5 ms·

Wait, what have they done?

johnklos 4y ago
They did this: https://raspberrypi.social/@Raspberry_Pi/109476972427437410 https://raspberrypi.social/@Raspberry_Pi/109476972427437410 https://twitter.com/Raspberry_Pi/status/1600761840367448064 https://twitter.com/Raspberry_Pi/status/1600761840367448064 https://www.raspberrypi.com/news/meet-raspberry-pis-maker-in-residence-toby-roberts/ https://www.raspberrypi.com/news/meet-raspberry-pis-maker-in... Even when many, many people told them that they hadn't thought through that hiring a surveillance cop who used Raspberry Pis to spy on people is creepy and insensitive, they doubled down and blocked many, many people who complained. https://www.buzzfeednews.com/article/chrisstokelwalker/raspberry-pi-hired-ex-cop-mastodon-controversy https://www.buzzfeednews.com/article/chrisstokelwalker/raspb... https://www.theregister.com/2022/12/09/rpi_maker_in_residence_police/ https://www.theregister.com/2022/12/09/rpi_maker_in_residenc... Now this is bad all by itself, but that's not all. In an interview shortly after this, Liz Upton, Raspberry Pi's cofounder and chief marketing officer showed she's either REALLY ignorant or is intentionally trolling anyone who cares about this. She said: Liz Upton, Raspberry Pi’s cofounder and chief marketing officer, told BuzzFeed she believes that much of the issue stems not from the hiring of the former police officer who admitted to using Raspberry Pis for covert surveillance, but instead from a picture the account posted to Mastodon a day earlier showing pigs in blankets. “We didn’t put a content warning on it, because we don’t put a content warning on meat,” Upton said. “There were quite a few people who tried to start dogpiling on that.” Really? Does she REALLY think we're all just a bunch of angry vegans / vegetarians who are just upset about a photo? Or is she really that clueless? It's hard to tell, but I, for one, wouldn't trust a human like that with judgement about other humans.
- blagie 4y ago
  I don't like what he did, but I don't like cancel culture even more. He ought to be able to get a job, just like anyone else. I'm not going to boycott a company for hiring someone, unless they're Adolf Hitler or something extreme like that. Everyone makes mistakes. Many people have differences of opinion. Those shouldn't get one ostracized from society.
  - dagenix 4y ago
    Is the complaint that he was hired or that his previous surveillance work was glorified as part of the hiring?
  - johnklos 4y ago
    Nobody (that I know of or have seen) wants to punish him for his past. He, and they, are actively and currently proud of his surveilling work, so it's not in the past.
    - blagie 4y ago
      Fair enough. I still don't like to punish individuals (or organizations) for genuine differences in opinion from my own. I don't like cancel culture, even if I agree with what's being cancelled. If a company is engaging in something evil, like workplace safety violations, pollution, or corruption, I'll be the first to join the boycott. However, if it's a question of religious views, polarizing issues like abortion / gun rights / etc., or whatnot, I'd like people to have freedom of expression, and to be able to talk about their views. That's part of a healthy society, and that include politicians and CEOs. The exception there is if there's a clear financial conflict-of-interest (like an insurance company weighing in on abortion rights, a gun company on 2nd amendment, or a lot of issues on taxation). There, I'm cynical and don't think views expressed are honest, so much as self-serving. Outside of cases like that, though, I think people should be free to express their honest views without consequences (beyond an unpleasant discussion). Even on harmful issues -- like racism, sexism, or whatnot -- I still much prefer views out-of-the-closet than ones which are closeted. I live in a far-left town which is both hyper-racist, hyper-xenophobic, and hyper-woke. The latter makes it impossible to address the former. You can't hold an honest conversation about race, and so racist views persist, unarticulated. I used to live in a moderate-right town, where while more racism was expressed (since people spoke openly), there was much less racism in practice. I'm an immigrant, and did much better there. I think it's healthy to engage RPi about this issue, constructively (as in with a conversation). I don't think it's healthy to stop buying from them.
      - johnklos 4y ago

They did this: https://raspberrypi.social/@Raspberry_Pi/109476972427437410 https://raspberrypi.social/@Raspberry_Pi/109476972427437410 https://twitter.com/Raspberry_Pi/status/1600761840367448064 https://twitter.com/Raspberry_Pi/status/1600761840367448064 https://www.raspberrypi.com/news/meet-raspberry-pis-maker-in-residence-toby-roberts/ https://www.raspberrypi.com/news/meet-raspberry-pis-maker-in... Even when many, many people told them that they hadn't thought through that hiring a surveillance cop who used Raspberry Pis to spy on people is creepy and insensitive, they doubled down and blocked many, many people who complained. https://www.buzzfeednews.com/article/chrisstokelwalker/raspberry-pi-hired-ex-cop-mastodon-controversy https://www.buzzfeednews.com/article/chrisstokelwalker/raspb... https://www.theregister.com/2022/12/09/rpi_maker_in_residence_police/ https://www.theregister.com/2022/12/09/rpi_maker_in_residenc... Now this is bad all by itself, but that's not all. In an interview shortly after this, Liz Upton, Raspberry Pi's cofounder and chief marketing officer showed she's either REALLY ignorant or is intentionally trolling anyone who cares about this. She said: Liz Upton, Raspberry Pi’s cofounder and chief marketing officer, told BuzzFeed she believes that much of the issue stems not from the hiring of the former police officer who admitted to using Raspberry Pis for covert surveillance, but instead from a picture the account posted to Mastodon a day earlier showing pigs in blankets. “We didn’t put a content warning on it, because we don’t put a content warning on meat,” Upton said. “There were quite a few people who tried to start dogpiling on that.” Really? Does she REALLY think we're all just a bunch of angry vegans / vegetarians who are just upset about a photo? Or is she really that clueless? It's hard to tell, but I, for one, wouldn't trust a human like that with judgement about other humans.

blagie 4y ago
I don't like what he did, but I don't like cancel culture even more. He ought to be able to get a job, just like anyone else. I'm not going to boycott a company for hiring someone, unless they're Adolf Hitler or something extreme like that. Everyone makes mistakes. Many people have differences of opinion. Those shouldn't get one ostracized from society.
- dagenix 4y ago
  Is the complaint that he was hired or that his previous surveillance work was glorified as part of the hiring?
- johnklos 4y ago
  Nobody (that I know of or have seen) wants to punish him for his past. He, and they, are actively and currently proud of his surveilling work, so it's not in the past.
  - blagie 4y ago
    Fair enough. I still don't like to punish individuals (or organizations) for genuine differences in opinion from my own. I don't like cancel culture, even if I agree with what's being cancelled. If a company is engaging in something evil, like workplace safety violations, pollution, or corruption, I'll be the first to join the boycott. However, if it's a question of religious views, polarizing issues like abortion / gun rights / etc., or whatnot, I'd like people to have freedom of expression, and to be able to talk about their views. That's part of a healthy society, and that include politicians and CEOs. The exception there is if there's a clear financial conflict-of-interest (like an insurance company weighing in on abortion rights, a gun company on 2nd amendment, or a lot of issues on taxation). There, I'm cynical and don't think views expressed are honest, so much as self-serving. Outside of cases like that, though, I think people should be free to express their honest views without consequences (beyond an unpleasant discussion). Even on harmful issues -- like racism, sexism, or whatnot -- I still much prefer views out-of-the-closet than ones which are closeted. I live in a far-left town which is both hyper-racist, hyper-xenophobic, and hyper-woke. The latter makes it impossible to address the former. You can't hold an honest conversation about race, and so racist views persist, unarticulated. I used to live in a moderate-right town, where while more racism was expressed (since people spoke openly), there was much less racism in practice. I'm an immigrant, and did much better there. I think it's healthy to engage RPi about this issue, constructively (as in with a conversation). I don't think it's healthy to stop buying from them.
    - johnklos 4y ago