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posted by on Thursday April 09 2015, @09:00AM   Printer-friendly
from the shhh-don't-tell-anybody dept.

National Journal's Rebecca Nelson reports about the Republicans lurking in the shadows of the Bay Area:

Deep in Silicon Valley, where the free market reigns and the exchange of ideas is celebrated, a subset of tech workers are hiding their true selves.

They're the tech company employees, startup founders, and CEOs who vote for and donate to Republican candidates, bucking the Bay Area's liberal supremacy. Fearing the repercussions of associating with a much-maligned minority, they keep their political views fiercely hidden.

The consequences for being outed for conservative views can be dire. In a highly public controversy last year, newly-hired Mozilla CEO Brendan Eich stepped down after critics attacked his 2008 donation to support Proposition 8, the anti-same-sex marriage law in California. Eich, who declined to comment for this story, faced an internal uprising from within the Mozilla community, as well as boycotts from other tech companies, and quit after just two weeks on the job.

 
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  • (Score: 2) by frojack on Thursday April 09 2015, @08:53PM

    by frojack (1554) on Thursday April 09 2015, @08:53PM (#168489) Journal

    I think the reason talking about politics (and religion) has historically been taboo is because people internally know that their opinions are not grounded on as firm a base as they would like,

    I doubt that.

    I think it is because far too many people have experience with political and religious view affecting the work environment, ruining interpersonal relationships, and poisoning the work relationship. Whispering campaigns, snide remarks and distrust.

    By "problems with your political views" you seem to accept the idea that everyone should knuckle under to the group-think. By "problems with the workplace" you seem to suggest that working with a diverse group of people with varying levels of education, social skills, and different tendencies toward belief projection is somehow abnormal.

    The best bet is often just quiet non-participation in political or religious discussions because you will never change anyone's mind, and you aren't being paid to do so. Just do your job while inflicting as little strife as possible. Or as my first boss told me, "Don't shit where you eat".

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  • (Score: 2) by FatPhil on Thursday April 09 2015, @09:43PM

    by FatPhil (863) <pc-soylentNO@SPAMasdf.fi> on Thursday April 09 2015, @09:43PM (#168510) Homepage
    You're just saying you prefer ignorance to knowledge, that's all. Your choice.

    There's also the fairly clear implication that the reason is that you or your workmates can't handle such knowledge. I'm glad I don't work in such a place.
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