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> So my conclusion from this post would be, if it matters to you, don't work in the bay? I had a job at a publicly traded company with an office (my office) in

> So my conclusion from this post would be, if it matters to you, don't work in the bay? I had a job at a publicly traded company with an office (my office) in Ohio - and not headquartered from the bay but another part of the Midwest - and one day during pride month the CEO emailed everyone to say that they would NOT put up a pride flag. They went on to explain that they couldn’t because it would be upsetting, and if inclusivity flags were normal to display at the office, black people may want a flag too, and where would it end?. They were a very generic company, and not particularly evil in other aspects of their business. I have also worked at large FAANG companies in the bay. They treat employees way better (google’s shuttles! Free food! Equity Refreshers!). I would much rather be a Bay Area FAANG employee than an Ohio Generic Co employee. The way FAANG treats their employees isn’t evil. There’s evil everywhere, IMO I might as well be treated well for being complicit towards it.

mebassett 4y ago
I don't understand your point. Are you saying the Ohio company is evil for not putting up a pride flag? Are you saying the Bay-area company isn't evil because they treated their higher-ranked servants well ?
- papandada 4y ago
  Not OP, but my read is yes; and no, but why not take evil with better benefits.
  - tanseydavid 4y ago
    Because utilitarianism? Just a thought.
- P5fRxh5kUvp2th 4y ago
  seriously, the other poster never stops to consider that the reason people like this CEO are drawing a line in the sand is BECAUSE of people like this poster are running around drawing such conclusions from something as lik a pride flag. What next, is this poster going to take a flamethrower to the anthill in their backyard? Lets see how well that works.
- vineyardmike 4y ago
  It’s definitely not good for employees to reject calls for things like a pride flag in mass emails to employees. The reasoning, other minorities, explicitly mentioning black minorities, may want attention isn’t a very “not-evil” thing to do. It’s a weird whataboutism that throws black employees under the bus as the ultimate problem they’re trying to avoid. This was in 2017, and not eg during the George Floyd protests, so it was really arbitrary to mention. It’s a flag in an office park, for a month, it has no negative affect to the company except an hour of human effort to put up and take it down. It does have a positive affect for their employees, however. Even if it does “snowball” to other minority groups… really has minimal downsides. What is particularly stunning was the action to email the company to say they wouldn’t put up a flag because black people may get ideas. That’s the action that is hard to understand because it draws attention to a decision that could be made quietly with less negative impact.
deleted 4y ago
[deleted]
lawn 4y ago
So your anecdotal evidence suggests that all companies are evil? Because this is certainly not the case.
- omniglottal 4y ago
  Given their incentives to profit financially, not being evil would take a concerted effort which could be avoidd simply with an appearance of good, so it seems quite statistically probable that evil is more common than not.
hotpotamus 4y ago
This reminded me of a quote - "It is better to be at the right hand of the devil than in his path". So I looked it up and apparently it's from "The Mummy".
inglor_cz 4y ago
Refusal to conform to fashionable trends isn't evil. It is just being honest, which is admittedly rare in the corporate world. Most companies that hoist the pride flag probably do not care about gay rights any more than your previous employer. They just do it to mollify Western activist Twitter. Their Middle Eastern branches, if extant, will do the precise opposite in order to mollify Middle Eastern activist Twitter and not get kicked out of the conservative kingdoms/emirates. Once you start consider most big companies as perfect psychopaths who know how to simulate deep feelings on the surface while having none inside, the world starts making a lot more sense.
ohCh6zos 4y ago
I would reach the opposite conclusion that you reached. Any company that allowed those flags I would consider to be intentionally bringing politics into the workplace and therefore manipulating their staff and therefore evil. A lack of political signaling is one of the things I look for in the category of non-evil.
- P5fRxh5kUvp2th 4y ago
  methinks evil needs to stay really super bad and not lighten to "does something I don't agree with". Are they doing it because of those reasons? Maybe. Should they really be in the same category as Epstein and Dahmer? methinks no, so maybe lighten up on the language there.

mebassett 4y ago

I don't understand your point. Are you saying the Ohio company is evil for not putting up a pride flag? Are you saying the Bay-area company isn't evil because they treated their higher-ranked servants well ?

papandada 4y ago
Not OP, but my read is yes; and no, but why not take evil with better benefits.
- tanseydavid 4y ago
  Because utilitarianism? Just a thought.
P5fRxh5kUvp2th 4y ago
seriously, the other poster never stops to consider that the reason people like this CEO are drawing a line in the sand is BECAUSE of people like this poster are running around drawing such conclusions from something as lik a pride flag. What next, is this poster going to take a flamethrower to the anthill in their backyard? Lets see how well that works.
vineyardmike 4y ago
It’s definitely not good for employees to reject calls for things like a pride flag in mass emails to employees. The reasoning, other minorities, explicitly mentioning black minorities, may want attention isn’t a very “not-evil” thing to do. It’s a weird whataboutism that throws black employees under the bus as the ultimate problem they’re trying to avoid. This was in 2017, and not eg during the George Floyd protests, so it was really arbitrary to mention. It’s a flag in an office park, for a month, it has no negative affect to the company except an hour of human effort to put up and take it down. It does have a positive affect for their employees, however. Even if it does “snowball” to other minority groups… really has minimal downsides. What is particularly stunning was the action to email the company to say they wouldn’t put up a flag because black people may get ideas. That’s the action that is hard to understand because it draws attention to a decision that could be made quietly with less negative impact.

deleted 4y ago

[deleted]

lawn 4y ago

So your anecdotal evidence suggests that all companies are evil? Because this is certainly not the case.

omniglottal 4y ago
Given their incentives to profit financially, not being evil would take a concerted effort which could be avoidd simply with an appearance of good, so it seems quite statistically probable that evil is more common than not.

hotpotamus 4y ago

This reminded me of a quote - "It is better to be at the right hand of the devil than in his path". So I looked it up and apparently it's from "The Mummy".

inglor_cz 4y ago

Refusal to conform to fashionable trends isn't evil. It is just being honest, which is admittedly rare in the corporate world. Most companies that hoist the pride flag probably do not care about gay rights any more than your previous employer. They just do it to mollify Western activist Twitter. Their Middle Eastern branches, if extant, will do the precise opposite in order to mollify Middle Eastern activist Twitter and not get kicked out of the conservative kingdoms/emirates. Once you start consider most big companies as perfect psychopaths who know how to simulate deep feelings on the surface while having none inside, the world starts making a lot more sense.

ohCh6zos 4y ago

I would reach the opposite conclusion that you reached. Any company that allowed those flags I would consider to be intentionally bringing politics into the workplace and therefore manipulating their staff and therefore evil. A lack of political signaling is one of the things I look for in the category of non-evil.

P5fRxh5kUvp2th 4y ago
methinks evil needs to stay really super bad and not lighten to "does something I don't agree with". Are they doing it because of those reasons? Maybe. Should they really be in the same category as Epstein and Dahmer? methinks no, so maybe lighten up on the language there.