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What the Hell Is Up with Dilbert?

meghanboilard.substack.com

201–210 of 416 posts

Re: What the Hell Is Up with Dilbert?

#201
post #4

Simple. Workplace complaints and management priorities have changed, and Dilbert followed. When Dilbert started, the government wasn't yet training employees how to "interrupt whiteness" [1], or Coca-Cola how to "be less white" [2], or Cigna simply forbidding hiring whites [3], nor did academia require mandatory diversity pledges for new hires and promotions [4]. Dilbert is doing what we are told art is supposed to d…

I've run into some real-world examples of this workplace weirdness, including a clumsily architected hiring plan that required certain roles to be filled by people meeting certain demographics (quickly shut down by legal once they caught on). But at the same time, I don't find Dilbert's take on these issues to be funny, nor do I really think that it's an appropriate place to combat these nuanced issues. 3-panel comic…

I worked at a place in the '90s with a call center where legal caught wind of the desired demographic being young attractive females. It was said people got fired over it.

Also, I like "Trying to stretch the formula to cover complex political issues feels like it's just attacking strawmen". So many discussions and debates involve building strawmen and "destroying" them to make one think that "owned" the other.

Re: What the Hell Is Up with Dilbert?

#202
I imagined, based on the title of this article, that Dilbert had turned into something like the Babylon Bee. (If you don't know, the Babylon Bee is a deeply unfunny attempt at a right-wing Onion.)

Instead, I found myself laughing at all of these comics. Yes, Adams has gone full nutjob, but the restraints of the comic strip format seem to keep his more bizarre views in check.

Re: What the Hell Is Up with Dilbert?

#203
post #159

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It feels like that started happening around 2014-2015. I genuinely wonder if he is afflicted with some mental issue. I stopped following him and the comics when he started blogging about how great trump was.

He didn't start blogging about how great Trump was, he blogged that Trump had a high chance of winning the election and explained why. Can't you make the difference between explaining a phenomena and encouraging it?

Link posted has moved to https://www.scottadamssays.com/why-i-switched-my-endorsement...

Re: What the Hell Is Up with Dilbert?

#204

He's gone off the deep end. I've seen the same happen with some friends and wrote about it, it's a sad thing when formerly intelligent human beings start losing it and fail to recover only to sink further and further into their own version of reality.

Quoted post unavailable.

No, that would not be a rephrasing of my comment. But you probably already knew that.

Re: What the Hell Is Up with Dilbert?

#205
post #111
post #56

Quoted post unavailable.

> It's just conservative talking points because in the real world, nobody actually does that. I present you Sergia, our (in)famous 60 years old trans. https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-5544173/Argentinian...

And as we know, a rare anecdote reported on in a sensationalist rag is credible evidence of a widespread phenomenon.

Re: What the Hell Is Up with Dilbert?

#206

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It feels like that started happening around 2014-2015. I genuinely wonder if he is afflicted with some mental issue. I stopped following him and the comics when he started blogging about how great trump was.

We have a pretty weird political case here in NL around a guy called Thierry Baudet who is clearly unhinged but still gets voted into parliament. Apparently there is a segment of the population that responds sympathetically to things that make no sense at all. They're not even trying to make sense or connect to reality, they just keep repeating all kinds of nonsense and whatever results in a response gets promoted fu…

> They're not even trying to make sense or connect to reality, they just keep repeating all kinds of nonsense and whatever results in a response gets promoted further.

You just described Trump's campaign strategy to a T.

Re: What the Hell Is Up with Dilbert?

#207

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It really makes me wonder what the common experience is for others not just in tech but Corporate America in general. I myself have run into anti-white and anti-male phenomena, unconscious bias pseudoscience training, diversity pledges, and so on, as have now others in my peer group. Dilbert's commentary has so far been entirely appropriate based on my experience, hence it's puzzling to me when people think there's s…

I've taken unconscious bias training. I thought it was very good. I remember catching myself in some meeting talking over a quiet woman who had probably been wanting to talk for quite a while. My brain remembered the training, I shut up, and let her participate in the meeting as an equal. Without the training, I would probably be silently making people miserable. Now I don't do that, as much. You use the word "pseudo…

Yep that can be good. Sometimes.

I can't agree with you that this kind of training is very good, however. It is often very political and propagandist.

But I value taking good things from everywhere. E.g. I am not a Christian but I know there are some good things in their teachings as well

Re: What the Hell Is Up with Dilbert?

#208

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I've taken unconscious bias training. I thought it was very good. I remember catching myself in some meeting talking over a quiet woman who had probably been wanting to talk for quite a while. My brain remembered the training, I shut up, and let her participate in the meeting as an equal. Without the training, I would probably be silently making people miserable. Now I don't do that, as much. You use the word "pseudo…

It was considerate of you to do that, on the other hand adults also need to learn to be assertive to succeed in social aspects of work. If you were cutting her off or not paying attention to a raised hand, sure try to change that. But otherwise you are not doing her any favors for her long term career growth, where she will have to participate in meetings with confident, knowledgeable and busy people focused on work…

“Other people in the world are inconsiderate assholes, therefore I should be an inconsiderate asshole to help my coworkers prepare for the inevitable. And if they can’t handle it, too bad.”

By the same token do you cheat at every game with your children to teach them the cold truth about society?

Re: What the Hell Is Up with Dilbert?

#209

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I disagree. I have a good friend who is conservative about application of government (a 'fiscal conservative'), and very socially progressive. She is a registered Republican, and considers herself a "conservative". While she is actively dedicated to social progress, (supports gay marriage, believes in the right to abortion, etc.), she feels we will be most successful at achieving this goal with leadership who priorit…

What is her position on the Trump tax cuts? Bush's wall Street bailout / TARP? The trillions of COVID-19 aid passed by Trump? Anyone who is actually a fiscal conservative knows that the concept is completely dead today.

If I have it right, she feels a great deal of frustration and betrayal. But apparently not enough to give up hope that her idea is the best course to achieve progress for society.

Re: What the Hell Is Up with Dilbert?

#210
post #111
post #56

Quoted post unavailable.

> It's just conservative talking points because in the real world, nobody actually does that. I present you Sergia, our (in)famous 60 years old trans. https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-5544173/Argentinian...

Hearsay from an unnamed relative printed in a tabloid is evidence? Even if it were true, what does a single case prove?
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