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Comment by secondcoming | Hacker News Reader

Posting racist stuff just means you're stupid and the company made a mistake in hiring you.

The issue with this sentiment is that while some things are blatantly racist, there are other things that aren't so black and white. This is one of those slippery slopes where if left unchecked, anything and everything will be considered racist.

Also, you don't have to have good morals or even be intelligent to be good at your job. Some people are fantastic at their job, but are pretty damn "stupid" as you put it.

Isn't this slippery slope argument technically a logical fallacy? Wouldn't we just not accept the unacceptable change?

That the slippery slope is an inevitability is the fallacy, not that it exists. See also "Overton window"

No, because of group dynamics. Once you start un-personing people, you have the in group and the out group. The in-group repeatedly redefines acceptable behavior to exclude some small margin. Repeat and you end up with absurd extremes.

Slippery Slope is not necessarily a fallacy because it's a very real phenomenon. My test is examining the "slippery slope" by asking if it instead "establishes a precedent". And then I see how easy it might be to justify going further down such a path based on past justifications.

Fair, I just don't see how my acquiescence to one thing is an endorsement of a distinct, if similar, thing.

I guess I reject the idea that policy (a well considered and debated, long lasting decision) would actually fall for something like a slippery slope.

The proverbial boiled frog just jumps out of the pot when the water gets too hot, in reality.

I appreciate that, and for what it's worth I agree you that slippery slope/establishing a precedent is countered with concrete and well thought out criteria that need to be met.

> if left unchecked, anything and everything will be considered racist.

Interesting that you feel that way. It's certainly not something I'm worried about.

Examples of people being fired for saying things that "aren't so black and white"?

Damore? Doubly so if you've actually read his report.

We're already way beyond that. I saw someone get fired because their wife tweeted something that wasn't PC 10 years ago and a coworker found it.

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