5 ms·

This situation is so stupid that it seriously breaks my brain. A 22 year career ruined over some dumb movie quote uttered outside of work, for a video that didn

This situation is so stupid that it seriously breaks my brain. A 22 year career ruined over some dumb movie quote uttered outside of work, for a video that didn't even go viral... Who the hell even was offended by this? If this sort of thing happened to someone who wasn't already financially secure, they'd probably go postal. I genuinely wonder if some of cancel culture is driven by foreign influence operations? Seems like a pretty effective way to attack an open society. Like this guy apparently was one of Apple's top negotiators with China... seems directly in the Chinese interest to get him canned.

Seanambers 4y ago
The more important question is - is it right that certain groups wield such power? The outrage culture is insane. Apple fires a top negotiator who have worked there for 22 years because someone somewhere is 'offended'. Most probably someone who at the outset was set on finding something to be offended about. Yeah thats so much power that any foreign interest would be stupid not to attempt to use that influence. And that influencer kid not even replying to the man..
- teawrecks 4y ago
  > is it right that certain groups wield such power? What groups? Randos on the internet? What power? Boycotting? > The outrage culture is insane. Was there outrage? Seems like apple just prematurely cut him loose before anyone actually cared. It sounds like you think there's some nefarious shadow league of extraordinary gentlemen who can bend the largest corporations to their will. They can't. Apple did what it thought would yield them the most profits in the long term, that's it. Apple could have instead just ignored this and it likely would have blown over in a day. That's not what they did.
  - jmeister 4y ago
    This is woefully simplistic Check out https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_Burnham#The_Managerial_Revolution https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_Burnham#The_Managerial_R...
  - Dig1t 4y ago
    >In the early morning phone call, an Apple executive told him that he had to get the video removed immediately. >Mr. Blevins, 55 years old, said he stayed up all night trying to contact the TikToker It was very clearly about this video, how does this have anything to do with profits? Guy makes a joke while being filmed, not speaking for the company in any capacity, on his free time, and gets fired because the company was scared its image would be tarnished by being affiliated with the politically incorrect joke. This is very similar to the problem that https://www.socialcooling.com https://www.socialcooling.com talks about. From that site: >If you feel you are being watched, you change your behavior. >This could limit your desire to take risks or exercise free speech. >Over the long term these 'chilling effects' could 'cool down' society. >People are starting to realize that this 'digital reputation' could limit their opportunities. Events like this create the situation where people are scared to speak freely in public about all kinds of things. So much good social progress in our society has come as a result of the ability to speak freely in public. If people are scared to say the wrong thing in the future, that is extremely bad for society.
    - bradknowles 4y ago
      If you are a top officer at a Fortune 100 company, especially a top negotiator, then you have to be aware of the potential consequences of anything you say at any time, whether you're officially at work or not. I agree that it is in the Chinese best interest to get this guy fired, but it's his responsibility to not say stupid stuff that might get him fired.
    - teawrecks 4y ago
      I never said Apple's decision to fire him had nothing to do with the video or people's reaction to it. I'm saying it's Apple's decision, no one else's. > how does this have anything to do with profits? Because apple is a publicly traded company and has a fiduciary duty to make all decisions with the profits of their shareholders in mind. If they didn't, they could be sued.
pxmpxm 4y ago
If you are semi-government-owned company in china, getting some social media / apple idiots riled up to fire a business adversary is clearly in your best interest.
jjtheblunt 4y ago
Could he have been a liability for unpublished reasons, and this justification to fire him was just convenient?
- perfecthjrjth 4y ago
  In any large organization, umpteen number of people are happy to see a big shot get fired.
russellbeattie 4y ago
≥ cancel culture is driven by foreign influence operations? I agree. It wanders into conspiracy theory, but it's the only rational explanation. Who would "complain" over a non-viral video with a random Apple executive quoting a movie as a joke? No one. It was a targeted operation to take advantage of Apple's reactionary corporate culture. And in fact, there are most likely agents within Apple working towards exacerbating it for China's advantage. If I were him, I'd sue for wrongful termination and demand to see the entire email/slack/whatever chain which lead to the decision. Who was involved? What are their relations with China? How did this come to anyone's attention within Apple, and why did they decide to take it so seriously rather than a simple explanation and apology? There is soooo much more going on here. I refuse to believe in the narrative that this is political correctness gone amuck, or that this guy was targeted because he was a white, middle aged Southerner. Knee-jerk liberals are great for standing outside courthouses with signs (bless their hearts), but they don't run major corporations. I live in the Bay Area and have met and like all kinds of crazyish liberals (and consider myself among them), and this doesn't make any sense or pass the smell test. "He talked about fondling boobs!!! Fire him!!!" This isn't a meme. Something else went on here.
- computershit 4y ago
  I mean, Tiktok as psyops really isn’t a stretch at all when you consider the control the CCP has over any Chinese established entity.
colpabar 4y ago
What gets me is that if this guy was gay, if he got out of the car and said "I race cars, play golf and fondle big-dicked men", it would be celebrated.
- jkubicek 4y ago
  I don't think that's true at all
  - lazyeye 4y ago
    It may not have been celebrated but we can say with absolute certainty he wouldn't have been sacked.
Jarwain 4y ago
I mean wasn't there evidence back in 2016 of Russian campaigns making various Twitter accounts on both sides of the political spectrum pushing and shifting the conversation?
jmeister 4y ago
Much of civil war violence is opportunistic violence enabled by a broader breakdown of norms. In this case, possibly his professional competitors/enemies, or class-enemies(race,sex), within Apple. "Civil war is a deadbeat screaming, "tai hao le! tai hao le!" after the state _allows_ him to kill his wealthier neighbor and steal his property. You may resist the description because it doesn't fit your mental map, but you'd be wrong." https://twitter.com/knrd_z/status/1534756996783738880 https://twitter.com/knrd_z/status/1534756996783738880
_8j50 4y ago
It's an executive role which means everything he does in public relfects on his employer. What part if that don't you get. And ffs! What is it with right wing posts on hn that lack simple critical thinking. I'm flagging this specifically because it lacks value, it's simple propaganda and rage baiting.
user_named 4y ago
Do you think he negotiated with a country?

Seanambers 4y ago

The more important question is - is it right that certain groups wield such power? The outrage culture is insane. Apple fires a top negotiator who have worked there for 22 years because someone somewhere is 'offended'. Most probably someone who at the outset was set on finding something to be offended about. Yeah thats so much power that any foreign interest would be stupid not to attempt to use that influence. And that influencer kid not even replying to the man..

teawrecks 4y ago
> is it right that certain groups wield such power? What groups? Randos on the internet? What power? Boycotting? > The outrage culture is insane. Was there outrage? Seems like apple just prematurely cut him loose before anyone actually cared. It sounds like you think there's some nefarious shadow league of extraordinary gentlemen who can bend the largest corporations to their will. They can't. Apple did what it thought would yield them the most profits in the long term, that's it. Apple could have instead just ignored this and it likely would have blown over in a day. That's not what they did.
- jmeister 4y ago
  This is woefully simplistic Check out https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_Burnham#The_Managerial_Revolution https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_Burnham#The_Managerial_R...
- Dig1t 4y ago
  >In the early morning phone call, an Apple executive told him that he had to get the video removed immediately. >Mr. Blevins, 55 years old, said he stayed up all night trying to contact the TikToker It was very clearly about this video, how does this have anything to do with profits? Guy makes a joke while being filmed, not speaking for the company in any capacity, on his free time, and gets fired because the company was scared its image would be tarnished by being affiliated with the politically incorrect joke. This is very similar to the problem that https://www.socialcooling.com https://www.socialcooling.com talks about. From that site: >If you feel you are being watched, you change your behavior. >This could limit your desire to take risks or exercise free speech. >Over the long term these 'chilling effects' could 'cool down' society. >People are starting to realize that this 'digital reputation' could limit their opportunities. Events like this create the situation where people are scared to speak freely in public about all kinds of things. So much good social progress in our society has come as a result of the ability to speak freely in public. If people are scared to say the wrong thing in the future, that is extremely bad for society.
  - bradknowles 4y ago
    If you are a top officer at a Fortune 100 company, especially a top negotiator, then you have to be aware of the potential consequences of anything you say at any time, whether you're officially at work or not. I agree that it is in the Chinese best interest to get this guy fired, but it's his responsibility to not say stupid stuff that might get him fired.
  - teawrecks 4y ago
    I never said Apple's decision to fire him had nothing to do with the video or people's reaction to it. I'm saying it's Apple's decision, no one else's. > how does this have anything to do with profits? Because apple is a publicly traded company and has a fiduciary duty to make all decisions with the profits of their shareholders in mind. If they didn't, they could be sued.

pxmpxm 4y ago

If you are semi-government-owned company in china, getting some social media / apple idiots riled up to fire a business adversary is clearly in your best interest.

jjtheblunt 4y ago

Could he have been a liability for unpublished reasons, and this justification to fire him was just convenient?

perfecthjrjth 4y ago
In any large organization, umpteen number of people are happy to see a big shot get fired.

russellbeattie 4y ago

≥ cancel culture is driven by foreign influence operations? I agree. It wanders into conspiracy theory, but it's the only rational explanation. Who would "complain" over a non-viral video with a random Apple executive quoting a movie as a joke? No one. It was a targeted operation to take advantage of Apple's reactionary corporate culture. And in fact, there are most likely agents within Apple working towards exacerbating it for China's advantage. If I were him, I'd sue for wrongful termination and demand to see the entire email/slack/whatever chain which lead to the decision. Who was involved? What are their relations with China? How did this come to anyone's attention within Apple, and why did they decide to take it so seriously rather than a simple explanation and apology? There is soooo much more going on here. I refuse to believe in the narrative that this is political correctness gone amuck, or that this guy was targeted because he was a white, middle aged Southerner. Knee-jerk liberals are great for standing outside courthouses with signs (bless their hearts), but they don't run major corporations. I live in the Bay Area and have met and like all kinds of crazyish liberals (and consider myself among them), and this doesn't make any sense or pass the smell test. "He talked about fondling boobs!!! Fire him!!!" This isn't a meme. Something else went on here.

computershit 4y ago
I mean, Tiktok as psyops really isn’t a stretch at all when you consider the control the CCP has over any Chinese established entity.

colpabar 4y ago

What gets me is that if this guy was gay, if he got out of the car and said "I race cars, play golf and fondle big-dicked men", it would be celebrated.

jkubicek 4y ago
I don't think that's true at all
- lazyeye 4y ago
  It may not have been celebrated but we can say with absolute certainty he wouldn't have been sacked.

Jarwain 4y ago

I mean wasn't there evidence back in 2016 of Russian campaigns making various Twitter accounts on both sides of the political spectrum pushing and shifting the conversation?

jmeister 4y ago

Much of civil war violence is opportunistic violence enabled by a broader breakdown of norms. In this case, possibly his professional competitors/enemies, or class-enemies(race,sex), within Apple. "Civil war is a deadbeat screaming, "tai hao le! tai hao le!" after the state _allows_ him to kill his wealthier neighbor and steal his property. You may resist the description because it doesn't fit your mental map, but you'd be wrong." https://twitter.com/knrd_z/status/1534756996783738880 https://twitter.com/knrd_z/status/1534756996783738880

_8j50 4y ago

It's an executive role which means everything he does in public relfects on his employer. What part if that don't you get. And ffs! What is it with right wing posts on hn that lack simple critical thinking. I'm flagging this specifically because it lacks value, it's simple propaganda and rage baiting.

user_named 4y ago

Do you think he negotiated with a country?