Woke at Work: Why tech firms are trying to run away from politics and failing • Hacker News Board

Re: Woke at Work: Why tech firms are trying to run away from politics and failing

#331

Post by open0 » Sat, May 22, 2021, 2:24 AM UTC

TimTheTinker wrote: post #268

slashdev wrote: post #243

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Fully agree. It seems so stupid. Why do people care about what color the emoji is? Don't they have real problems?

The reason is because "woke" is racism in reverse. As long as there's racism (in any direction), color matters. You can't treat or think of people differently on the basis of race without knowing who is in what race. The last thing "woke" people want is for discrimination on the basis of race to disappear, or for the color of people's skin to no longer factor in to how they are judged or treated. Edit: agreed with a…

This is such horseshit. You people on this website are far more of problem for the world than the crowd of woke 20-somethngs that as a group have very little power or money.

Re: Woke at Work: Why tech firms are trying to run away from politics and failing

#332

Post by foota » Sat, May 22, 2021, 2:24 AM UTC

MattGaiser wrote: post #53

foota wrote: post #46

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This isn't true, political opinions aren't a protected class in the US.

It seems to be in some places like California. https://www.shouselaw.com/ca/labor/harassment/political-reta...

Interesting, I didn't know that! I wonder whether restricting the expression of only political topics at work infringes on this.

Re: Woke at Work: Why tech firms are trying to run away from politics and failing

#333

Post by open0 » Sat, May 22, 2021, 2:25 AM UTC

smegger001 wrote: post #297

krapp wrote: post #274

Earlier quoted context omitted.

But we're talking about expanding the color palette on a set of icons. If no one is angry about it, why do people keep complaining about it? >The point is that no one should care about race, but everyone all of the sudden is. This doesn't read like the opinion of someone who isn't angry about something.

Not angry, exhausted. Tired of everything becoming new theater in the culture war. Tired of things that were intrinsically neutral and apolitical before are being changed for no reason other than to make it another battleground.

Maybe things were neutral for you, but not for others?

Man I wish I could see a face attached to every comment in this thread.

Re: Woke at Work: Why tech firms are trying to run away from politics and failing

#334

Post by justbored123 » Sat, May 22, 2021, 2:25 AM UTC

motohagiography wrote: post #152

Boards should have more apprehension about their companies being exploited as political platforms by employees. It's as though there is a bargain where in exchange for boards tolerating staff radicalization, these employee groups cheerfully overlook the dystopian, totalitarian surveillance infrastructure, environmental devastation, and political corruption machines they seem to have zero problem building and managing…

I fail to see your point, you seem to contradict yourself in an attempt to justify your own bias.

Are you arguing that the solution to the problem you mentioned: "dystopian, totalitarian surveillance infrastructure, environmental devastation, and political corruption" is to avoid radical politics at work??? So, what do you propose? That the board (that is responsible for those horrors) steps in an remove / do away with these "radicals" in a "totalitarian" manner??? That is your solution? It sounds that you are no different from them, just have a different agenda and you are perfectly fine with them and their methods as long as they are aimed at the people you don't like.

Re: Woke at Work: Why tech firms are trying to run away from politics and failing

#335

Post by chitowneats » Sat, May 22, 2021, 2:26 AM UTC

delaynomore wrote: post #305

caymanjim wrote: post #135

Earlier quoted context omitted.

There is an enormous supply of workers who don't want social and political issues in the workplace, but silently acquiesce because saying anything gets you branded negatively and quickly canceled. It doesn't matter if you agree but prefer keeping it out of the workplace; you must either support the woke brigade or keep your mouth shut.

>..keep your mouth shut Some woke mobs equate silence as being against their cause. YMMV.

Correct. As long as you are relatively powerless (think low to mid level IC), silence is tolerated.

Attempt to transition to a strategic or management role and you will discover your past silence must be "clarified".

Re: Woke at Work: Why tech firms are trying to run away from politics and failing

#336

Post by GeneralMayhem » Sat, May 22, 2021, 2:27 AM UTC

PeterisP wrote: post #272

GeneralMayhem wrote: post #150

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This is a really disingenuous false equivalency. First, you're implying that all opinions are equally valid. That is... I'll be polite and simply call it nonsense. "Gay people should have rights" and "gay people shouldn't have rights" are not opinions of equal value, and it's not "eating your cake and having it too" to say that the latter opinion is unwelcome. Second, there's a very clear relationship between the "le…

While there are all kinds of radical opinions, in USA there are two quite clearly established camps of mainstream opinion, and it does seem reasonable that if roughly half of the country (or your state) vote for one candidate and roughly half for the other, then it should imply that the opinions of both of these camps are roughly equally valid from the perspective of the society. One gets a bit more votes and gets to…

>if roughly half of the country (or your state) vote for one candidate and roughly half for the other, then it should imply that the opinions of both of these camps are roughly equally valid from the perspective of the society.

Or, it implies that roughly half of society is wrong. More than one genocidal dictator was originally elected by popular vote. We do not need to take as a premise that equal support implies equal value.

>those people may be your neighbours and your colleagues and they have the same right to be there as you do

See, this is exactly the problem. Right-wing cultural opinions tend to define certain groups of people as not having the same right to be there. You cannot simultaneously advocate for tolerance and be totally okay as just a minor difference of opinion with the other side saying that some people should be thrown out.

Re: Woke at Work: Why tech firms are trying to run away from politics and failing

#337

Post by [deleted] » Sat, May 22, 2021, 2:27 AM UTC

meowtimemania wrote: post #91

nxmnxm99 wrote: post #57

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Yeah. I grew up in a third world country and moved to North America pretty late. I never realized how sheltered and weak Americans were till I joined a well known YC company.

Can you expound? In what ways do you find them weak? I can think of many but curious on your perspective

[deleted]

Re: Woke at Work: Why tech firms are trying to run away from politics and failing

#338

Post by betwixthewires » Sat, May 22, 2021, 2:27 AM UTC

krapp wrote: post #274

dimgl wrote: post #249

Earlier quoted context omitted.

No one is angry. That's the point. The point is that no one should care about race, but everyone all of the sudden is.

But we're talking about expanding the color palette on a set of icons. If no one is angry about it, why do people keep complaining about it? >The point is that no one should care about race, but everyone all of the sudden is. This doesn't read like the opinion of someone who isn't angry about something.

I think what people are getting at with this (and trying to be cordial about it as best they can) is that the only people that want to have a separate image for every color person on the planet are racists.

Re: Woke at Work: Why tech firms are trying to run away from politics and failing

#339

Post by jonas21 » Sat, May 22, 2021, 2:29 AM UTC

tshaddox wrote: post #8

eric4smith wrote: post #7

People are human. But work is work. The canonical point of a workplace is to come together to fulfill the aims of the entrepreneurs. The personal aims of the workers are fulfilled best outside of work. Just stop to think about it logically for a minute... is the workplace the best place to circulate a petition condemning something that has nothing to do with work? The workplace necessarily is going to bring together…

> The point of a workplace is to come together to fulfill the aims of the entrepreneurs. The personal aims of the workers are fulfilled best outside of work. What? I can’t be the only one who works directly in order to fulfill my needs (like literally my most basic needs, think food and shelter).

That seems like a pretty uncharitable interpretation of the comment.

I think what they're saying is that you should view an employment relationship as an exchange, where you get money (which can be used to fulfill your basic needs), and your employer gets your labor for a certain number of hours per week.

As you are voluntarily exchanging your labor for money, it's reasonable that the focus of the workplace should be to advance the goals of your employer and not your personal goals. Of course it's best if these goals align and everyone can achieve their goals simultaneously. But when there's a conflict, the employer's goals should take priority. That's why they're paying you.

Re: Woke at Work: Why tech firms are trying to run away from politics and failing

#340

Post by nailer » Sat, May 22, 2021, 2:29 AM UTC

lliamander wrote: post #217

SeanBoocock wrote: post #43

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Political opinions are not protected in the same way, nor should they be, as the protected classes you cite (gender identity, sexual orientation, ethnicity, etc).

Religion is a protected class. Why not politics? We either need to add more protected classes or do away with the whole concept and return to free association.

I’d remove religion. Adults choose their beliefs, both political and spiritual.