1 Year of Coinbase as a mission focused company • Hacker News Board

Re: 1 Year of Coinbase as a mission focused company

#91

Post by rglover » Fri, Oct 08, 2021, 7:34 PM UTC

malermeister wrote: post #60

rglover wrote: post #20

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'm going to take a wild guess and say if you work at Coinbase—voluntarily—you're extremely well paid. You're the farthest thing from a victim. Just because you can't raise your fist and scream at your coworkers doesn't mean you're oppressed.

Just because you're part of what is called "Labor aristocracy" in Marxist discourse doesn't mean you can't recognize the exploitation inherent to the system. You don't need to be on the losing side of an unjust system to recognize the system as unjust.

So quit.

Re: 1 Year of Coinbase as a mission focused company

#92

Post by jakelazaroff » Fri, Oct 08, 2021, 7:34 PM UTC

throwawaysea wrote: post #78

emsy wrote: post #12

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Why do people think work is an appropriate place for political activism?

It's not that anyone thinks it is appropriate - they know it is inappropriate. It's more that they don't care, and are willing to do whatever it takes to leverage the power of institutions (such as companies, universities, and government agencies) to fulfill their personal political and ideological goals. This is a well-known strategy for activism, particularly on the left, and even has a name - "long march through t…

> As we've seen in American tech companies, once a foothold is gained, these motivated activists immediately start loudly push for the aggressive exclusion of opposing views, and cancellation of all who belong to a different political group.

Reminds me of a cryptocurrency exchange with an activist CEO who forbids dissenting political views in the workplace. Can’t remember his name.

Re: 1 Year of Coinbase as a mission focused company

#93

Post by jamiequint » Fri, Oct 08, 2021, 7:35 PM UTC

ctur wrote: post #56

I wrote this in an email turning down a chance explore opportunities at Coinbase. > To me, diversity and social justice are critically important. I have the luxury of being selective in where I put my time and energy and it is important those values align with my career. I appreciate aspects of being "mission focused" but I think that there is a gulf between my personal values and Coinbase's values such that I would…

Sounds like their policy of discouraging wokes, who want to use their job as a cudgel for their own political views, from applying to their company is working.

Re: 1 Year of Coinbase as a mission focused company

#94

Post by walls » Fri, Oct 08, 2021, 7:35 PM UTC

ianbutler wrote: post #17

ohazi wrote: post #11

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Unless you're labor . Capital can speak up about whatever it wants (so long as it doesn't start sympathizing with labor, of course)

You're paid to do a job. Politics is for your personal time. We need to work on getting more personal time for people so people can focus on those passions instead of further blending work and personal life.

> You're paid to do a job.

And then the company you work for takes the profits from that effort and donates it to politicians to further the executive agenda.

Re: 1 Year of Coinbase as a mission focused company

#95

Post by emsy » Fri, Oct 08, 2021, 7:35 PM UTC

malermeister wrote: post #84

fleddr wrote: post #81

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Whilst technically correct, I still object. Many if not most things aren't political in a meaningful way, but surely you can make them political. This is how you get "water is racist" and the entire movement of social justice becomes a thing of ridicule. The strategy harms, it doesn't help.

How about this: Every economic interaction (which includes employment) is political. Would you agree with this?

I will think about it the next time I buy an old lawnmower on craigslist.

Re: 1 Year of Coinbase as a mission focused company

#96

Post by BitwiseFool » Fri, Oct 08, 2021, 7:35 PM UTC

malermeister wrote: post #69

mechanical_bear wrote: post #63

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Hard disagree. Sometimes being apolitical is just a desire to not get involved and has nothing to do with supporting status quo.

Not getting involved always means at least tacitly supporting the status quo. To think otherwise is just an expression of privilege. There is no being apolitical.

>"just another political position itself - complicity with the status quo." / "To think otherwise is just an expression of privilege. There is no being apolitical."

The challenge I have with this line of thinking is that you can literally apply it to any and all issues. The number of problems in the world are effectively infinite but our ability to take a meaningful position is finite and extremely limited. The default state of being is to not have taken a position on something.

To insinuate that someone is privileged for not getting involved is a cudgel and a guilt-tripping tool being used against someone who doesn't share the same priorities as you do. It strikes me as "if you're not with us, you're against us", a sentiment that used to be loathed in the early 2000's but is now accepted and expected.

Re: 1 Year of Coinbase as a mission focused company

#97

Post by afavour » Fri, Oct 08, 2021, 7:35 PM UTC

rglover wrote: post #30

afavour wrote: post #9

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Yeah that made me laugh, too. Feels like the word “politics” is very effective when used to limit your employees: you have something you feel strongly about in the workplace? Fantastic! Oh, it’s “political” (and yes, I’ll be the one determining what qualifies)? Well then no bueno, sorry. We’re mission focused.

He's not being political, he's getting his company to focus.

Deciding what your employees are and are not allowed to discuss at work feels pretty political to me!

But you’re right: Brian gets to decide what is and isn’t political, and he’s decided that he isn’t being political, so he isn’t. Which is an… interesting power to hold over your employees, hence my original post.

Re: 1 Year of Coinbase as a mission focused company

#98

Post by sethherr » Fri, Oct 08, 2021, 7:35 PM UTC

fullshark wrote: post #24

emsy wrote: post #12

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Why do people think work is an appropriate place for political activism?

Why do companies try to inspire employees with things beyond purely mercenary motivations?

Because mercenary motivation is in and of itself a choice. If everyone was motivated by money alone there wouldn’t be non-profits. There is clearly a market for occupations with different incentives.

Re: 1 Year of Coinbase as a mission focused company

#99

Post by Cthulhu_ » Fri, Oct 08, 2021, 7:36 PM UTC

emsy wrote: post #12

justinsaccount wrote: post #3

> The biggest lesson I took away from the whole ordeal is that if you believe something is the right path, it's worth speaking up about it, even if it's controversial. Unless you work at Coinbase, right?

Why do people think work is an appropriate place for political activism?

Because work equals social mobility, and if a workplace excludes certain demographics they will remain socially immobile.

Re: 1 Year of Coinbase as a mission focused company

#100

Post by rsynnott » Fri, Oct 08, 2021, 7:36 PM UTC

ianbutler wrote: post #17

ohazi wrote: post #11

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Unless you're labor . Capital can speak up about whatever it wants (so long as it doesn't start sympathizing with labor, of course)

You're paid to do a job. Politics is for your personal time. We need to work on getting more personal time for people so people can focus on those passions instead of further blending work and personal life.

> We need to work on getting more personal time for people

You mean controls on working hours? Four day weeks? There are those who’d say that was extremely political (and they’d be right; the two day weekend was largely invented by the labour movement, surely the epitome of politics at work, back in the day).