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Ask HN: Can you be openly politically right-leaning in tech in North America?

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Re: Ask HN: Can you be openly politically right-leaning in tech in North America?

#41

Post by tablespoon »

edgefield wrote: post #11
gtirloni wrote: post #3

Could you define the set of beliefs that comprise "right-leaning"? That should help here.

Unfortunately, right leaning in the US has come to include views that run counter to science, diversity/inclusivity, and human rights for all (right to vote, right to choose). Are these views welcome in tech companies? Not generally.

> Unfortunately, right leaning in the US has come to include views that run counter to science, diversity/inclusivity, and human rights for all (right to vote, right to choose). Are these views welcome in tech companies? Not generally.

That kind of phrasing is pretty obnoxious. You might as well as "unfortunately, [to be] right leaning in the US means hating puppies and disliking fun." It's needlessly provoking and lumps people into a lazy stereotype.

Re: Ask HN: Can you be openly politically right-leaning in tech in North America?

#42

Post by gregjor »

Are you joking? 29% of Americans identify as Republicans, 44% as "right-leaning." I assume most of them live "openly." Fox News, openly politically right-leaning, remains the most-watched network in the US. Members of my own family and circle of friends lean right, openly and proudly, just like I lean progressive, openly.

https://www.pewresearch.org/topic/politics-policy/us-electio...

Looking at the rest of North America, it looks like lots of Canadians openly act on right-leaning political beliefs:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2019_Canadian_federal_election

The other large democracy in North America -- Mexico -- has a large and visible right-leaning constituency.

Maybe in the echo chambers of the Bay Area or New York or LA expressing right-leaning political views gets a dismissive reaction, but that certainly isn't the case across North America.

Re: Ask HN: Can you be openly politically right-leaning in tech in North America?

#44

Post by unraveller »

lostcolony wrote: post #16
edgefield wrote: post #11

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Unfortunately, right leaning in the US has come to include views that run counter to science, diversity/inclusivity, and human rights for all (right to vote, right to choose). Are these views welcome in tech companies? Not generally.

Those views aren't welcome in most companies, period. Hence the op's rather important question "what views". Just because the hateful and anti-science groups have found a home in the modern day GOP doesn't mean that a given conservative shares them, even when holding their nose to vote.

I don't think it is even possible for a rational person to be anti-science. By definition you are engaged with a scientific proposition or prediction by focusing on it and disagreeing with the veracity of claims.

When people say so and so are anti-science they appear desperately wishing to smear another as ignorant or irrational and themselves as smart and rational. But a pro-scientific accusation would involve the exact irrefutable point the other is being irrational on. They don't do accurate accusations well because that would be to suppose poor use of rational faculty when all that can be proven is none was detected by the accuser, which might too readily expose their flawed non-scientific approach to accusations. I posit that these smears are based on dogma and only a symptom of one's unwillingness to engage in tense moral debate with cordiality.

Re: Ask HN: Can you be openly politically right-leaning in tech in North America?

#45

Post by lolthrowaway1 »

akerl_ wrote: post #28
Bostonian wrote: post #23

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The word "homophobic" is used to discredit any disapproval of homosexuality -- it must be a "phobia" and is not rational, and the issue is not open to discussion. To answer the OP, especially on social issues, you cannot be openly right-wing.

I think you may be inventing a distinction. Nobody is trying to make “disapproval of homosexuality” sound worse by making it a “phobia”. It already sounds bad on its own. Stop disapproving of other people’s identity.

There are parts of homosexuality which are bad. There are parts of that community which sexualizes children and exposes them to sexual things at far too young of an age under the moniker of "sexual education". There are far too many gay men who believe that just because heterosexual romance (nee crushes) among children are romanticized in culture that homosexual contact should be normalized, romanced and espoused as well (because far too many gay men see sex as the be all and end all of homosexuality) in the name of equality.

Re: Ask HN: Can you be openly politically right-leaning in tech in North America?

#46

Post by [deleted] »

lolthrowaway1 wrote: post #36
eddof13 wrote: post #6

I could say I don't support or believe in tech censorship, vaccine passports, virtue signaling, BLM, critical race theory, white guilt/privilege and that I don't believe that trans women are women. However, I suspect that it's true that an employer would not approve of that, and that right leaning beliefs or believers don't get a fair shake in this climate. So I think it's best to not be open about and say such thing…

> 20% is to not have any opinions Unfortunately, in much of FAANG today, this isn't enough. If you're not openly a progressive you're assumed to be slightly to the right of stalin.

[deleted]

Re: Ask HN: Can you be openly politically right-leaning in tech in North America?

#47

Post by Grieving »

cosmotic wrote: post #32
genkimind wrote: post #17

I lean right (fiscally) and sometimes my comments are perceived as unwelcome in group chats. Such topics include afghanistan, covid statistics, are seemingly discouraged. Comments talking about how terrible, racist, and sexist the company is are totally cool. In fact creating a woman's right's channel where the whole purpose is to bash our own employer is also cool. @hereing #general with stories about sexism and how…

What does that mean lean right fiscally? Traditionally, I believe that means less government spending, but at least in the US, government spending doesn't seem to change significantly under conservative control. In fact, the spending just shifts from people-in-need to people-that-already-have (social programs vs corporate handouts). Not talking about Afghanistan at work seems reasonable. I'm not sure what COVID stati…

> What does that mean lean right fiscally? Traditionally, I believe that means less government spending, but at least in the US, government spending doesn't seem to change significantly under conservative control.

That's just American politics: you never get what you asked for. I remember Dan Carlin saying something like "No matter who you vote for, you always get John McCain."

Re: Ask HN: Can you be openly politically right-leaning in tech in North America?

#48

Post by quantified »

zozbot234 wrote: post #25
edgefield wrote: post #11

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Unfortunately, right leaning in the US has come to include views that run counter to science, diversity/inclusivity, and human rights for all (right to vote, right to choose). Are these views welcome in tech companies? Not generally.

Left-leaning also "includes" such views - consider tankies, for example. The more meaningful question is what views are genuinely representative.

Had to look up “tankie”. Shows how incoherent the “right” vs “left” can be in terms of positions they take.

Re: Ask HN: Can you be openly politically right-leaning in tech in North America?

#49

Post by quantified »

akerl_ wrote: post #31
lostcolony wrote: post #16

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Those views aren't welcome in most companies, period. Hence the op's rather important question "what views". Just because the hateful and anti-science groups have found a home in the modern day GOP doesn't mean that a given conservative shares them, even when holding their nose to vote.

I think this is pretty much on the mark. The modern Republican Party has managed to carve itself a niche as a pretty hate-fueled / senseless place. The issue is that “holding your nose to vote” is taking a stance: somebody who votes for a candidate who is sexist because they like their fiscal policy is saying “I’m OK being led by this person because I value their fiscal policy more than their character”. And in the m…

It’s a lot harder to find candidates to vote for than to vote against. You may find fiscal policy more important than dress codes. Or environmental policy more important than school prayer.

Re: Ask HN: Can you be openly politically right-leaning in tech in North America?

#50

Post by thethimble »

dsjfladjsfkl wrote: post #39
gtirloni wrote: post #3

Could you define the set of beliefs that comprise "right-leaning"? That should help here.

pro-life, pro-gun, pro-free speech, lower taxes, tough solutions to vagrancy.

Incredible that “pro free speech” is now a “right” belief. Free speech is perhaps the cornerstone of classical liberalism.
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