Hacker News new | ask | show | jobs
by DidISayTooMuch 2528 days ago
Partially agree. I have no inclination to work for IBM or corporate software. Just wanna work for a startup where I can crack non PC jokes. Where the company hires for competence and not because they wanna show off that they hire 50% women.

I think the Valley was like this 10 years ago.
3 comments
ketzo 2528 days ago
I feel like there's a big gap between "our mission is to save the word with payroll software"-esque virtue signalling, and a "PC" culture. 99% of the time, "politically correct" === "polite and respectful of boundaries."
link
DidISayTooMuch 2528 days ago
Sorry, I am all for basic courtesy and niceties. But PC culture means not tolerating debate, not open to challenging ideas. It's dogma.
link
ketzo 2528 days ago
Well, okay, one example of PC culture is sensitivity towards microaggressions. Based on your previous comment, you're probably already rolling your eyes, but bear with me. Microaggressions are usually (and very broadly) defined as actions which unintentionally marginalize people. These actions are almost never noticed by the person at fault -- that's what makes them "micro." Examples include things like calling a black colleague "aggressive" when they're arguing -- that particular language has been applied to black people for a long, long time to cast them as violent or criminal, and thus comes across differently than when applied to a white person.

Anyway, I list that as an example because what you're talking about isn't actually an example of political correctness (which is, again, a shitty term for basic respect and awareness of social context). Humans like black-and-white issues. It's really nice for us to be able to put things in boxes. So when we perceive someone's action in a certain way, our gut instinct is to cast that entire person as that way. Do people sometimes take someone's rudeness (even if accidental) and brand them a racist, discarding all of their opinions? Absolutely. Do some of my family members hear that I voted for Hillary and decide that none of my opinions have value? Also certainly. Humans are dogmatic. "Political correctness" is an umbrella term for cultural sensitivity, and can (like any idea) be applied dogmatically. It is not fundamentally dogmatic.

link
opportune 2528 days ago
>non PC jokes

Why would you want to do this at work? No well-run place will allow this because it makes for a hostile work environment.

You have roughly 128 hr/week outside of work to do those things

link
DidISayTooMuch 2526 days ago
You are right. But I'm also spending 40 hours a week at work. It's not that I wanna make lewd jokes all the time. It's just that, I wanna feel that if I say something that isn't appropriate, I don't' wanna be excoriated. I have a darker sense of humor and so I don't wanna feel like I'm walking on eggshells.
link
jagannathtech 2528 days ago
No place like that anymore
link