A religious sect landed Google in a lawsuit • Hacker News Board

Re: A religious sect landed Google in a lawsuit

#181

Post by colinmhayes » Thu, Jun 16, 2022, 8:58 PM UTC

danaris wrote: post #132

xhkkffbf wrote: post #69

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Not to be picky, but everyone can read the article. They just have to pay. We have to support journalism some how.

While I agree that journalism needs to be supported somehow, saying that "everyone can read the article" is classist and out of touch. HN's audience extends far outside of the glorious realm of Silicon Valley, where everyone makes 6 figures and never has to worry about money.

It's incredibly easy to pirate NYT articles. Takes about 15 seconds of googling.

Re: A religious sect landed Google in a lawsuit

#182

Post by 7952 » Thu, Jun 16, 2022, 9:02 PM UTC

scyzoryk_xyz wrote: post #172

So this is a video production department, which is kind of amazing when you think about it. The aesthetic of the modern corporate/tech video is cultish in character and it would make sense that these people know how to do this. And then it’s also interesting because one could assume that these people could do so because the actual engineers in Alphabet probably aren’t all that focused or interacting with this video t…

Obviously it is wrong to influence hiring/firing or purchasing decisions. But do you think there are grounds for removing cults in a general sense from a company? Surely it is an aspect of people private lives in the same way that religion is.

Re: A religious sect landed Google in a lawsuit

#183

Post by notacoward » Thu, Jun 16, 2022, 9:04 PM UTC

flakiness wrote: post #180

notacoward wrote: post #173

Then there's this bit toward the end. > I had recently joined the Alphabet Workers Union, the union of now almost 1,000 workers across all Alphabet companies Doesn't that seem way more likely to explain the sudden firing?

It was after the termination, if I read it correctly.

Not clear. Author says "recently" but that also applies to the firing. AIUI somebody wouldn't even be eligible to join an Alphabet-employee union while not working at Alphabet.

Re: A religious sect landed Google in a lawsuit

#184

Post by Beldin » Thu, Jun 16, 2022, 9:05 PM UTC

zdragnar wrote: post #166

dexwiz wrote: post #156

I wouldn’t be surprised to learn this is a common occurrence across tech. Coming from the Midwest, the West Coast seems full of cults. Talking to people, it doesn’t take long to find someone who was raised in a cult, or has family members in a cult.

The Midwest is full of tiny communities that would look like cults to someone who hasn't lived here- Amish, Mennonites, Pentecostals, Jehovah's Witnesses and more. A big part of the difference is that- aside from Jehovah's Witnesses, they tend to not be active in proselytizing, and members tend to stay within the groups for longer- their activities rarely make hollywood-style media news because they're not particular…

> aside from Jehovah's Witnesses, they tend to not be active in proselytizing

From [1]:

Members are expected to participate regularly in evangelizing work ...

[1] https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jehovah%27s_Witnesses_practi...

Re: A religious sect landed Google in a lawsuit

#185

Post by derevaunseraun » Thu, Jun 16, 2022, 9:06 PM UTC

vizzier wrote: post #127

robonerd wrote: post #110

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Cults like this generally target and recruit damaged or otherwise vulnerable people. Also, they generally keep the crazy dialed down to a minimum in the beginning, then slow boil people over the course of several years. It often starts with "love bombing"; the cult heaps positive attention and praise on somebody who is unaccustomed to receiving anything like that.

Though a bit tongue in cheek this classic video covers the basics: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EBK5aKOr2Fw

this video is a work of art

Re: A religious sect landed Google in a lawsuit

#186

Post by bragr » Thu, Jun 16, 2022, 9:07 PM UTC

probably_wrong wrote: post #119

secondcoming wrote: post #73

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Why sue if you haven't been harmed? "I was fired from my team there in February of 2021 because I raised alarm about a cult within Google, a group called the Fellowship of Friends. " Sounds to me like he freaked out because he was working with weirdos, wanted 'someone to do something about it', and then wouldn't let it go.

But he was harmed: he was allegedly fired for reporting religious discrimination. He may not have been harmed by the cult members, but he was (again, allegedly) harmed by the culture created by this cult. "I learned of someone being discriminated due to their religious beliefs (or lack of), I reported it and the company fired me" makes a good case for the company supporting and/or engaging in religious discrimination…

>But he was harmed: he was allegedly fired for reporting religious discrimination.

He was allegedly harmed. If, as the person you are replying to speculates, he was freaking out and being a bad employee after discovering the affiliation of his coworkers, then potentially that's a righteous firing and he wasn't harmed in a legal sense. If as he alleges, he was fired for having valid concerns, then yes, harm in a legal sense.

Re: A religious sect landed Google in a lawsuit

#187

Post by itronitron » Thu, Jun 16, 2022, 9:09 PM UTC

dubswithus wrote: post #171

Imagine working so hard to work at Google and then… > Members are typically required to give 10 percent of their monthly earnings to the organization. > one member described being fined $1,500 for having sex with a woman when they weren’t married.

fined $1500 or 'charged' $1500?

Re: A religious sect landed Google in a lawsuit

#188

Post by saagarjha » Thu, Jun 16, 2022, 9:09 PM UTC

notacoward wrote: post #173

Then there's this bit toward the end. > I had recently joined the Alphabet Workers Union, the union of now almost 1,000 workers across all Alphabet companies Doesn't that seem way more likely to explain the sudden firing?

I don’t think you want the explanation for a termination to be “because they joined a union”.

Re: A religious sect landed Google in a lawsuit

#189

Post by binbag » Thu, Jun 16, 2022, 9:09 PM UTC

darth_avocado wrote: post #176

I can totally see how this can fly under the radar. "Cults" are common in tech, though not of this type. I've received job offers where entire functions are all people who had worked together at a previous company and not hired through acquisitions. I've had teams where majority of the team is from the same university or class. More than 50% of the team having a common denominator is common and it usually starts with…

In what way are cults common in tech?

Re: A religious sect landed Google in a lawsuit

#190

Post by bseidensticker » Thu, Jun 16, 2022, 9:10 PM UTC

Beldin wrote: post #184

zdragnar wrote: post #166

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The Midwest is full of tiny communities that would look like cults to someone who hasn't lived here- Amish, Mennonites, Pentecostals, Jehovah's Witnesses and more. A big part of the difference is that- aside from Jehovah's Witnesses, they tend to not be active in proselytizing, and members tend to stay within the groups for longer- their activities rarely make hollywood-style media news because they're not particular…

> aside from Jehovah's Witnesses, they tend to not be active in proselytizing From [1]: Members are expected to participate regularly in evangelizing work ... [1] https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jehovah%27s_Witnesses_practi...

Yeah, that's literally what they said.