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Comment by codex_irl | Hacker News Reader

I've called out more than one "leader / boss" out in meetings / code-reviews for being excessively mean & shaming noobs who are genuinely trying their best & are hungry to learn.

Constructive criticism is a great thing, but telling someone they will never work again in this industry because they make a small CSS error on their first ever post-college project is another.

I've been fired from one job for standing up in a meeting and calling the boss a self-important asshole & refusing to retract it.

Life is too short to let these type of people get you down, we are all just floating on a rock in space & going to die in a few years....what's important: http://www.reddit.com/r/pics/comments/14su4p/he_sang_to_her_...

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"I've been fired from one job for standing up in a meeting and calling the boss a self-important asshole & refusing to retract it."

Well, yes, that would cause some difficulties and a slightly chilled air around the coffee machine where I work as well.

There are ways of communicating the sentiment without making it easy for them to get rid of you...

I agree with you, but I did not really want to stay working for that guy anyways - it was no loss.

My take on working is that my employer is renting my time & skills to complete a job, they have every right to expect value for their money - but they don't own me, nor can they tell me when I am allowed to take a phone call, go for a lunch break, shout at me or demand that I work extra hours for no extra money.

As the wolf says: "I'm here to help - if my help's not appreciated then lotsa luck, gentlemen."

Yup, as a teacher I have a huge amount of autonomy. I can work at home (I actually do log into an rdp session, but I don't have to) and schedule the between class work when I wish to. We tend to use mobile phones for personal calls in the UK, just a fashion I suppose.

The funny thing is that I end up doing a lot of work on my own time...

On the other hand, that might have been a political statement, specially if he really was an asshole and other people agreed with the assessment.

It wouldn't be surprising if some people left on their own after the incident.

I really recommend "The No Asshole Rule" by Robert Sutton. It's not just that life is too short. Working with assholes will literally make your life shorter. Kudos for calling somebody out in an attempt to stop the madness.

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