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Demonstration at Home of Google Developer. Google Bus Blocked in Berkeley

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Re: Demonstration at Home of Google Developer. Google Bus Blocked in Berkeley

#81

Post by kondor6c »

Xdes wrote: post #38

This is a good example of what the liberal democratic movement should be about: policing corporations. Google, Microsoft, Yahoo, and the rest of them will never end their reprehensible behavior from lawsuits or other slaps on the wrists. Until there is a boot-on-ground movement to obstruct these corporations and their employees they will continue to act without consequence using their hoards of capital.

Their employees? Certainly in all of my employment history I have never had a vote or serious decision in the direction of the company, that even goes for a non-profit school I worked for. Targeting employees is, at best, a bad idea. Who is to say that this guy didn't support them? Or others support their cause? Now they appear like kids that don't have jobs or that can otherwise afford to picket someone's house during normal work hours. When they try to go to the negotiating table I doubt they will be taken seriously with these kinds of antics. I also wonder if the actually have convinced anyone that might have been in middle or moderate to be their side of this issue?

Re: Demonstration at Home of Google Developer. Google Bus Blocked in Berkeley

#82

Post by pettys »

I read the article and the flier; I felt like I was approaching it open-minded. I conclude it's propaganda because it paints common circumstances with unfairly pejorative language, and by that undermines the few valid points it brings up. The brochure closes with: "Steal from the techies you babysit for." If that's your message, you and I are not on the same side.

Re: Demonstration at Home of Google Developer. Google Bus Blocked in Berkeley

#83

Post by k-mcgrady »

I thought protesting the buses was reasonable and justified. Picking on a single employee of a company, especially someone who probably doesn't have any control of the company (i.e. not the CEO, President etc.) and distributing leaflets about him is despicable.

However is there any link between this protest and the bus protests? The bus protests were for economic reasons mainly. This is about surveillance so I'd guess this protest didn't include many people from the bus protests.

Re: Demonstration at Home of Google Developer. Google Bus Blocked in Berkeley

#84

Post by mattmaroon »

rexreed wrote: post #36

This is getting to be a bit absurd. I understand and can sympathize with the plight of folks who feel that they are becoming economically marginalized in the region, because in many ways it is really happening. But public badgering of mid to low-level folks is not a way to gain a lot of support. It's like damaging the lobby of a Bank of America or smashing the windows of a McDonalds -- all it does is ruin the day for…

What's ridiculous is, they do it to themselves. If they just used their votes to get a zoning board and laws that let people build housing there wouldn't be this problem. 64% of people in SF rent. If you want lower rents, stop trying to make the city look the same in 2014 as it did in 1964.

Re: Demonstration at Home of Google Developer. Google Bus Blocked in Berkeley

#86

Post by diydsp »

bitskits wrote: post #58

The more reasonable direct action would be to simply not use a smartphone, not use the internet (or Google Maps), and not host a website. Opt out of the whole thing. I'm not clear on how these people can justify blocking the buses and showing up at people's houses, but then organize using Google's products.

No way. The benefits of technology (and the natural resources it consumes such as airwaves and exotic materials) should not be reserved for those who kowtow to commercial interests.

A more reasonable direct action is to develop and socialize technological practices which uphold community values: DuckDuckGo, Open Street Maps, Firefox, Cyanogen, encryption, CB radio, amateur radio, GNU/Linux.

Re: Demonstration at Home of Google Developer. Google Bus Blocked in Berkeley

#87

Post by walshemj »

Xdes wrote: post #38

This is a good example of what the liberal democratic movement should be about: policing corporations. Google, Microsoft, Yahoo, and the rest of them will never end their reprehensible behavior from lawsuits or other slaps on the wrists. Until there is a boot-on-ground movement to obstruct these corporations and their employees they will continue to act without consequence using their hoards of capital.

um thats not what a "liberal" is in political terms - look at what some of the "orange book" liberals are doing in the UK

Re: Demonstration at Home of Google Developer. Google Bus Blocked in Berkeley

#88

Post by mgunes »

hadem wrote: post #66
mgunes wrote: post #30

Excellent. If engineers and technologists refuse to take personal political and ethical responsibility for the future they help build, they need to be reminded to do so. We need more of this.

I've never felt the need for a down vote button for a comment on Hacker News until now. Yes, we should be ethically aware of the tools and products we build, but this is not the way to go about this! Harassing a man at his home like this is unnecessary and aggressive. Please stop the promotion of individual harassment.

When people block Google busses, and break one window of one bus, it's inappropriate violence on par with barbarism [1].

When people peacefully protest a Google employee and try to raise awareness in his neighborhood of his activities that they disagree with, it's individual harassment.

Isn't that just lovely? Hacker News: privileged technologists setting the standards for techno-skeptical protest. Tell us what the proper way to go about it (outside the established means of the sham that is representative parliamentary democracy, of course) is, then.

[1] https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=6951468

Re: Demonstration at Home of Google Developer. Google Bus Blocked in Berkeley

#89

Post by [deleted] »

BryanB55 wrote: post #75
[deleted] wrote: post #44

Earlier quoted context omitted.

[deleted]

If you are not trained in self defense and how to use a gun to defend your life maybe you shouldn't be carrying one and you also shouldn't be commenting on it like you know what you are talking about. Why do you assume a gun would be randomly taken out in a tense confrontation? I can spin this idea as well by saying "What if a few rogue protestors were really pissed off, kicked in your front door and began to beat yo…

[deleted]

Re: Demonstration at Home of Google Developer. Google Bus Blocked in Berkeley

#90

Post by hack_edu »

keidian wrote: post #6

Is this serious or supposed to be satire or something? Cause it reads like something a deranged person would write to me... Making comments about how Google employees automatically bring police, "All of Google's employees should be prevented from getting to work", etc. Yeah they do bring police.. to deal with nutjobs that decide to randomly show up at their houses and stop them from working, stop a bus in the middle…

Political theatre, for its own sake, is a very effective way of attracting press coverage and staying in the news. Has been a go-to in the radical playbook for nearly a century now.
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