Inside the all-hands meeting that led to a third of Basecamp employees quitting

Re:Inside the all-hands meeting that led to a third of Basec... by falcor84 on Thursday May 06, 2021 @09:44AM (#27063081)

Let me ask this in a more general way: If a member of a weaker minority group tells a member of a powerful majority group that they feel they've experienced a supremacist culture, is that on its own a `preposterous accusation`? What would be a valid thought and fact-gathering process for that member of the majority group to decide whether to take the concern seriously or dismiss it?

[ Parent | on HN ]

Re:Inside the all-hands meeting that led to a third of Basec... by factsaresacred on Thursday May 06, 2021 @03:07PM (#27067780)

> What would be a valid thought and fact-gathering process for that member of the majority group to decide whether to take the concern seriously or dismiss it?

The onus is on the accuser to provide evidence of their claims. Management agreed that a list of funny names does not count.

Yet the employee continued to make unfalsifiable assertions such as:

"the silence in the background is what racism and white supremacy does...It doesn’t require active malice".

So denying an accusation of white supremacy is evidence of guilt, and remaining silent in the face of such an accusation is also evidence of guilt.

It's impossible to work with such people.

[ Parent | on HN ]

Re:Inside the all-hands meeting that led to a third of Basec... by falcor84 on Thursday May 06, 2021 @03:53PM (#27068317)

>Management agreed that a list of funny names does not count.

But why? What process led those people to decide it doesn't count? And why would only the management have a voice in that decision?

[ Parent | on HN ]

Re:Inside the all-hands meeting that led to a third of Basec... by factsaresacred on Thursday May 06, 2021 @05:38PM (#27069357)

Does concluding that a list of funny names - mostly of western origin - is not evidence of white supremacy require a process? It's almost axiomatic.

Claims of white supremacy need to be backed up with proof.

Histrionic breakdowns and screaming at screens doesn't count as proof I'm afraid.

[ Parent | on HN ]