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> (For some reason, doing business with Saudi Arabia is not counted as evidence against the "Zionist", "genocide" etc. etc. narrative.) Why would "Saudi Arabia

> (For some reason, doing business with Saudi Arabia is not counted as evidence against the "Zionist", "genocide" etc. etc. narrative.) Why would "Saudi Arabia treats workers badly" be evidence against the idea that Israel is committing genocide ?

zahlman 11mo ago
"Microsoft puts capital into Arabic countries" is evidence against "Microsoft has connections to Israel for ideological reasons".
- tialaramex 11mo ago
  Probably you're not cynical enough. Israel is led by the same guy as last century, Saudi Arabia has been run by the same rich assholes since before my mother was born. The "ideology" involved is the same in both cases: wealthy, powerful old men are assholes. Microsoft is willing to turn a blind eye to them being assholes, to get $$$
  - zahlman 11mo ago
    My complaint is about people accusing Microsoft of taking sides when they are simply doing the capitalist thing, which I more or less agree with you about.
    - tialaramex 11mo ago
      Of course they're taking sides. It's still taking sides when you get paid. Mercenaries take sides too, for money. I guess either Hollywood or American Politics tricks people into thinking there are always exactly two sides, but life isn't like that. It is even entirely possible, and indeed profitable, to get paid by country A to help them kill country B's peasants, and by country B to help kill A's peasants and everybody is happy with this situation, except the peasants of course and maybe anybody who recognises that this is morally abhorrent...
      - zahlman 11mo ago
        If you get paid by both sides, you are not taking sides.
        tialaramex 11mo ago
        "Both" sides is exactly the Hollywood / US politics misunderstanding that I'm pointing at. They aren't working for "both" sides because that implies there are somehow exactly two parties. Are Hamas also big Microsoft customers? No. How about all those mistreated workers in Saudi Arabia, are they also hiring Microsoft? No again. Microsoft does two different awful things, that doesn't somehow cancel out, and when people insist that somehow it does they're at best showing that their understanding of morality is very limited and at worst desperately making excuses for evil.

zahlman 11mo ago

"Microsoft puts capital into Arabic countries" is evidence against "Microsoft has connections to Israel for ideological reasons".

tialaramex 11mo ago
Probably you're not cynical enough. Israel is led by the same guy as last century, Saudi Arabia has been run by the same rich assholes since before my mother was born. The "ideology" involved is the same in both cases: wealthy, powerful old men are assholes. Microsoft is willing to turn a blind eye to them being assholes, to get $$$
- zahlman 11mo ago
  My complaint is about people accusing Microsoft of taking sides when they are simply doing the capitalist thing, which I more or less agree with you about.
  - tialaramex 11mo ago
    Of course they're taking sides. It's still taking sides when you get paid. Mercenaries take sides too, for money. I guess either Hollywood or American Politics tricks people into thinking there are always exactly two sides, but life isn't like that. It is even entirely possible, and indeed profitable, to get paid by country A to help them kill country B's peasants, and by country B to help kill A's peasants and everybody is happy with this situation, except the peasants of course and maybe anybody who recognises that this is morally abhorrent...
    - zahlman 11mo ago
      If you get paid by both sides, you are not taking sides.
      - tialaramex 11mo ago
        "Both" sides is exactly the Hollywood / US politics misunderstanding that I'm pointing at. They aren't working for "both" sides because that implies there are somehow exactly two parties. Are Hamas also big Microsoft customers? No. How about all those mistreated workers in Saudi Arabia, are they also hiring Microsoft? No again. Microsoft does two different awful things, that doesn't somehow cancel out, and when people insist that somehow it does they're at best showing that their understanding of morality is very limited and at worst desperately making excuses for evil.