The current tech industry has taken a hard right turn. While there are of course many standout foss contributors and many come up every day, the vast majority of people in tech have no qualms about waking up, destroying privacy at Facebook, and having a beer after work with friends and ignoring society. Silicon valley is “fuck you got mine” on an industrial scale.
Silicon Valley and the social Darwinist tech bro culture is a very “there but for the grace of God go I” situation for me.
Raised in a white conservative family & area, was an angry and edgy teenager that kept getting great grades, understood that being a “good” person meant building wealth, and bad life experiences were personal responsibility issues, etc. Went to a high end university. And even in my early adult years, I liked to listen to talk on my commute more than music, and it was pre-smartphone so I didn’t have my Howard Stern mp3s and therefore everything I listened to on the radio was Republican bad faith propaganda during the W era in the US.
But not to fear. The same inquisitive nature that got me into computers/STEM and out of religion as a minor, also helped me straighten out the meaning of life as an adult. In middle age I’m into the ole triple L: Lemmy, Leftism, and Linux, lol. My software engineering job is at a very much non-silicon-valley place that’s only 3 miles from my modest house via quiet twisty country road, and instead of a Lambo I have a family, a koi pond, and a ton of other pets. I was always into nature and wildlife (especially aquatic) as a kid and it never went away.
The current tech industry has taken a hard right turn. While there are of course many standout foss contributors and many come up every day, the vast majority of people in tech have no qualms about waking up, destroying privacy at Facebook, and having a beer after work with friends and ignoring society. Silicon valley is “fuck you got mine” on an industrial scale.
Silicon Valley and the social Darwinist tech bro culture is a very “there but for the grace of God go I” situation for me.
Raised in a white conservative family & area, was an angry and edgy teenager that kept getting great grades, understood that being a “good” person meant building wealth, and bad life experiences were personal responsibility issues, etc. Went to a high end university. And even in my early adult years, I liked to listen to talk on my commute more than music, and it was pre-smartphone so I didn’t have my Howard Stern mp3s and therefore everything I listened to on the radio was Republican bad faith propaganda during the W era in the US.
But not to fear. The same inquisitive nature that got me into computers/STEM and out of religion as a minor, also helped me straighten out the meaning of life as an adult. In middle age I’m into the ole triple L: Lemmy, Leftism, and Linux, lol. My software engineering job is at a very much non-silicon-valley place that’s only 3 miles from my modest house via quiet twisty country road, and instead of a Lambo I have a family, a koi pond, and a ton of other pets. I was always into nature and wildlife (especially aquatic) as a kid and it never went away.