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>The idea that you can't deny service to an individual for their political views is a big shift. I can't remember people being denied service for their politic

>The idea that you can't deny service to an individual for their political views is a big shift. I can't remember people being denied service for their political views until just recently. Another odd thing is that a company would give a rip about their employees political views. These are strange times.

TeMPOraL 5y ago
Look back 50+ years. In the Soviet Union and Soviet-affiliated countries, people were denied services and jobs for being not visibly communist enough. In the United States, people were denied services and jobs for being not visibly anti-communist enough. The idea of not discriminating based on politics or other overt characteristics, as a widespread cultural phenomenon, was relatively new and short-lived.
- MrZongle2 5y ago
  In the United States, people were denied services and jobs for being not visibly anti-communist enough. In the early 1970s? I'd like to see some citations of that.
- themacguffinman 5y ago
  That is widely recognized as a dark time in the US because of the Cold War and that kind of "McCarthyist" discrimination was loudly and prominently rejected after a decade or so. It's anti-communist discrimination that was relatively new and short-lived. You can identify the beginnings and endings of that time as an era, doesn't seem like a perennial norm to me. Edit: the above is perhaps a bit of an incomplete thought. I'd generally argue that picking wartime era hysteria is a little misleading, that happens to basically every country. On the other hand, there's a reason why people always jump on the "myth" of the First Amendment when it's mentioned in discussions about private companies: Americans often confuse the constitutional principle with the general principle, and they do this because Americans are largely supportive of the general principle.
  - TeMPOraL 5y ago
    Yes, I mentioned an easily recognizable dark time in the US, that happened to parallel to an exact and opposite and well-known dark time in half of Europe. But I don't think the times before were all that light either. My point is that, as far as I know, the kind of freedoms and political neutrality the West enjoyed between 1980s to 2010s were a short-lived anomaly. Implied in that was an observation that we're on a downslope now and I agree with 'OneEyedRobot that we're not enjoying much of that neutrality today.
- TheCoelacanth 5y ago
  And a few decades before that when companies would murder their employees for getting involved with unions.
WalterBright 5y ago
I remember when arguing politics at work would get you a reprimand. You were there to work, not proselytize. Now it's accepted that employees activating against their employer is not cause for dismissal.
nitwit005 5y ago
> I can't remember people being denied service for their political views until just recently. Probably wasn't as noticable when they were turning far more people away because of their race, religion, or gender.

TeMPOraL 5y ago

Look back 50+ years. In the Soviet Union and Soviet-affiliated countries, people were denied services and jobs for being not visibly communist enough. In the United States, people were denied services and jobs for being not visibly anti-communist enough. The idea of not discriminating based on politics or other overt characteristics, as a widespread cultural phenomenon, was relatively new and short-lived.

MrZongle2 5y ago
In the United States, people were denied services and jobs for being not visibly anti-communist enough. In the early 1970s? I'd like to see some citations of that.
themacguffinman 5y ago
That is widely recognized as a dark time in the US because of the Cold War and that kind of "McCarthyist" discrimination was loudly and prominently rejected after a decade or so. It's anti-communist discrimination that was relatively new and short-lived. You can identify the beginnings and endings of that time as an era, doesn't seem like a perennial norm to me. Edit: the above is perhaps a bit of an incomplete thought. I'd generally argue that picking wartime era hysteria is a little misleading, that happens to basically every country. On the other hand, there's a reason why people always jump on the "myth" of the First Amendment when it's mentioned in discussions about private companies: Americans often confuse the constitutional principle with the general principle, and they do this because Americans are largely supportive of the general principle.
- TeMPOraL 5y ago
  Yes, I mentioned an easily recognizable dark time in the US, that happened to parallel to an exact and opposite and well-known dark time in half of Europe. But I don't think the times before were all that light either. My point is that, as far as I know, the kind of freedoms and political neutrality the West enjoyed between 1980s to 2010s were a short-lived anomaly. Implied in that was an observation that we're on a downslope now and I agree with 'OneEyedRobot that we're not enjoying much of that neutrality today.
TheCoelacanth 5y ago
And a few decades before that when companies would murder their employees for getting involved with unions.

WalterBright 5y ago

I remember when arguing politics at work would get you a reprimand. You were there to work, not proselytize. Now it's accepted that employees activating against their employer is not cause for dismissal.

nitwit005 5y ago

> I can't remember people being denied service for their political views until just recently. Probably wasn't as noticable when they were turning far more people away because of their race, religion, or gender.