any good coming from being in a work environment where the company supports a political issue I'm…

I (and many others) are of the opinion that you can’t truly be apolitical; claiming to be so is its own form of politics (and generally one that supports the status quo). Politics is ultimately about how we engage and collaborate with each other as a society, not just which “party” you like. The very act of being a company is very relative to the laws and regulations your country has, which are of course determined b…

[deleted]

Re: Coinbase offers exit package for employees not comfortable with its mission

#320

Post by dangerface » Wed, Sep 30, 2020, 2:00 PM UTC

wwright wrote: post #127

Zenbit_UX wrote: post #120

Why is a company wanting to be apolitical is controversial? That should be the default, is this an American thing like how masks and healthcare are controversial? I would expect a government to have proper separation from church and state, so why is it weird to want a company to separate politics and mission? I can't see any good coming from being in a work environment where the company supports a political issue I'm…

I (and many others) are of the opinion that you can’t truly be apolitical; claiming to be so is its own form of politics (and generally one that supports the status quo). Politics is ultimately about how we engage and collaborate with each other as a society, not just which “party” you like. The very act of being a company is very relative to the laws and regulations your country has, which are of course determined b…

> How can they truly be neutral on all of these issues that are directly relevant to the business they do?

These are issues with consumers and state not the business.