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What they're doing is trying to make it socially unacceptable to assist the NSA/ DoD, and quite frankly it's overdue. I get the feeling that most of the critic

by chroem 13y ago

What they're doing is trying to make it socially unacceptable to assist the NSA/ DoD, and quite frankly it's overdue. I get the feeling that most of the criticism here against the protesters is because HN identifies with the Google employee(s), not because the protesters are wrong. It's a purely emotional reaction.

aniket_ray 13y ago
These protesters are skirting the real issue which is that they cannot afford prime SF real estate anymore. When these protesters, themselves, were uprooting the original inhabitants they did not really care but now that they are being uprooted, they suddenly are crying foul. The criticism here against the protesters is because they are asking for free handouts rather than them actually working to earn them. Yes I understand it is not easy to be retrained and I don't have a good solution for people being uprooted. Yet, most commenters here on HN identify with startups/capitalism and believe that creating something that the market wants is ultimately the only way to earn a living. Certainly not protesting for free handouts. The strange thing is that the protesters would have found lots of support among Google and other Tech industry employees if they had not targeted them in the first place. PS: Google does not assist the NSA. Google has made it categorically clear. Guardian too had to backtrack on it's claims about that.
- FireBeyond 13y ago
  "These protesters are skirting the real issue which is that they cannot afford prime SF real estate anymore. When these protesters, themselves, were uprooting the original inhabitants they did not really care but now that they are being uprooted, they suddenly are crying foul." I cannot up vote or emphasize this enough. They do not want the Meatpacking District of the early 20th Century. They want the bohemian eclecticism that -they- created in the 80s and 90s when they evicted -those- families. And now it's happening to them, and it's the most evil thing that needs to be stopped by any means necessary.
kondor6c 13y ago
Supporting the DoD should be unacceptable? Isn't that the same situation? That someone is working for the DoD or NSA needs a job just as much as the next person, he was merely an employee for the DoD, not on top and pushing an agenda.
walshemj 13y ago
Do not those who work for sensitive posts for TLA's not disclose who they work for - this is basic protective security 101
kevinchen 13y ago
I doubt the individual Google engineers are the ones "assisting" the NSA -- remember the angry post[1] when one of them found out the NSA was tapping into their private fiber? > Fuck these guys. I've spent the last ten years of my life trying to keep Google's users safe and secure from the many diverse threats Google faces. You are making it seem like these companies had a choice in providing data to the NSA. In reality, the data were either taken without their knowledge or forcefully (i.e., serious legal repercussions if they told anyone or didn't fork it over). [1]: https://plus.google.com/108799184931623330498/posts/SfYy8xbDWGG https://plus.google.com/108799184931623330498/posts/SfYy8xbD...
smtddr 13y ago
Hey, I completely support the protesters. If this protest is peaceful then I'll probably just call the police. But if you do something that I perceive as an immediate physical threat to my family, the logical part of my brain shuts down and the primal part turns on. I'm not trying to justify it. I'm just telling it like it is. You won't be able to reason with me anymore than you can reason with a mother-bear whose sees her cubs in trouble. During those exact moments in time any context about the protests and any compassion I had goes out the window. All I'm thinking about is the safety of my family and will proceed to remove the threat; one way or another. I may even regret my actions afterwards but... the actions will still occur. I'm probably getting all riled up about nothing. For all we know this could be some kind of astroturfing or another fake conflict like the fist GoogleBus incident.... this whole thing has troll written all over it. For now I'll just pretend I never even saw this article.

by chroem 13y ago

aniket_ray 13y ago

These protesters are skirting the real issue which is that they cannot afford prime SF real estate anymore. When these protesters, themselves, were uprooting the original inhabitants they did not really care but now that they are being uprooted, they suddenly are crying foul. The criticism here against the protesters is because they are asking for free handouts rather than them actually working to earn them. Yes I understand it is not easy to be retrained and I don't have a good solution for people being uprooted. Yet, most commenters here on HN identify with startups/capitalism and believe that creating something that the market wants is ultimately the only way to earn a living. Certainly not protesting for free handouts. The strange thing is that the protesters would have found lots of support among Google and other Tech industry employees if they had not targeted them in the first place. PS: Google does not assist the NSA. Google has made it categorically clear. Guardian too had to backtrack on it's claims about that.

FireBeyond 13y ago
"These protesters are skirting the real issue which is that they cannot afford prime SF real estate anymore. When these protesters, themselves, were uprooting the original inhabitants they did not really care but now that they are being uprooted, they suddenly are crying foul." I cannot up vote or emphasize this enough. They do not want the Meatpacking District of the early 20th Century. They want the bohemian eclecticism that -they- created in the 80s and 90s when they evicted -those- families. And now it's happening to them, and it's the most evil thing that needs to be stopped by any means necessary.

kondor6c 13y ago

Supporting the DoD should be unacceptable? Isn't that the same situation? That someone is working for the DoD or NSA needs a job just as much as the next person, he was merely an employee for the DoD, not on top and pushing an agenda.

walshemj 13y ago

Do not those who work for sensitive posts for TLA's not disclose who they work for - this is basic protective security 101

kevinchen 13y ago

I doubt the individual Google engineers are the ones "assisting" the NSA -- remember the angry post[1] when one of them found out the NSA was tapping into their private fiber? > Fuck these guys. I've spent the last ten years of my life trying to keep Google's users safe and secure from the many diverse threats Google faces. You are making it seem like these companies had a choice in providing data to the NSA. In reality, the data were either taken without their knowledge or forcefully (i.e., serious legal repercussions if they told anyone or didn't fork it over). [1]: https://plus.google.com/108799184931623330498/posts/SfYy8xbDWGG https://plus.google.com/108799184931623330498/posts/SfYy8xbD...

smtddr 13y ago

Hey, I completely support the protesters. If this protest is peaceful then I'll probably just call the police. But if you do something that I perceive as an immediate physical threat to my family, the logical part of my brain shuts down and the primal part turns on. I'm not trying to justify it. I'm just telling it like it is. You won't be able to reason with me anymore than you can reason with a mother-bear whose sees her cubs in trouble. During those exact moments in time any context about the protests and any compassion I had goes out the window. All I'm thinking about is the safety of my family and will proceed to remove the threat; one way or another. I may even regret my actions afterwards but... the actions will still occur. I'm probably getting all riled up about nothing. For all we know this could be some kind of astroturfing or another fake conflict like the fist GoogleBus incident.... this whole thing has troll written all over it. For now I'll just pretend I never even saw this article.