Google Calendar removed events like Pride and BHM; retains Black Friday | Hacker News Reader

Google Calendar removed events like Pride and BHM; retains Black Friday

theverge.com

72 pointsblipr62 comments

They decreased the number of holidays on calendars in 2024. It's done according to timeanddate.com .

This is just being recycled now to create outrage.

> For over a decade we’ve worked with timeanddate.com to show public holidays and national observances in Google Calendar. Some years ago, the Calendar team started manually adding a broader set of cultural moments in a wide number of countries around the world. We got feedback that some other events and countries were missing — and maintaining hundreds of moments manually and consistently globally wasn’t scalable or sustainable. So in mid-2024 we returned to showing only public holidays and national observances from timeanddate.com globally, while allowing users to manually add other important moments.

maintaining hundreds of moments manually and consistently globally wasn’t scalable or sustainable

Oh no, it's a full time job for a few people. How will Google survive this revenue drain.

Other than Google doing Google things...i can understand this one.

Various issues: - deciding what makes it onto the list - who's the official owner of the dates for unofficial observances? - who gets to decide what the actual date is? - who gets to decide to remove stuff? - how can users avoid calendar spam and selectively add these dates?

I feel like if a date is important enough to someone, they can add it to their calendar.

Luckily users can add those, and other events to their own calendar. I'm happy users will understand none of these corporations actually care about {insert pet issue of the day}.

We know. The only reason corporations include them is because they feel like they have to. It means those issues have enough political capital to get the entities with real power to back them. Institutionalizing is the shield for those groups politically, if you go after <group> then you're losing money, votes, and you'll drown in bad press.

You can try to minimize it by calling them pet issues but they affect real people. "Pet issues" from the other side are "today's political whipping boy." Trust me, we would rather not be talking about them either. Maybe the whole DEI thing is a blessing in disguise because it points all the arbitrary rage on an abstract concept rather than specific groups of people. We've always been at war with DEI…

> Maybe the whole DEI thing is a blessing in disguise because it points all the arbitrary rage on an abstract concept rather than specific groups of people.

They're still raging against specific groups of people, too. Immigrants and trans people have really been feeling it.

Calling something a pet issue is in no way minimizing it - people care a lot about their pets.

Events still important enough for Google to maintain "sustainably": Columbus Day.

Which is a Federal holiday.

While it’s not designated by a law BHM is declared by the president every year including this one:

https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefings-statements/2025/01/nati...

Is Black Friday?

It’s turned into an international pastime due to the Americanisation of the western world.

"Sustainability" is bullshit. Holidays don't come and go willy-nilly. We're talking a few updates a year across the entire globe. That said, Google teams are notoriously lazy, and it wouldn't surprise me if the Calendar team felt this once-in-a-blue-moon maintenance was eating into their froyo time.

This is a good thing. Google has an extensive library of specialized calendars you can add to yours. If you want these events, you can add them.

I personally don't want things on my calendar that aren't mine or have nothing to do with me getting the services I need being potentially unavailable.

Good. I don’t know why Pride or Black History Month, which are activist / political things, were forced onto everyone’s calendars to begin with. To me it felt like Google employees were forcing their personal religion or politics on the entire world. As I recall, you could not remove these things from your calendar either, unless you chose to opt out of all official holidays as well. Even in Google apps at work. It was unprofessional and it should have never been this way.

That said, I agree with the article that this change is not happening because Google leaders or shareholders have changed how they think, but for other reasons. Personally, I think it is to avoid the antitrust scrutiny they deserve. Because they and other tech companies went along with the previous administration, they avoided things like investigations or fines or breakups. The right wants to enforce antitrust law and Trump has also said he would go after big tech, so this is a way to gain their support.

>In 1986, Congress passed Public Law 99-244, which designated February 1986 as "National Black (Afro-American) History Month.” This law noted that February 1, 1986 would “mark the beginning of the sixtieth annual public and private salute to Black History.” The law further directed the president to issue a proclamation calling on the people of the United States to observe February 1986 as Black History Month with the appropriate ceremonies and activities. President Reagan issued Presidential Proclamation 5443 External

https://guides.loc.gov/black-history-month-legal-resources/h...

It has been on the calendar for over a generation. It has been on every single paper calendar I've seen in my entire life well before Google was even a thing.

Black History month has been attacked and removed because the President and many of his supporters are racist. That's why

> Black History month has been attacked and removed because the President and many of his supporters are racist. That's why

It could also be that Google wanted to show off their time machine, so they removed it 9 months ago.

Or they were reading the winds and playing both sides like Bezos and his non-endorsement by removing events after they had already happened in 2024

Black Friday is still on the calendar because they couldn't rewrite history before it happened.

The text you quoted seems to be about one particular year. But leaving that, why was BHM part of Google’s US holidays calendar? As I recall Juneteenth was made an official holiday, so maybe showing that makes sense even though it’s also activist. But Pride and BHM?

Have you been raised in the US? Did you go to any educational institution or maybe you were raised in a much more isolated environment? The celebration of BHM was in practically every school I've been in, as a public school student. It makes total sense for BHM to be in a general US calendar even if not everyone celebrates it as a holiday. Jewish holidays and Ramadan also fell under this category in my experience.

You seem to be missing this point from the wording:

"mark the beginning of the sixtieth annual public and private salute to Black History." emphasis on beginning and annual

Without other groups it's racism. That reminds me my last job. On my question why I'm getting spam from some group I wasn't interested in they responded like "because we are sending it to everyone, ha-ha". Typical wokes.

Google is exactly the evil company that it founders set out to be against. It's a monopoly that crushes little people with no recourse (talk to anyone who has ever advertised on Google and ask what they think of their customer support). Their product people have gotten into the habit of shoving their political views down the public's throat via their widely used products because they know they can get away with it. I am eagerly waiting for the day that someone can displace them and end their callous behavior towards the general public.

I recently read the book "How Google Works". The book, read today, feels like pure sarcasm.

Google used to be my dream company. While they still have top talent and the best infrastructure one could wish for (and they pays really well), I no longer find the company as enticing. If an opportunity comes up, I might still join the company, but it no longer feels like a job offer I should "pursue" in my career.

I agree. In the 2005-2015 era, I used to have admiration for those that worked at Google and wanted to be like them. Now I view them similarly to those who work at tobacco companies or payday loan companies. They've literally become the villains of the tech story.

> Good.

> That said, I agree with the article that this change...[is happening] for other reasons.

Just to be clear, you're explicitly stating that you're fine with the government threatening corporations and individuals over their free speech--because you agree with it.

This is slipping into a dystopian hellscape. Just so you know. The corporations marching lockstep with the politics of the regime of the day is just one of those signs of it.

Read their other comments to understand why.

Is it such a terrible thing trying to normalize showing empathy to those who have traditionally not received it?

Trump supports Black History Month so I'm not sure removing it would be an effective way to curry favor. Below is a proclamation he issued at the end of January.

------------------------------------

January 31st, 2025

BY THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA A PROCLAMATION

Today, I am very honored to recognize February 2025 as National Black History Month.

Every year, National Black History Month is an occasion to celebrate the contributions of so many black American patriots who have indelibly shaped our Nation’s history.

Throughout our history, black Americans have been among our country’s most consequential leaders, shaping the cultural and political destiny of our Nation in profound ways. American heroes such as Frederick Douglass, Harriet Tubman, Thomas Sowell, Justice Clarence Thomas, and countless others represent what is best in America and her citizens. Their achievements, which have monumentally advanced the tradition of equality under the law in our great country, continue to serve as an inspiration for all Americans. We will also never forget the achievements of American greats like Tiger Woods, who have pushed the boundaries of excellence in their respective fields, paving the way for others to follow.

This National Black History Month, as America prepares to enter a historic Golden Age, I want to extend my tremendous gratitude to black Americans for all they have done to bring us to this moment, and for the many future contributions they will make as we advance into a future of limitless possibility under my Administration.

NOW, THEREFORE, I, DONALD J. TRUMP, President of the United States of America, by virtue of the authority vested in me by the Constitution and the laws of the United States, do hereby proclaim February 2025 as National Black History Month. I call upon public officials, educators, librarians, and all the people of the United States to observe this month with appropriate programs, ceremonies, and activities.

IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this thirty-first day of January, in the year of our Lord two thousand twenty-five, and of the Independence of the United States of America the two hundred and forty-ninth.

A truly sinister conspiracy to recognize the humanity of people whose legal right to choose any bus seat or patronize many restaurants, among many other things, is younger than BASIC.

Wait till you hear what July 4 and Christmas are about.

Emancipation was politics too bro

They should add all the Saints Days for all the religions.

This an obvious bending of the knee towards the Trump administration since they're on a revenge tour and don't really care about breaking laws. It's not surprising that Google, a big tech company, is looking out for profits over anything else by trying to avoid attention from the new establishment that is MAGA.

Look, normally I'd agree with you, I'm pretty far left. But they did this in mid 2024 and it wasn't a problem for anyone until this week. Probably not related to Trump at all.

Let's be angry at them for the right reasons and not for false narratives.

Sorry, I read the article but didn't notice this excerpt at the bottom.

> So in mid-2024 we returned to showing only public holidays and national observances

I stand corrected.

Yes, it's important to have real context here and recognize when it's a real issue. I'd love to see more people no matter the leaning (left, right) to actually practice this more.

Yes very obvious, and also demonstrates that Google owns a time machines, since they did this 9 months ago.

>> Jewish Heritage, Holocaust Remembrance Day, and Hispanic Heritage have also been removed, according to a Google product expert.

Sorry, I just don't understand what's the outrage. It's not like only Pride and BHM are targeted.

Care to explain ?

The outrage is people think this is Google "capitulating to fascism", because they connect the news with the ever-present Trump boogie man. E.g. https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=43007864

When, really, Google made this change in mid 2024 and it's just being reported on.

This is a way to sledge Trump, even though it's unrelated to him.

“It’s fine, they’re targeting all the minorities!”

Just a coincidence they decided to trim some holidays now.

> now

In the article a "Google spokesperson" is said to say "mid-2024":

> maintaining hundreds of moments manually and consistently globally wasn't scalable or sustainable. So in mid-2024 we returned to showing only public holidays and national observances from timeanddate.com globally, while allowing users to manually add other important moments

Such move may or may not be related to perceived changes in the direction of winds.

Every org is just kissing the orange man's feet, hoping to be blessed with kickbacks

The only reason these holidays were on the calendar to begin with is because they were kissing other people's feet earlier. People are upset because now it's somebody else's turn to receive token gestures.

You don't have to like this but it's more clear than ever before Google never cared about any of these holidays

You’re saying that as if it’s a defense.

“The only reason they were on the calendar was to recognise underprivileged minorities. Now they’re catering to the whims of the most powerful man on earth. What hypocrisy to be upset by one and not the other!”

I see you agree with the people who were having their feet kissed earlier, sorry to hear your token gesture has been taken away. I'm sure you'll get it back in another 4 years.

It’s as clear as day that you’re avoiding engaging with anything I said. I don’t understand why you’d bother replying if that’s your intent.

I suppose disregarding whatever the original foot kissing may have been, does it cause any harm to acknowledge these things publicly on calendars?

Well, I'll take token gestures when they align with my values of caring for fellow citizens and all that jazz ... not when they align with the rise of fascism.

Would you support White history month being on Google calendar? Or do you only care for some of your fellow citizens

An entirely odd response is my first impression.

You sound pretty vague. Feel free to outline the purpose of that month and how it helps me care for my fellow citizens? Perhaps I would with the right reasoning.

However, your intent seems pretty weak off the bat.

For example, I'm in the UK. A black history month comes around and highlights lesser known facts around lesser known people. Doesn't bother me in the slightest and I get to enjoy some different experiences, food, and people. We also have Hindu festivals. We have Jewish festivals, etc etc etc.

Further, every other month in my country, though not explicitly called white history month, IS effectively white history month and a celebration of its culture. And I often celebrate and enjoy that element of the cultural landscape just the same.

So ... you want another month? Is that it? Interesting ... but not really.

Another month? Which is the first month?

You're like a fish in water, asking what water is ... (and that's being generous).

They all want their piece of the network state.

I wish it would be easier to boycot Google

Keep blocking ads, change search engines, change browser. Every little bit counts!

https://www.reddit.com/r/degoogle

It's disgusting to me that Google wants to cosy to the administration this much who is hellbent on pushing this white nationalist agenda meanwhile Apple and JPMorgan Chase of all people seem to be a few of the only companies saying no we actually believe in this.

Reply on news.ycombinator.com