Google fires more workers after CEO says workplace isn’t for politics • Hacker News Board

Re: Google fires more workers after CEO says workplace isn’t for politics

#71

Post by Terr_ » Tue, Apr 23, 2024, 5:06 PM UTC

chpatrick wrote: post #8

jsiepkes wrote: post #5

Sure, if all it takes is raising a rainbow flag on top of the building and some words of the CEO they are all for it. But as soon as Google's bottom line is involved they behave pretty predictable.

See also YouTube happily selling millions of dollars in advertising every year to the Orbán regime and pals. If you don't have AdBlock or premium in Hungary you get five minutes of brainwashing before every video. These are the same regime saying that the fact that gay people exist is propaganda and a threat to children. If Google actually gave a fuck they could start with that. Any semblance of being progressive is…

Looking for more detail, came across:

> The advertisements thus formally promote the Hungarian government’s anti-migrant measures. At the same time, they also stress the dangers of migration and the violence of migrants. These advertisements also appeared in countries when allies of the Orbán government, also campaigning with anti-migrant slogans, were competing in parliamentary or local elections. [...]

> Google distinguishes between two types of advertising: political and non-political. The former is subject to stricter transparency rules. [...] Google confirmed that the relevant Hungarian government ads do not violate the terms of use and, as they do not promote political parties or politicians, are not political ads.

[0] https://vsquare.org/orban-central-europe-online-ads-election...

Re: Google fires more workers after CEO says workplace isn’t for politics

#72

Post by dijit » Tue, Apr 23, 2024, 5:06 PM UTC

JumpCrisscross wrote: post #52

dijit wrote: post #30

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I hope I'm not considered a troll for asking this question; I will ask on my main account and hopefully people will check my comment history to understand I am not intending to be belligerent or intentionally dumb. But why is it that rainbow flags (pride, et al) are considered the pro-Palestinian side in the conflict. I might be old but I distinctly remember a humanitarian outcry in the 00's because Palestinians were…

> why is it that rainbow flags (pride, et al) are considered the pro-Palestinian side in the conflict Source? This is the first I’m hearing of this.

Uh, first thing I could come up with at short notice: https://19thnews.org/2024/03/lgbtq-americans-gaza-israel-pro...

I hope that's enough, there's a lot of documented evidence of pride flags and watermelons in the bio of pro-Palestinian people, almost to the point where many online forums treat it like a meme.

Re: Google fires more workers after CEO says workplace isn’t for politics

#73

Post by spencerflem » Tue, Apr 23, 2024, 5:06 PM UTC

dijit wrote: post #63

vlozko wrote: post #50

Earlier quoted context omitted.

>... the political divide has fallen such that LGBTQ+ people are almost forced to ally with Palestine. Short answer: they are often one and the same people - leftist activists who have opinions on more than one subject.

I'm sorry but I don't understand and I think I need a longer answer. I could interpret this three ways: 1) "Leftist Activists"; are a mixed group with some supporting pro-LGBTQ rights and others supporting Palestine. 2) "Leftist Activists"; are a homogenous group, including LGBTQ people, of which they support Palestine (and thus, support a regime that would wish them harm) 3) "Leftist Activists"; are a homogenous gro…

I think you are mistaken that you cannot logically support both LGBT rights and Palestine. For example, I support LBGTQ+ rights and would not want people who opposed them in America to be treated the way Palestinians are.

Re: Google fires more workers after CEO says workplace isn’t for politics

#74

Post by [deleted] » Tue, Apr 23, 2024, 5:07 PM UTC

KenArrari wrote: post #49

SadCordDrone wrote: post #39

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Not if the customer is killing a potential future adversary to my family or even distant relatives. Morality is a social construct. The selfish gene is a biological construct.

Good thing they're also running the service that decides who to kill based on their browsing history and what group chats they're in.

[deleted]

Re: Google fires more workers after CEO says workplace isn’t for politics

#75

Post by the_mar » Tue, Apr 23, 2024, 5:08 PM UTC

exe34 wrote: post #36

jerojero wrote: post #21

Well I'm pretty sure the people protesting were aware this could be the outcome. So in that regard, I think it's very admirable for them to put their convictions over money. From the outside, I agree with their opinion. But then again, money screams and people talk. I feel like a lot of people in tech tend to be very much "not interested" when it comes to politics, even though tech and particularly these big companie…

What does genocide mean in this context? Are you saying that an enemy can just put women and children in front of every military installation and the other side can never respond to any attacks anymore?

Right. No one in military conflict can really claim moral superiority. E.g., Nazis vs Soviets. While yes, I'm not here to dispute that Nazis were on the wrong side of history, the soviets committed a fair amount of atrocities including towards their own people. Same with pretty much any military conflict the US has been involved in (e.g. remember how the US shot down iranian passenger plane and refused to apologize?).

My point is, wars do not determine who is right, only who is left.

Re: Google fires more workers after CEO says workplace isn’t for politics

#76

Post by lexicality » Tue, Apr 23, 2024, 5:08 PM UTC

2OEH8eoCRo0 wrote: post #25

lexicality wrote: post #19

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Do you think companies listen to and take on board feedback from exit interviews?

It's egotistical and selfish to speak for and expect such a large company to change for their minority opinions. You can't control Google but you can control yourself.

How would you even find out if you have a minority opinion without speaking out?

Maybe the company coffee machine starts using new beans and I don't like the taste. No one else is complaining, so should I keep my mouth shut?

If I say "hey I don't like this coffee" and everyone else goes "it's fine" then I have to get different coffee. If however everyone else says "it sucks" then maybe it'll get changed back.

Re: Google fires more workers after CEO says workplace isn’t for politics

#77

Post by cgh » Tue, Apr 23, 2024, 5:09 PM UTC

jerojero wrote: post #21

Well I'm pretty sure the people protesting were aware this could be the outcome. So in that regard, I think it's very admirable for them to put their convictions over money. From the outside, I agree with their opinion. But then again, money screams and people talk. I feel like a lot of people in tech tend to be very much "not interested" when it comes to politics, even though tech and particularly these big companie…

The Darfur Genocide is still happening, is on a much larger scale than Gaza and despite media coverage, the people who are very worked up about the Israeli actions don’t seem to care. I wonder why that is.

Re: Google fires more workers after CEO says workplace isn’t for politics

#78

Post by dijit » Tue, Apr 23, 2024, 5:09 PM UTC

spencerflem wrote: post #73

dijit wrote: post #63

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'm sorry but I don't understand and I think I need a longer answer. I could interpret this three ways: 1) "Leftist Activists"; are a mixed group with some supporting pro-LGBTQ rights and others supporting Palestine. 2) "Leftist Activists"; are a homogenous group, including LGBTQ people, of which they support Palestine (and thus, support a regime that would wish them harm) 3) "Leftist Activists"; are a homogenous gro…

I think you are mistaken that you cannot logically support both LGBT rights and Palestine. For example, I support LBGTQ+ rights and would not want people who opposed them in America to be treated the way Palestinians are.

OK, I see.

I suppose my next question would be why we are somehow stoic on the Uyghur issue.

But I would guess that the reason is that the US sends support to Israel while actively cutting ties (or going to war economically) with China.

Re: Google fires more workers after CEO says workplace isn’t for politics

#79

Post by the_mar » Tue, Apr 23, 2024, 5:10 PM UTC

Spivak wrote: post #40

sonofaplum wrote: post #16

Earlier quoted context omitted.

If your goal is to change the companies behavior, then protesting and getting fired and getting a WaPo story is more effective than resigning in protest.

Because all anyone not on your immediate team would know is the HR sanitized "they left for other opportunities, we're so happy for the contribution they..." I think it's silly that people will protest like this with the expectation that they won't immediately get fired but that's the play if you want to make noise.

Power in numbers etc. If enough people quit google then it would make a difference.

Re: Google fires more workers after CEO says workplace isn’t for politics

#80

Post by Clubber » Tue, Apr 23, 2024, 5:10 PM UTC

JumpCrisscross wrote: post #28

sonofaplum wrote: post #16

Earlier quoted context omitted.

If your goal is to change the companies behavior, then protesting and getting fired and getting a WaPo story is more effective than resigning in protest.

> protesting and getting fired and getting a WaPo story is more effective than resigning in protest Idk, these guys looked unplanned and childish, which lightens the credibility of their claims. They went zero to occupying an executive’s office—there wasn’t even a petition stage. That’s not the kind of escalation anyone wants precedent for, because if you provide it you’d better be ready to make space for a perpetual…

>And while the PR impact of this hasn’t been negligible, it’s also been light. Outside HN it hasn’t really registered.

I divested all my GOOG stock when the Gemini debacle happened. I figured they were too entrenched in political ideology to compete with AI and would just slowly decay. For me, this is a positive PR impact as it shows GOOG is getting back to competing instead of collecting rents on technology they created decades ago.