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Sure, but do you feel the same way about AirBNB, Google, Facebook, Apple, every major auto manufacturer, Tesla, Amazon, and myriad of other companies that behav

Sure, but do you feel the same way about AirBNB, Google, Facebook, Apple, every major auto manufacturer, Tesla, Amazon, and myriad of other companies that behave in unethical ways? I can't think of a single tech company that hasn't engaged in some eye brow raising behavior. There was even some controversy with YCombinator funding a fantasy sports betting company.

fatbird 6y ago
I'm a little more nuanced in my analysis than the GP, but yes, I do feel that way in some degree about all the companies you mention, and how the employees have some incremental responsibility for the bad those companies do. Offered rents in Vancouver have dropped 15% since the pandemic took hold and AirBnB became a dead business for a bunch of mini-hoteliers. If you helped build that software, then I hold you a little bit responsible for the crisis in affordable housing we've been struggling with, that AirBnB has contributed to. If you work at Facebook, then I hold you a little bit responsible for the consequences of the 2016 U.S. election and Donald Trump's presidency. Your share of the responsibility is likely tiny, and I'm not going act like you're a mass murderer. But at the end of the day you were part of the machine that left a trail of damage in its wake, and I won't ignore that just because you were merely a cog.
- novok 6y ago
  Are you sure it's AirBNB, or the general economy dropping? RE values and rents as a knock on result have been dropping everywhere as demand ($$$ to pay for rent) has dropped globally as peoples jobs are lost and people move in with their parents or similar and drop leases fairly suddenly. When you really research how much AirBNB is part of a housing market, it's minuscule. One or 3 condo buildings can usually cover whatever supply AirBNB put into alternative demand markets. AirBNB is a convenient scapegoat in most markets, because it diverts attention from building more supply and all the NIMBYs blocking it.
- balls187 6y ago
  I get your point, but any culpability on their part should not cause us to withhold compassion and empathy to a person losing their livelihood. Being laid off sucks. I can't imagine what it's like to be laid off during the worst economic period in US history since the great depression, AND to have people bag on you because you were employed by a company they didn't agree with.
lykr0n 6y ago
Yeah. AirBNB has destroyed the rental markets of 100s of metropolitan areas. If you're working there, then you helped that. Facebook is the sole reason we have AntiVaxxers, Trump, and fake news in general. Working at facebook, you're supporting that. Apple I don't really have a beef with. Amazon has killed people in it's factories, and if you work there you are in some part responsible for those deaths and the destroyed small businesses. You can work where ever you want, as is your right. But by you working at a company, does not make you immune from being responsible for the company's actions. You have a choice of where you work, and if you choose to work there knowing the bad things the company does- that's on you.
- saagarjha 6y ago
  > Apple I don't really have a beef with. I'm curious if this is because you agree with everything they've done or because you haven't really looked too deeply into it.

fatbird 6y ago

I'm a little more nuanced in my analysis than the GP, but yes, I do feel that way in some degree about all the companies you mention, and how the employees have some incremental responsibility for the bad those companies do. Offered rents in Vancouver have dropped 15% since the pandemic took hold and AirBnB became a dead business for a bunch of mini-hoteliers. If you helped build that software, then I hold you a little bit responsible for the crisis in affordable housing we've been struggling with, that AirBnB has contributed to. If you work at Facebook, then I hold you a little bit responsible for the consequences of the 2016 U.S. election and Donald Trump's presidency. Your share of the responsibility is likely tiny, and I'm not going act like you're a mass murderer. But at the end of the day you were part of the machine that left a trail of damage in its wake, and I won't ignore that just because you were merely a cog.

novok 6y ago
Are you sure it's AirBNB, or the general economy dropping? RE values and rents as a knock on result have been dropping everywhere as demand ($$$ to pay for rent) has dropped globally as peoples jobs are lost and people move in with their parents or similar and drop leases fairly suddenly. When you really research how much AirBNB is part of a housing market, it's minuscule. One or 3 condo buildings can usually cover whatever supply AirBNB put into alternative demand markets. AirBNB is a convenient scapegoat in most markets, because it diverts attention from building more supply and all the NIMBYs blocking it.
balls187 6y ago
I get your point, but any culpability on their part should not cause us to withhold compassion and empathy to a person losing their livelihood. Being laid off sucks. I can't imagine what it's like to be laid off during the worst economic period in US history since the great depression, AND to have people bag on you because you were employed by a company they didn't agree with.

lykr0n 6y ago

Yeah. AirBNB has destroyed the rental markets of 100s of metropolitan areas. If you're working there, then you helped that. Facebook is the sole reason we have AntiVaxxers, Trump, and fake news in general. Working at facebook, you're supporting that. Apple I don't really have a beef with. Amazon has killed people in it's factories, and if you work there you are in some part responsible for those deaths and the destroyed small businesses. You can work where ever you want, as is your right. But by you working at a company, does not make you immune from being responsible for the company's actions. You have a choice of where you work, and if you choose to work there knowing the bad things the company does- that's on you.

saagarjha 6y ago
> Apple I don't really have a beef with. I'm curious if this is because you agree with everything they've done or because you haven't really looked too deeply into it.