Basecamp: No more paternalism from your employers!
Also Basecamp: Here’s a list of conversations you can’t have.
Also also Basecamp: We refuse to learn even the most basic lessons on the companies who have done this exact thing in the last two years.
4 Likes
Isn’t the most common euphemism “The War between the States”, as if a bunch of rebel states had the same standing and dignity as the United States of America?
3 Likes
I’m not American, so I don’t know which euphemism is the most common.
2 Likes
My gym has an absolute prohibition about talking politics. Not only is it the policy of management, it’s baked into the culture there. There’s no enforcement. It just isn’t done.
Been going to the same place for two years and I only have the vaguest hint of the politics of four or five of my friends there.
It’s wonderful.
i think this basecamp employee said it best in the verge article:
One Basecamp worker I spoke with today, who requested anonymity, wondered the extent to which parenting issues could be raised at work. “How do you talk about raising kids without talking about society?” the employee said. “As soon as I bring up public schools, then it’s already political.”
when “politics” means you can’t talk about race, sexual identity or orientation, or heck – these days the pandemic, masks, or vaccination status – how can you talk about anything at all?
“politics” in these contexts is anything which isn’t cis, white, hetrosexual, christian normative – so the concept of not talking about “politics” is only possible for that small group of people.
i prefer the rules here at the bbs – particularly the top two
Be cool. Don’t post or encourage insulting, bullying, victim-blaming, racist, sexist, violent, homophobic or transphobic remarks.
Do not make assumptions as to anyone’s mental state, race, gender, ethnicity, religious beliefs, group affiliation or sexual orientation without corroboration.
adult conversations about daily life – what some people might consider “politics” – can work if people are willing to “be cool”. even at the gym or at work.
4 Likes
You know, one the best online groups I participate in – a FB page of Traveller (an SF RPG) – has an absolute no-politics rule, but it’s surprising how quickly people will want to turn a conversation about 57th century commerce into a commentary about why don’t we have automated luxury communism or why “the Libs” would be opposed to people owning plasma rifles, or some damned thing. And it’s almost never the innocent comment that gets it going, but the people that need to respond to the innocent comment.
And nothing’s perfect, but the rule acts like control rods to keep it more cool. Yeah, there was much talk about public health rules that closed our gym and all that, but it’s never descended into Bernie v Trump shouting matches either.
Yeah, people can be cool, but they generally aren’t. So I’ll take my conversations when I’m trying to get some exercise (and I’m down 40# from my mid-COVID high) on a purely bespoke politics-free zone.
again, though. it’s really not politics free. certain people are going to be restricted from talking about the content of their lives versus the freedom others have
refer to rule 2 of the bbs faq: don’t make assumptions about what other people think. the comment you highlight is one of those and should be nuked from orbit based on that, not some set of “i think this is about politics and i think this is not”
so why bother becoming friends ( your word ) with people who aren’t able to “be cool”? if you personally find some line of conversation troublesome - especially in person(!) - and you can’t tell the person you’re talking with that it’s time to change the subject - that’s not a friend. not even close.
3 Likes
Well I think that is potentially fine, note that a gym is not a workplace. Most people don’t spend 40 hours a week at the gym, and for the most part they don’t have to work together. And you can quit a gym without ending up homeless.
Also, it’s one thing if your gym (or workplace) doesn’t itself have a broken culture of sexism, racism, and homophobia. But when “lets not snipe about politics” becomes “don’t talk about fixing our own problems” it becomes enforcement of discrimination.
5 Likes
They offered 6 months salary if you had been with the company for 3 years. 3 months salary to everyone else.
4 Likes
Which camp is leaving though? The pro-inclusivity camp or the camp in favor of making fun of people’s names?
1 Like
I think they’re still sticking by the “no political discussions at work” policy. That’s a rather large number (even though I believe the company is fairly small). I’m not sure I’d be comfortable quitting even with 3-6mo of pay without something else lined up, but if I was younger and single I might.
1 Like
According to Platformer, Fried’s missive didn’t tell the whole story. Basecamp employees instead said the tension arose from internal conversations about the company itself and its commitment to DEI work, not free-floating arguments about political candidates. Fried’s blog post does mention one particular source of tension in a roundabout way, referencing an employee-led DEI initiative that would be disbanded.
“We make project management, team communication, and email software,” Fried wrote. “We are not a social impact company.”
For those, like me, who had to look it up: DEI stands for diversity, equity and inclusion.
4 Likes
That’s right there with “the Troubles” for a name that massively understates the reality of the situation at hand.
6 Likes
This topic was automatically closed after 5 days. New replies are no longer allowed.
