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Without claiming expertise regarding the company, I disagree fairly strongly with the attitudes commonly expressed towards Uber in the media (I read the Guardia

Without claiming expertise regarding the company, I disagree fairly strongly with the attitudes commonly expressed towards Uber in the media (I read the Guardian and NYT mostly), on Hacker News, and elsewhere in the mostly liberal sources I am exposed to. Here are my reasons: 1. The Susan Fowler workplace sexual harassment claims were horrific and sounded true. So it does sound like there are some complete dicks working there. If the CEO was party to this stuff then I'm wrong, but I assume he wasn't. 2. The hatred for the CEO is surely exaggerated. The video of him in the cab with a customer was fine, it was a good robust conversation -- towards the end both parties became annoyed. Perfectly normal behavior. He sounds nice enough to me from the words of his that I've read. Obviously you don't take CEOs that seriously; they're entire job is to place inane positive spin on their company every day that they wake up. 3. The Guardian and NYT so obviously have the knives out for the company that it's become laughable reading their coverage. 4. His mum just died in a tragic accident and people are not even mentioning that in stories about him taking time off. 5. It's become common for people to say stuff like "they're not contributing anything novel", and otherwise completely underestimate the wonderful transformation that they have effected in personal travel and efficient usage of cars. 6. Young American liberals have become so annoying about political correctness causes such as workplace sexual politics that I have really come to hate that aspect of working in America and I am inclined to support Uber just to annoy them (being honest here, I didn't claim my post would be appreciated). 7. The sight of Bernie Sanders-supporting liberals earnestly trying to improve the world by choosing one silicon valley start-up over another would be funny, if the failures of the left weren't so depressing at this time when we need a grown-up left more than ever.

DonHopkins 9y ago
"6. Young American liberals have become so annoying about political correctness causes such as workplace sexual politics that I have really come to hate that aspect of working in America and I am inclined to support Uber just to annoy them (being honest here, I didn't claim my post would be appreciated)." I've frequently observed people taking untenable positions that they know are wrong, they don't actually believe in, and they can't justify or defend, just to be a dick, in order to punish somebody who hurt their feelings but was right. But you're the first person I've ever seen actually come out and admit that is what they do. Kudos on your honesty, if for nothing else. There are a whole lot of people who behave like you but don't admit it. It's not an original, ethical, constructive or intelligent behavior, but you're just the first person I've seen openly admit that's how they operate. You'll tolerate sexual harassment, but only because somebody who was against it annoyed you, and you wanted to annoy them back. Was it more annoying for you to experience someone who is annoyingly intolerant of sexual harassment, than it is annoying to actually be sexually harassed? The Paradox of Annoyance sound like the evil corollary to the Paradox of Tolerance. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paradox_of_tolerance https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paradox_of_tolerance
- Myrmornis 9y ago
  Not sure, but I appreciate your post. Yes, the current state of progressive left politics is driving me away from stances that I would like to hold. People like Jerry Coyne, Richard Dawkins and Sam Harris talk sense and are somewhere on the left, but the chanting hordes of diversity-obsessed political correctness warriors are so, so depressing and so, so far from the grown-up, scientifically literate, rationalist, anti-religious, technological, humane, liberal movement that we need to counter the opposing forces of cynical conservatives, racists, gun- and bible-nuts etc

DonHopkins 9y ago

"6. Young American liberals have become so annoying about political correctness causes such as workplace sexual politics that I have really come to hate that aspect of working in America and I am inclined to support Uber just to annoy them (being honest here, I didn't claim my post would be appreciated)." I've frequently observed people taking untenable positions that they know are wrong, they don't actually believe in, and they can't justify or defend, just to be a dick, in order to punish somebody who hurt their feelings but was right. But you're the first person I've ever seen actually come out and admit that is what they do. Kudos on your honesty, if for nothing else. There are a whole lot of people who behave like you but don't admit it. It's not an original, ethical, constructive or intelligent behavior, but you're just the first person I've seen openly admit that's how they operate. You'll tolerate sexual harassment, but only because somebody who was against it annoyed you, and you wanted to annoy them back. Was it more annoying for you to experience someone who is annoyingly intolerant of sexual harassment, than it is annoying to actually be sexually harassed? The Paradox of Annoyance sound like the evil corollary to the Paradox of Tolerance. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paradox_of_tolerance https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paradox_of_tolerance

Myrmornis 9y ago
Not sure, but I appreciate your post. Yes, the current state of progressive left politics is driving me away from stances that I would like to hold. People like Jerry Coyne, Richard Dawkins and Sam Harris talk sense and are somewhere on the left, but the chanting hordes of diversity-obsessed political correctness warriors are so, so depressing and so, so far from the grown-up, scientifically literate, rationalist, anti-religious, technological, humane, liberal movement that we need to counter the opposing forces of cynical conservatives, racists, gun- and bible-nuts etc