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"Silicon Valley" is a workplace, and it's generally considered rude to bring your political views into the workplace. Everyone has met the very passionate on bo
by bdamm 9y ago
"Silicon Valley" is a workplace, and it's generally considered rude to bring your political views into the workplace. Everyone has met the very passionate on both the left and the right, and having someone stand outside your cube or in the lunch line trying to "win" you over to their view just isn't conducive to getting your work done and making money.
- stevenwliao 9y agoThe contention is that the “correct” views can be openly discussed.
- briandear 9y agoUnless you are on the left, then in SV it’s perfectly acceptable.
- briandear 9y agoWhy is this downvoted? It’s a fact.
- WillPostForFood 9y agoIt isn't political debate that it is the issue, it is the absolute assumption that everyone agrees with the standard SV dogma, so people say political things all the time, with no intent to debate, because they are just the accepted truth. A subtle example would be trashing "flyover" states. There is no intent to debate whether people from Texas are rednecks, but people feel free to say it.
- gaius 9y agoA subtle example would be trashing "flyover" states. There is no intent to debate whether people from Texas are rednecks, but people feel free to say it. Similarly the Brexit vote revealed alot about people's true characters and beliefs. The vote largely broke down along class lines, working class for Leave, middle class for Remain. And those middle class types, who tirelessly virtue signal about how left-wing they are, when confronted with what the actual Workers really want, are quick to condemn the entire lot as racist mouth-breathing, knuckle-dragging morons. Class divisions are never far from the surface in the UK.
- Cookingboy 9y ago>"Silicon Valley" is a workplace, and it's generally considered rude to bring your political views into the workplace. In theory, yes, but in practice it's only considered "rude" when you bring unpopular political views into the workplace. In a partisan locale such as SV people openly talk about the popular political view at work, all the time. A Googler can go to TGIF Q&A and openly bash Trump/GOP and he'd get sympathetic responses from Larry, if not cheers from the audience (and a bunch of new memegen entries), but I highly doubt the same would be true for someone expressing opposite views.
- cinquemb 9y agoI used to work for a start up in Boston (co-lo'd with a bunch of other startups) a couple years ago, and people would openly talk about politics of the left-wing establishment variety and go around patting each other on the back for it. The stuff rude awakenings are made of…
- RU9x8wHmjH8m6Nm 9y agoTotally agree with respect to irrelevant political views. But sometimes sensitive topics become relevant in the workplace (e.g. diversity in hiring). If any suggested divergence from the party line is repudiated, we risk losing objectivity. An open mind easily discards a bad idea. A closed mind may miss a good one.
- bassman9000 9y agoand it's generally considered rude to bring your conservative/libertarian/non-liberal political views into the workplace FTFY