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Why I'm Forced to Say Farewell: Google Management Has Lost Its Moral Compass

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Re: Why I'm Forced to Say Farewell: Google Management Has Lost Its Moral Compass

#162
Google: We're not evil.

Also, Google, later: No comment.

Like a slap in the face from a psychopath. It's not about "good", "bad", "honest", etc. It's literally the world EVIL that they no longer want to swear off. Astronomically monumentally fucked up psycho shit.

Dictionary:

  *EVIL*
  : morally reprehensible : sinful, wicked
  an evil impulse
  an evil tyrant
  evil deeds
  the evil institution of slavery
  : arising from actual or imputed bad character or conduct
  a person of evil reputation
Google: no comment.

Re: Why I'm Forced to Say Farewell: Google Management Has Lost Its Moral Compass

#163
post #101
post #83

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I cannot imagine actively working towards what one believes would be a worse world. It's just regular politics, no identity involved. Everything is political - including our careers.

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Re: Why I'm Forced to Say Farewell: Google Management Has Lost Its Moral Compass

#164
post #138

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You're not gonna like it when you find out where, exactly, America learned those values from.

Luckily, we've gone through that phase around ninety years ago in Europe. We've been trying to avoid it happening again ever since, though right now is a dangerous time here as well. But hey, at least Europe hasn't fallen yet.

If you think you've "gone through that phase", you're not paying much attention.

European companies exist to extract profit without regard to decency, same as American companies. BP filling up the Gulf of Mexico with oil? European. Wirecard's fraud? European. HSBC money laundering? European. Dieselgate? European.

I'm sure I could find more.

Hell, Sergey Brin was born in Moscow and raised by Soviet parents.

The US was founded mainly as an experiment in European mercantile colonialism. This is just a continuation of that.

The downside of there not being any American exceptionalism is that everything you see in America is not an exception.

Re: Why I'm Forced to Say Farewell: Google Management Has Lost Its Moral Compass

#165
post #88
post #83

[flagged]

Then, I'm sorry to say, you have no spine

You sound like someone who has never been poor. Or whose family has never been poor. Easy to have “spine” when you can depend on someone else for money.

Re: Why I'm Forced to Say Farewell: Google Management Has Lost Its Moral Compass

#166
post #28

Earlier quoted context omitted.

[flagged]

And yet it directly speaks to the comment it was replying to. It makes the point that RSUs are generally multi-year; so if you're getting them with _any_ frequency, you never get to the point of "the last RSU vests".

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Re: Why I'm Forced to Say Farewell: Google Management Has Lost Its Moral Compass

#167
post #146

Earlier quoted context omitted.

That’s not really how RSUs work in that situation. The number outstanding and vested each year stays pretty steady.

Yeah what he means is he got enough money over a decade and then waited until a vest day to decide it was immoral.

Oh, sure. But with monthly vesting it kind of a wash.

Re: Why I'm Forced to Say Farewell: Google Management Has Lost Its Moral Compass

#168
post #137

Earlier quoted context omitted.

And? I value this as a forum where people can speak plainly and transparently (mostly).

While transparency is admirable, I don’t find the “why I left Google” blog posts to be particularly interesting content to be posted to HN. They happen relatively frequently and there are a number of things about them that feel distasteful: - The authors are in the literal 1%, so for the 99% of us who are doing far worse it feels a bit like a tiny violin exercise. “Sorry you worked for an unethical company, my compan…

I imagine many Google people are interested, and they get voted up.

You don’t have to read and engage with everything on the front page. And you certainly don’t have to come make snarky criticisms of others.

Re: Why I'm Forced to Say Farewell: Google Management Has Lost Its Moral Compass

#169
post #103

> When Google offered me the job of Director of Android Platform Security in 2017, it was impossible to refuse. Yes, Trump was already president—my family and I had qualms—but he seemed contained, even ineffective. Why make this about trump and politics. It’s just a job.

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Re: Why I'm Forced to Say Farewell: Google Management Has Lost Its Moral Compass

#170
post #96

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I can't imagine ignoring personal ethics in career decisions. I also find it troubling when personal ethics are inaccurately dismissed as "identity politics". Supporting carbon-neutrality and rejecting military applications are clearly matters of personal ethics.

I think very often people are not looking and cause and effect (impact on those issues you care about), but rather brand identification. How does the image of this job match with my stated values? In that sense it does seem shallow, as it’s really a concern for your own PR and not harm reduction. For example I know people in mining who 1. Work on safety for people in mines. 2. Work on reducing environmental impact. B…

That probably does happen, but I don't feel like it's happening here.
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