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Or it can be to create a neutral environment to get work done, as a professional environment should be. I just want to put in my hours and go home. Keep your po

Or it can be to create a neutral environment to get work done, as a professional environment should be. I just want to put in my hours and go home. Keep your politics to yourself.

t0astbread 7y ago
Of course I don't want total mayhem to happen but workers should have the ability to talk about issues at their workplace or raise concerns about the work they're doing and the resulting discussion will probably be political. Shutting down political discussion entirely (100%) will prevent employees from raising concerns.
TheGRS 7y ago
I think the problem with this view, especially in software development, is that it will pretty soundly continue the current status quo in diversity. We won't get more diversity without some political discussion. If you believe diversity is not a worthy topic of discussion or debate at the workplace, well, therein lies the political divide. Silencing political discussion is then its own form of getting a leg up in that debate.
- lacampbell 7y ago
  I think the problem with this view, especially in software development, is that it will pretty soundly continue the current status quo in diversity. We won't get more diversity without some political discussion. What if the opposite happened, and political discussion resulted in people arguing for less diversity? The status quo might seem pretty appealing at that point.
  - FussyZeus 7y ago
    What exactly is this point you keep trying to make all over this thread? Accept the status quo and don't talk too much, or it might get worse? What on Earth kind of philosophy is that?
    - lacampbell 7y ago
      I thought my point was obvious, but I suppose you need to meet your audience half way. I suspect people want to discuss politics at work if they feel their politics matches the politics around them. What they really want is a bit of a circlejerk or (at worst) a mild debate within narrow confines of what they consider acceptable. If they thought most people disagreed with them, or that they were a political minority, they'd want politics off the table. In a post above you said "Keep politics out of $thing" is the purest expression of privilege. You could not be more wrong. "Let me discuss politics in $thing" is the privilege of someone who wants to ruin apolitical situations for the people that disagree with them - who they suspect are in a minority.
FussyZeus 7y ago
Except by virtue of being neutral/centrist/apolitical, you are in fact still making a political statement in favor of the status quo. I’m not commenting on Google allowing or disallowing. I don’t really care and to be honest, if my workplace has a discussion board internally I’d probably not talk politics on it anyway. What I will say though is I think it’s interesting that google found it appropriate to allow it when google itself was disrupting the status quo, and it now disallows it when it more or less has become the status quo.
- mancerayder 7y ago
  He didn't say he had neutral views, he said he wanted a neutral work environment. The attempt to guilt people into rolling around in the mud, or perhaps 'resistance' as you call it, is exactly the mentality that's ruining political conversation for everyone else.
  - FussyZeus 7y ago
    But again, that presumes it's possible to detach politics from everyday life, work included. It isn't. You can pretend they aren't there, but before you just sign up for that, you might want to consider which groups of people benefit from you doing that. I'm not trying to guilt anyone into anything. If anything, I'm putting forth the call to action to recognize that being apolitical hurts almost everyone, yourself included. You may be apolitical, but your boss probably isn't. Your landlord probably isn't. Your local politicians definitely aren't. The owner of your workplace almost certainly isn't, either. And all of those people have the capacity to make their lives better, by politicking in a way that will make your life worse. I don't care what side people want to get on. I just want them to know that whether they've chosen one or not, they are on one.
    - mancerayder 7y ago
      I'm tasked with keeping infrastructure up and running. I'm either doing it, or I'm not. If the company is unethical, I wouldn't sneak in and not do this work, would you? Assuming it's the power of influence you're after... What do you truly hope to influence, the Board? Shareholders? Good luck.

Or it can be to create a neutral environment to get work done, as a professional environment should be. I just want to put in my hours and go home. Keep your politics to yourself.

t0astbread 7y ago

Of course I don't want total mayhem to happen but workers should have the ability to talk about issues at their workplace or raise concerns about the work they're doing and the resulting discussion will probably be political. Shutting down political discussion entirely (100%) will prevent employees from raising concerns.

TheGRS 7y ago

I think the problem with this view, especially in software development, is that it will pretty soundly continue the current status quo in diversity. We won't get more diversity without some political discussion. If you believe diversity is not a worthy topic of discussion or debate at the workplace, well, therein lies the political divide. Silencing political discussion is then its own form of getting a leg up in that debate.

lacampbell 7y ago
I think the problem with this view, especially in software development, is that it will pretty soundly continue the current status quo in diversity. We won't get more diversity without some political discussion. What if the opposite happened, and political discussion resulted in people arguing for less diversity? The status quo might seem pretty appealing at that point.
- FussyZeus 7y ago
  What exactly is this point you keep trying to make all over this thread? Accept the status quo and don't talk too much, or it might get worse? What on Earth kind of philosophy is that?
  - lacampbell 7y ago
    I thought my point was obvious, but I suppose you need to meet your audience half way. I suspect people want to discuss politics at work if they feel their politics matches the politics around them. What they really want is a bit of a circlejerk or (at worst) a mild debate within narrow confines of what they consider acceptable. If they thought most people disagreed with them, or that they were a political minority, they'd want politics off the table. In a post above you said "Keep politics out of $thing" is the purest expression of privilege. You could not be more wrong. "Let me discuss politics in $thing" is the privilege of someone who wants to ruin apolitical situations for the people that disagree with them - who they suspect are in a minority.

FussyZeus 7y ago

Except by virtue of being neutral/centrist/apolitical, you are in fact still making a political statement in favor of the status quo. I’m not commenting on Google allowing or disallowing. I don’t really care and to be honest, if my workplace has a discussion board internally I’d probably not talk politics on it anyway. What I will say though is I think it’s interesting that google found it appropriate to allow it when google itself was disrupting the status quo, and it now disallows it when it more or less has become the status quo.

mancerayder 7y ago
He didn't say he had neutral views, he said he wanted a neutral work environment. The attempt to guilt people into rolling around in the mud, or perhaps 'resistance' as you call it, is exactly the mentality that's ruining political conversation for everyone else.
- FussyZeus 7y ago
  But again, that presumes it's possible to detach politics from everyday life, work included. It isn't. You can pretend they aren't there, but before you just sign up for that, you might want to consider which groups of people benefit from you doing that. I'm not trying to guilt anyone into anything. If anything, I'm putting forth the call to action to recognize that being apolitical hurts almost everyone, yourself included. You may be apolitical, but your boss probably isn't. Your landlord probably isn't. Your local politicians definitely aren't. The owner of your workplace almost certainly isn't, either. And all of those people have the capacity to make their lives better, by politicking in a way that will make your life worse. I don't care what side people want to get on. I just want them to know that whether they've chosen one or not, they are on one.
  - mancerayder 7y ago
    I'm tasked with keeping infrastructure up and running. I'm either doing it, or I'm not. If the company is unethical, I wouldn't sneak in and not do this work, would you? Assuming it's the power of influence you're after... What do you truly hope to influence, the Board? Shareholders? Good luck.