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Comment by techie128 | Hacker News Reader

Microsoft and Apple employees might care. However, workplace is not an appropriate forum to fight over politics or other non-work related topics. More importantly, it is important to maintain professionalism and focus on the job you've been hired to do. You can be an activist in your spare time. You may also not like your coworkers due to their political views but we live in a diverse world. Acknowledge that and work with them regardless of their political leanings.

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Some politics isn't work-related.

Some is, especially when a company has 100,000 people. I think, perhaps, it is easy for people to forget that when some Googlers fought against the Dragonfly project, it's because they have friends and loved ones who are Chinese expats under threat from China's government (meanwhile, some Googlers are Chinese citizens). When some Googlers fought against project Maven, they were only two or three degrees of separation from people who had lost loved ones as "collateral damage" in US drone strikes during the "war on terror."

I think one of the most interesting questions is whether a 100,000 person multinational can survive without a hard "Don't question leadership" culture in a world with simultaneously this easy flow of communication and people and this much inequality and conflict.

It's also possible to like someone even if you don't like their views. There's one former coworker in particular that comes to mind whose views on politics made my eyes roll nearly to the back of my head, but he wasn't a bad person. He was still a decent guy with interesting hobbies who would probably be there for you if you needed him.

I find odious people in general hold a wide variety of beliefs across the entire political spectrum.

Stirring up political arguments with your officemates is one thing. Objecting to your employers (and thus, potentially, you) building censorship systems for oppressive regimes is something entirely different.

Google is a major media company now in that decisions they make about content influence political and social thought. That power leads to it becoming a target of politics and political activists.

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