I'm what you'd call a centrist, in that I have some traditionally liberal positions and some traditionally conservative positions. I think that racism is a major problem, that misogyny is a malignant presence in American life, but also that it's not for the government to solve these problems, and that mob justice (take the case of Amy Cooper getting virtually stoned and having her life ruined) is always wrong. I'm extremely skeptical of Affirmative Action as a solution to long-standing problems, and I get queasy when I see concerted efforts within companies to hire people based on gender identity or skin color as part of diversity and equality initiatives. I find that at Salesforce it's okay to speak about traditionally liberal values, and to go as far with any diversity initiatives as possible. Lately there's been direct refutation of equal opportunity as a desirable goal, and that striving for more equal outcomes is preferred. I think that's not good. I suspect that open disagreement with any of this could limit my opportunities internally, though I doubt it'd result in dismissal. At least, I hope it wouldn't lead to me getting terminated. Is it, or should it be dangerous to work in tech and hold or express a few conservative views? What happened to not getting into politics at work in the first place? It feels unavoidable, more and more.
Welcome to a conservative's life
It's almost like we are a minority or something.
Honestly, silence is the best policy. You don't have to drink the Kool-aid to look cool at the party, just bob your head to the music.
Both tech and the internet were ruined when people realized you can get huge swaths of not only this country, but the world, to believe things that are not necessarily true overnight. Now it’s just a huge fight over who has that power and the industry is fueled by the most inflammatory news stories and agendas that you could imagine, so of course it’s unavoidable
That’s basically what’s happening. Not sure how to solve it but it’s worth trying something.
Everyone thinks they're a centrist. You only cite your views on what the problems are and what the solutions are not. Clear statements about what you think the solutions are would be the actual determinant of where you are in the political arena. (Abstaining from supporting proposed solutions doesn't make you a centrist, it makes you a coward.) As for discussing any of these at work, you'd be foolish to give any indication of your political views. Or what newspapers you read. Or what news shows you watch. I'm definitely liberal, and I once made the mistake of sharing with an executive a story I heard on NPR. The reaction was not polite and I learned my lesson. Do I politically agree with fulfillment center worker treatment and Rekognition sales to law enforcement? No. Do I go around talking s*** about it? No. If you really care about a political topic, you have to concede that talking about it at work won't make a difference.
Not everyone thinks they’re a centrist, most people pick one side or the other. I say centrist because I support paying higher taxes and more universal healthcare, but find Affirmative Action useless and any infringement on speech bad. I think that hiring should be handled as blindly as possible, closer to what Google does with a distinct hiring committee. I think that you don’t ask at all about gender identity or race. Your points make sense. Good take on things.
Hopefully I'm not coming off too combative but a couple things I'm thinking here I think a lot of people try to claim the "centrist" or "moderate" label because they automatically seem more "reasonable" than identifying as leaning one side or another. However, as your example shows it doesn't really offer much insight and allows the user to hide behind a vague, noncommittal label. That said, I'm curious why you think infringement of speech is a "leftist" position to take. It would seem that this is an authoritarian position if anything. Do people who usually want women to have abortion rights also think that speech needs to be restricted by law? I'm not so sure of this. It's a caricaturization.
Amy Cooper did whatever happen to her - herself - she knew that African Americans are likely to be killed and are beaten more than often then any other race in America. She knew that and she made a false report. She deserved whatever happen to her. If you allow something like this to go on without repercussions you allow people to think like her to live without fear of consequences for thinking that there are people who are less then We can not let that happen Because it has happened for far too long in this country and we’re just now getting to a society where there are repercussions And those repercussions are set by the government because without the government there’s no order and when you let people decide other people fate without order you get what happened to ahmaud in Georgia So please idgaf about your views and it’s not really a left or right or conservative whatever there’s just being a decent human being and understanding that’s there’s oppression from the day minorities came off a boat and put in shackles and enslaved and looked at as less than and people being able to do whatever to these people and getting away with it thus creating these groups that are so intertwined with our government/politics / businesses that there’s affirmative action You may bring up well how can other can other minorities like Asian (Chinese, Japanese) or Indian are able to get ahead but you have to understand that there’s such a thing called model minority Racism stems so deep here that’s it very hard to get head there’s so many variables that play into why some stay in their situation - they’re just trying to live but it’s illegal how they going about it but that’s all they know
Assuming this isn’t a troll post, *this* is exactly the shit I’m talking about. The whole, it’s not a matter of views or political opinion, it’s you’re either a decent person or not. That’s a problem. You have a perspective on how these matters should be handled. I disagree with it, but I don’t think you’re bad person because of it.
People with the urge to punish others harshly are always hateful pricks. Even the ones looking to punish hateful pricks.
Amy Cooper would not have received much as far as repercussions go if it weren't for mob justice. It's not a great way to be but unless systems are in place to handle this I'm not sure how we perform these corrections in society. It can go both ways though, as the public went nuts during the Boston Busing Riots. At the end of the day, I think the lady's punishment will likely fit the crime. No one is going to follow this lady much longer than 3-4 weeks. I'm curious about this "direct refutation" of equal opportunity. How was it proposed that this would be implemented? How does one guarantee equal opportunity when it's almost certainly affected by other circumstances in one's life and environment?
True, I don’t know how we correct the Amy Coopers of the world but deferring to mob justice is not good. With the equal opportunity stuff. People have both stated and put visuals in presentations saying that it’s not enough and that society must be changed to ensure everyone gets the same benefits. It’s like saying, okay we’re going to find a way to make life fair.
Well I won't go into particular policy details but isn't that what human beings are always trying to do? Improve their own environments? Whether it's via technological advancements, legislation, exploration, or even just plain old academics, it seems as though humans are conditioned to constantly challenge the status quo and try to leave things better for the next generation. This is how these people see their roles in society. There's a great book called "Simple Habits for Complex Times" that addresses this idea a bit
You are just another closet conservative.
So, is that a problem?
Not at all. Everyone has a role in the society.
Amy cooper could’ve said “I am going to call the cops and tell them a man is threatening me”. She made it about race by bringing in “African American”
So would it have been okay if she had only exercised female privilege and not specifically white female privilege? Me. Cooper would still have been in danger with the cops coming because he was a man, and the cops would have been predisposed to believe the caller because she was a woman. Being black just put him in even more danger.
Welcome to being another silenced conservative in tech. Simply, politics in the workforce are never worth it.
good thing the voting booth is still anonymous
Its okay to practice freedom of speech and express your values. As long as those values are approved by the left ;)