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Comment by sacradix | Hacker News Reader

You could charitably interpret it that way. But he also did write these words:

Further I absolutely reject the nationalist, anti-immigrant and hateful politics of Donald Trump and will work to shield our community from this movement as best as I can. ... If you do not agree with this statement then please reply to this email with your resignation because you have no place here.

If you identify as a nationalist or favor immigration restrictions, then you're not in agreement with his statement and are told to resign.

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He is just trying to make sure everyone is a good cultural fit for the company. That excuse usually flys on HN when discussing avoiding hiring folks of my age range, so why shouldn't it also when discriminating against people based upon their political beliefs.

I think if you act in a violently nationalist way (harming or harassing someone who is "not American enough"), or taunt legal immigrants because they "look hispanic", "look indian" etc, that is all completely reasonable grounds for firing.

In my opinion, you can identify as nationalist or favor immigration restrictions as long as you don't harm, harass, threaten, etc. someone. And I think this is what the Grubhub CEO is saying (their later statement reinforces this).

This isn't censorship of ideas, it's reinforcing a culture of empathy and goodwill at a company with those values.

Think about it this way: would you enjoy working for a company that did nothing as co-workers made fun of you for your race, disability, country of origin, or sexual orientation?

> reinforcing a culture of empathy and goodwill

Starting off with politics and ending by threatening to fire people is generally not the way one cultivates empathy and goodwill.

I agree with your analysis of the motivation, but the execution was a lesson in what not to do.

I've thought about it some more and I agree with you. I don't think this letter is a shining example that should be repeated ad verbatim.

However, I do want to express my opinion that in order for racism & sexism to be defeated, it's going to take some grit and discomfort. To quote: "When you’re accustomed to privilege, equality feels Like oppression."

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