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Troubling. The Texas law is horrific, but people, even CEOs, should be allowed to espouse "wrong political views" without fear of losing their economic life. In

Troubling. The Texas law is horrific, but people, even CEOs, should be allowed to espouse "wrong political views" without fear of losing their economic life. In a world where so much speech is paid for, it's valuable for people to speak on their own behalf. It's part of what makes America great. And go ahead and criticize! But firing? Cancelling? Is that the price of the sin of sharing your personal political opinion these days? There were two mistakes made here, but the mistake that chills speech and punishes dissent, without limit, is, in the long run, far worse for our society.

marcinzm 5y ago
I suspect you'd agree that people are allowed to choose which companies they support (for whatever reason) and companies are allowed to fire people that cost them money. If you believe those two then this is an obvious outcome.
- plugger 5y ago
  Agreed. Much like the conversation about Google censoring at the behest of the Russian government yesterday it all boils down to the money. Don't mess with the revenue stream. If you do, be prepared to be let go. It's that simple. It's nothing to do with freedom, free speech, etc. It's always about the money.
- javajosh 5y ago
  Perhaps it would hurt sales, like Orson Scott Card's anti-gay-marriage stance hurt Shadow Complex sales. But even so, I think it's possible to chew gum and walk at the same time, and I can enjoy Ender's Game while thinking Card is a backwards fool. Or enjoy Lethal Weapon while thinking Mel Gibson is a bigoted fool. Or admire George Washington, even though he owned slaves. We can't keep throwing the baby out with the bathwater! Even racists, misogynists and bigots have valuable things to contribute to society. Heck, approx 99% of humans living are bigoted and have "wrong views"; if you take human history, it's 100%. The people who are against gay marriage, and abortion, aren't taking those positions to be horrible people. They have heartfelt, if ignorant, reasons for it. I don't think we're doing anyone any good by taking people's livelihood away for sharing their personal political or religious beliefs. Probably gonna get downvoted. But that's okay. It's not my livelihood.
  - plugger 5y ago
    > We can't keep throwing the baby out with the bathwater! "We" didn't do anything. The corporate board (I assume) made this decision, not us. The guy isn't facing charges, he's just been let go by a private LLC for saying something publicly that was perceived as reflecting negatively on the business. Like I said below, in effect corporate America has decided that taking left-leaning stances in the political arena is where their best chances of being and remaining profitable are. Sure, there are exceptions. I don't expect the NRA to become 'woke' as many conservatives would describe it. But a gaming studio? Their largely youth demographic would most likely be divided by this. That's bad business and it's unsurprising that he was terminated. About the only thing I find shocking regarding this whole situation is that this idiot posted his views in a public forum knowing full well his voice would be tied to the company he was working for given he was CEO. Have bad takes, fine. But when you start putting pen to paper in a public forum you need to understand that your words could be used against you. Public relations 101, it's as simple as that.
    - pbourke 5y ago
      Exactly this. Social media allows you to step in a pile of shit at the speed of light. If you are a public figure who is tied, by reputation, to a “brand” then you need to be aware of the circle of acceptable discourse for that brand and its audience. If you step outside the circle then the brand will quickly disconnect from you. Is it a pleasant way to live? No. Is it solely the fault of “the left”? No, it’s the way of everything now.
    - javajosh 5y ago
      See my response to the sibling comment to yours. It applies equally.
  - pseudalopex 5y ago
    No one lives long enough to read every book. And buying other authors' books does them some good.
  - marcinzm 5y ago
    >Even racists, misogynists and bigots have valuable things to contribute to society. So do non racists, non misogynists and non bigots. Since I can only consume so much content I may as well spend my finite money to people I don't dislike. The impact on me of reading one versus the other is pretty minimal.
throwawaymanbot 5y ago
The point.. is that even though he knows it’s horrific, …he still supports it. Enough is enough.
void_mint 5y ago
> Troubling. The Texas law is horrific, but people, even CEOs, should be allowed to espouse CEOs are spokesman for their company. When a spokesman with a massive platform makes statements at odds with the people their company sells to, they're clearly an improper fit for that position. He wasn't cancelled. His employers found his statements to be at odds with the compnay's plans for success. > But firing? Cancelling? Is that the price of the sin of sharing your personal political opinion these days? If I become the pope and then make a tweet saying "God is obviously not real", is the catholic church wrong in trying to remove me from my position? Was I right for it in the first place? As usual on HN, this post is pearlclutching at actions that have existed for hundreds of years and are pure common sense.

marcinzm 5y ago

I suspect you'd agree that people are allowed to choose which companies they support (for whatever reason) and companies are allowed to fire people that cost them money. If you believe those two then this is an obvious outcome.

plugger 5y ago
Agreed. Much like the conversation about Google censoring at the behest of the Russian government yesterday it all boils down to the money. Don't mess with the revenue stream. If you do, be prepared to be let go. It's that simple. It's nothing to do with freedom, free speech, etc. It's always about the money.
javajosh 5y ago
Perhaps it would hurt sales, like Orson Scott Card's anti-gay-marriage stance hurt Shadow Complex sales. But even so, I think it's possible to chew gum and walk at the same time, and I can enjoy Ender's Game while thinking Card is a backwards fool. Or enjoy Lethal Weapon while thinking Mel Gibson is a bigoted fool. Or admire George Washington, even though he owned slaves. We can't keep throwing the baby out with the bathwater! Even racists, misogynists and bigots have valuable things to contribute to society. Heck, approx 99% of humans living are bigoted and have "wrong views"; if you take human history, it's 100%. The people who are against gay marriage, and abortion, aren't taking those positions to be horrible people. They have heartfelt, if ignorant, reasons for it. I don't think we're doing anyone any good by taking people's livelihood away for sharing their personal political or religious beliefs. Probably gonna get downvoted. But that's okay. It's not my livelihood.
- plugger 5y ago
  > We can't keep throwing the baby out with the bathwater! "We" didn't do anything. The corporate board (I assume) made this decision, not us. The guy isn't facing charges, he's just been let go by a private LLC for saying something publicly that was perceived as reflecting negatively on the business. Like I said below, in effect corporate America has decided that taking left-leaning stances in the political arena is where their best chances of being and remaining profitable are. Sure, there are exceptions. I don't expect the NRA to become 'woke' as many conservatives would describe it. But a gaming studio? Their largely youth demographic would most likely be divided by this. That's bad business and it's unsurprising that he was terminated. About the only thing I find shocking regarding this whole situation is that this idiot posted his views in a public forum knowing full well his voice would be tied to the company he was working for given he was CEO. Have bad takes, fine. But when you start putting pen to paper in a public forum you need to understand that your words could be used against you. Public relations 101, it's as simple as that.
  - pbourke 5y ago
    Exactly this. Social media allows you to step in a pile of shit at the speed of light. If you are a public figure who is tied, by reputation, to a “brand” then you need to be aware of the circle of acceptable discourse for that brand and its audience. If you step outside the circle then the brand will quickly disconnect from you. Is it a pleasant way to live? No. Is it solely the fault of “the left”? No, it’s the way of everything now.
  - javajosh 5y ago
    See my response to the sibling comment to yours. It applies equally.
- pseudalopex 5y ago
  No one lives long enough to read every book. And buying other authors' books does them some good.
- marcinzm 5y ago
  >Even racists, misogynists and bigots have valuable things to contribute to society. So do non racists, non misogynists and non bigots. Since I can only consume so much content I may as well spend my finite money to people I don't dislike. The impact on me of reading one versus the other is pretty minimal.

throwawaymanbot 5y ago

The point.. is that even though he knows it’s horrific, …he still supports it. Enough is enough.

void_mint 5y ago

> Troubling. The Texas law is horrific, but people, even CEOs, should be allowed to espouse CEOs are spokesman for their company. When a spokesman with a massive platform makes statements at odds with the people their company sells to, they're clearly an improper fit for that position. He wasn't cancelled. His employers found his statements to be at odds with the compnay's plans for success. > But firing? Cancelling? Is that the price of the sin of sharing your personal political opinion these days? If I become the pope and then make a tweet saying "God is obviously not real", is the catholic church wrong in trying to remove me from my position? Was I right for it in the first place? As usual on HN, this post is pearlclutching at actions that have existed for hundreds of years and are pure common sense.