!!politics

My employer held a company wide zoom meeting today. It was officially optional, but like 90% of the company attended.

It started out interesting as they had invited a speaker, but it quickly degraded into a gigantic political circlejerk. It was an hour and a half of bashing everyone who doesn’t hold exactly their views, calling them evil, calling them nazis, radicals, militants, racists, etc. — and I don’t share their views, like, at all, so. That really lets me know how they feel!

As far as I can tell, everyone else at the company has the same ideology. Not only does this make me incredibly uncomfortable and require me to act and pretend at all times, it’s honestly kind of infuriating, too. The amount of insults they throw around and blatant lack of tolerance displayed by these “tolerant” people is just incredible.

To them, anyone that doesn’t hold exactly their beliefs is evil, and often a slew of other things, too. And it doesn’t seem to matter how far removed those views are; apparently libertarians are evil as well? Apparently “leave everyone alone” is evil and gets you branded as a militant far-righty? Like, how does that even work? They ascribe to “everyone who doesn’t agree with me is literally Hitler,” I guess.

Fucking hell I can’t stand these people and their politics. And when they all get going on it together? Just. Fucking toxic.

I’ve been so disgusted today after sitting in on that meeting I’ve gotten practically nothing done. And I was so hoping to finally finish this stupid ticket.

Oh, and Mr. PM wants that screwdriver to do even more things now — by next week, of course. Fucking hell.

Why did I switch jobs, again?
Right, to get away from the politics.
Fucking hell.

Well, people...
No matter where you live the only cure are drugs and alcohol.

@Root and you managed to get through this sober?

*free hug*

I dislike politics.

3 axes:
I like
I do not like
Clearly against every human.

3 is the part I've got the most problem with. And where I'll speak my mind. Cause silent treatment only makes it more fatal.

A corporate identity should never reshape a human identity. You can be part of it or not, but never give your human identity up for a corporate one.

@rootofskynet I just moved and don’t have any alcohol yet 😭

@vane aye.. 🙈

America: where it's easier to fake your views than be honest bc people are fuckin immature pussies that still haven't comprehended it's ok to have different views.

Fuck I hate people lmao

@Root should have already gotten some before you even went to your new house/apt. Come on man

@Root oh no.. then I would suggest to get some asap.
but as @IntrusionCM has given one, have another hug. ʕっ•ᴥ•ʔっ

@Stuxnet I didn’t have any bottles that had enough left in them to warrant keeping, so I gave them to friends.

I don’t have an excuse for not visiting a liquor store since, though.

@rootofskynet Call me Jim....

Jim Beam.

If you're looking to evade politics as a libertarian, you could work for Peter Thiel? Or... Peter Thiel mostly. Bezos is also a noted libertarian.

@vane I’m honestly expecting at least one present under the tree this year tagged like this:

To: @Root
From: Jack Daniels

😂

@Root Jack...

God. Can I convince you to get the good stuff?

Redbreast maybe?

@IntrusionCM Hey, don’t knock Jack. It’s great for cooking — just don’t drink it.

@Root I feel what you feel.
Basically most of people that name starts with J are nice ex. Jameson or J&B

@Root yea. if you wanna drink something, start with Johnny Walker or something like this.. or talisker. those are nice.

Would also go with an Laphroaig.

@Root Can I get an amen in here.... XD

@Root
Get some Bulleit for the day to day. Solid drinker.

If you want something special try anything from Isle of Man.

@vane would you have any suggestions, sir?

I'm eager to try something special these days..

@rootofskynet All depends on what you want to taste. I’m fan of turf and strong experience so I pick classics like ardbeg or laphoroaig.
Less turf can be ex. Jura. Glenmorangie is solid for vanilla if you want to start somewhere.

If you want to go full range of experience leave turf for the end as it’s one of a kind and your taste buds need to get used to strong taste.

@vane thanks. that sounds like some kind of roadmap. :)

@rootofskynet No problem, I’m also a noob just know some brands from tasting and based on what I heard from barmans when bars were open :/

Fiy if you really want something special one of a kind and don’t care about money ardbeg is so classic they had whisky matured in space station.
They released galileo to celebrate this occasion. It’s like 400-600$ bottle right now I think.

I’m space fan but I’m not insane or rich enough to buy it but you never know who you meet behind avatar so enjoy 😋

Sounds like the tolerant progressive wing of politics

@vane I do love me some Jameson. I’m not a fan of Scotch, though; I find it too smoky and peaty. Do you any recommendations for non-scotch whiskey? Or for rum?

@JKyll “Tolerant.” If they knew I wasn’t a lefty, I’d be fired within the month.

@Root same that’s why I stay quiet, I work to get paid, nothing more nothing less. I will be posting a rant later of a bad experience a friend is going through related to this it’s fucking unbelievable.

Did your boss literally use the words evil and nazi to describe anyone against his little cult? 😖Theyre just saltin the wound asking you to work on your mutant screwdriver

@Root It would be nice if people could be a bit less emotional, a bit more reasonable about politics.

Politics are such an interesting topic.

Theoretically especially interesting to discuss with coworkers, family, on the internet, etc.

I say theoretically, because it's rare for a stereotypical left-wing hippie socialist working the support helpdesk and the hardcore capitalist slick hairgel covered sales dude to meet up at the coffee machine, and just have a civilized, respectful conversation about the pros and cons of universal basic income or the effects of farming subsidies.

I do keep challenging coworkers to have political conversations, HR etiquette be damned.

Not because I want to convince others of my political views.

Damn, I'm not even fully convinced of my political views — I even think it's pretty unhealthy to be too convinced.

It's because I want to challenge people to talk differently about politics.

I want people to debate on a higher level. Not to entrench yourself into one camp or to score easy points, but to be able to say "Interesting, I still feel like I really want to be in favor of X, but I can't logically make my point yet. Give me some time to reason about this, and we'll continue this argument later".

People are afraid of playing the devil's advocate, or to shift their footing to explore viewpoints, of saying "OK I'll assume that <rather extreme opinion> is a good thing for a moment, how would you do X?".

People are also afraid of nuance, of admitting that elements of different philosophies could have value.

And people are afraid of tolerance, of saying "I would like more european cooperation, you want to leave the EU. We won't convince each other, and that's fine — let's talk about music or food instead"

Sadly, companies tend to either become extremist echo chambers without room for dissent (and thus without room for interesting conversation) rather quickly, or they just outright ban all political debate.

@Root Zacapa rum but haven’t tried it yet.
Whenever I want to drink rum my highest priced buy so far is havana club anejo 7yr and never got disappointed by it.

@d-fanelli The senior management / board members refuse to discuss politics as a rule, but they still let things slip. So it wasn’t my boss (or his, or his).

However, the guest speaker, several of my coworkers? Yes, they used the word ‘evil.’ And this isn’t the first time for some of them, either.

@bittersweet I couldn’t agree more. I very much enjoy discussing sensitive topics because I find the different viewpoints so fascinating. And in a mature, civilized debate, either I convey my views and convince someone of their merit, or I learn something new from them. I enjoy discovering that I’m wrong about something because that means there is more to learn and understand.

However, especially lately, people have gotten more close minded than ever, and I really do mean on both sides. Politics is polarizing, and I’m not on either end. I think I get the shit end of the stick from both sides for being too moderate on basically everything, and too trusting of individual liberty. Yes, I want to leave everyone alone and not infringe on rights and privacy, and get hated on for it from both sides. It’s ridiculous.

But I digress. This company is absolutely an echo chamber, and they’re so vindictive of dissenting views that I am honestly scared. I can only mimic their behaviors and wordings so well — and their mental gymnastics is simply beyond me. So eventually the truth will out, and so will I. There is no “let’s agree to disagree; how was that lovely coq au vin you posted? It looked delicious!” If I tried, it would likely be met with awkward silence, invisible Slack DMs back and forth to other people and my bosses, and a week or two later: a fifteen minute meeting with HR on a Friday, complaints about my performance, and a wish of luck finding a job elsewhere.

Why can’t people be civilized?

@vane Thanks! I’ll give one of them a try :)

Or both, if I remember.

"It was an hour and a half of bashing everyone who doesn’t hold exactly their views, calling them evil, calling them nazis, radicals, militants, racists, etc."

This is why I don't respect polotics anymore. Actually, I don't think I ever did. Idiots like these kill any type of political discussion that could be had, no matter on what side they're on.

This was 80% of why I left San Francisco. Was tired of being called a nazi or having people "subtweet" about me while at a party or some shit.

Did they even try to discuss things with me? Nope. I was just labelled a misogynist, nazi, etc. I'm none of those things, of course. I just don't subscribe to the echo chamber that is SF political ideology.

Oh and don't get me started on the logical fallacies...

@vane I heard bleach tasted like cherry coke. Time to test those claims

@PepeTheFrog feels goood maaan

it seems like they conducted the discussion in an unproductive way, however do not be mistaken on the fact that people can "just" hold different beliefs, because what could be an abstract discussion for you could very well be a life-impacting matter for someone else.
For example, gender quotas to combat the tendency to see women as unqualified: for oh so many men it's just a talking point used to try to discredit feminism, for women it's a chance to get to live the life they want to live without one big obstacle of our society's sexist bias

Those people aren’t worth anyone’s second to listen. I would Just mute the talk.

oof, harsh. I'd be pretty pissed myself if I were listening to that load of BS... I used to like politics some years ago, it was fun talking about topics and learning new views from interesting people and colleagues but these days I'm just so tired of it I try to avoid it at *all* costs. I get called both a nazi and a tranny on the internet, just because I have the audacity to suggest things aren't just black and white... You just can't appease these people.

I went through all the stages of grief regarding the current political climate... at first I was sure it's just a minority thing... then I was fighting everyone about it, then I got extremely depressed over how it is, after that I tried to pick a side and find a middle ground and now I'm just I guess accepting that it's shit and I don't want to partake anymore... the further I distance myself from political views the happier my life is honestly...

Politics in a workplace is such a bs!

If anyone even mentions that in my workplace on a meeting I would just cut them off and said please this is company meeting, keep politics out of it and discuss it after this is over with the people that actually care about it, we are having more pressing things at the hand than to waste time on useless things. We are here to work.

Good way to see if you are ready to invest your time in that company or not.

This is red flag for me, would prepare my CV and try to find new job ASAP!

@Hazarth that is exactly what I did, I just don't care anymore! Happy life!

@bittersweet > I even think it's pretty unhealthy to be too convinced

thank you!! it's refreshing to hear such

also: I like how this convo has turned into drink recommendations - maybe I should take notes

@Jedidja LSD and a bottle of nice Cognac to sip from.

@JKyll "I work to get paid"

A-fucking-men.

Someone asked me about graduating soon and asked me what I wanted to do. My response was "get a job and make a decent living to fuel my very expensive hobbies" lmao

@Stuxnet This. What I want to do isn’t work for someone else.

@Jedidja Absolutely! If you’re stubborn and stuck in your ways, you will never learn nor improve.

@devJs So very tempting. But I doubt I’ll find anything that pays even half as well here. Maybe another remote job, but idk. Honestly, I don’t plan on needing to work for more than another few years anyway, depending on various investments. I think I can (barely) put up with their BS for that long.

@Hazarth So relatable. I’ve gone through all those stages too. I’m just so done. There is no way I can change the world, and trying is just expending effort basically trying to move a mountain with my hands, so why even bother trying?

@aviophile I had to make an appearance to keep up my doubleplus good groupthink act, comrade.

@noemiteoremi Gender quotas aren’t helpful. They appear so on the outside as they get more women hired; however, these women often do not earn their positions and can’t pull their weight. Some can, but no matter how talented you actually are, you’re always seen as that “diversity hire” and people always always question your ability, and almost never take you seriously. Any good ideas you have must have come from someone else. Any good amount of productivity is from dumb luck, or the project must have been easier than expected, or you’ve received a lot of help from someone you’re allowing in your pants. Clearly it doesn’t come from you because you didn’t earn your position. And you aren’t being fired for it because you can’t be if you were a diversity hire.

This might sound like harsh and unfair treatment, and it is. That’s the reality of diversity quotas. They’re destructive and honestly offensive. Let me earn my position on my own merits. I don’t want it given to me simply because I have different bits.

@Root I sincerely hope that your investments will be fruitful so you don't have to endure all this bs anymore. If this job has highest pay you can have right now and will help you achieve your goal faster than maybe it is worth to tolerate bs on the outside, you will always have us on devrant to went it out!

I truly wish you good luck and lots of patience! Sending good vibes!

@IntrusionCM Tastes like a smoother Jameson. Good recommendation.

Aaaah chuggin vodka! Mmmm vodka. It allows me to get wasted without a bad hangover. When I drank brown liquor I had a fever the next day lol! No Irish whisky for me, I’m a disgrace to 1/4 of my ancestry

@d-fanelli Half Irish, half German here. And oddly enough, I have never had a hangover.

My stomach was a little touchy one morning after drinking most of a 750 (goose + midori; don’t recommend), but that’s the closest I’ve ever come. 🤷🏻‍♀️

God I was wasted.

I generally make some tasty drink and add vodka at the end to make it stronger without diluting the flavor too much. Like hard lemonade: Gin + limoncello + lemon juice + club soda splash + vodka. Honestly way too strong for how tasty it is. But hey, no dark liquors there, so maybe it’ll work for you 😊

@Root :) Glad you like it

@bittersweet all sides has good and bad parts. The best of politics is try to understand everything and fit for what would be good for everyone.

But, usually, people just want others to die of cancer because they are so closed on their views that anything slightly different would mean the entire extinction of human race to them.

And no matter how facts shows they are wrong, they just forget about what happend to find another thing to complain, associating every group they dislike as if they were the same.

@vane Good Whisky is a problem here. Our weak currency + high importing taxes makes them almost impossible to buy.

A Jura can cost as high as 1/2 minimum salary. So I stick to the basics: Old Parr 12, Dewars 12, Black Label, Teachers etc. They are expensive, but not impossible. I also have a Bulleit and a Glenfiddich 12, but these were gifts from myself on Christmas.

@brunofontes That’s really sad 😢

@pxeger idk. Probably because they’re all of a similar mind on the topic, so they see it as more and more okay if everyone agrees with them. But that’s exactly how echo chambers form.

Yeah, I would have a blanket ban on politics at my company. Otherwise polarizing topics get people butthurt, and then there’s retaliation, etc. etc. Drama.

No drama either!

Democrats demand leftensraum, will get it by any means necessary, China will help them in this Great Leap Forward, and anyone who's standing up to this god-given right of the ubermensch leftist nation is an evil untermensch opressor that needs to be eradicated in the name of tolerance and diversity!

@Midnight-shcode They’re communist cancer.

@Root also you might be interested in this?

https://unwoke.hr

oh, dammit.
... well, that good idea didn't survive for long

@Midnight-shcode Whatever it was, it doesn’t seem to exist anymore. :(

@Root it was a job posting site for companies that specifically don't want to catch cancer.

Wtf why is unwoke down? Really liked the idea...

@junon Heroku reports the app no longer exists.

Super weird :/ I wonder what happened. Their twitter has been silence since Oct 2.

@junon Frown.

@junon it's obvious what happened.

cancel culture.

Oh man I know the feeling all too well. It’s hard to find a company that’s not regurgitating extreme political views. One doesn’t want to end up like James Damore.

I’ve left several extremely political companies.

@natescode I want to leave this one, but they pay so damn well. It could easily be my last job, ever.