upvote
> Geez, I hope you do not pay give any money to Google, Microsoft and such.

Yes? I have been divesting from big tech. Not only do I feel good about it but the side effects have been positive too.

reply
So have I and I'm using lots of OSS by people and groups that I'm politically, ethically, morally and whatever else-ly incompatible with and yet they build great stuff for free without restricting me and my use of it. If my revenue allows for it I'll gladly donate to all of them for their work (that is also running my side gig and homelab) without looking into their spending OT donation habits.

I'll happily keep on listening to radical left punk, RAC/rock against Communism as well as anti fascist and NS Black Metal as long as the music moves me.

I can't go around judging all day. Wherever I spend money, I'll probably disagree with 99% of what the people at the receiving end will do with it.

reply
Yes, I check whether my local bakery is run by people with hateful politics.
reply
Hmm... where have I heard this before?
reply
In fact, the politics of my local bakery are among the easiest to be aware of! These people are telling on themselves.
reply
[flagged]
reply
This isn't an all or nothing approach. People can exercise the options they have without being a puritanical crazy about it. This isn't a strong argument. You can protest about how society is structured while still taking part it in.
reply
You don't think there's a difference between a founder and a random employee?
reply
Also, the concentration of service cost to political affiliation is much higher here.
reply
Their CEOs and the tech megacorps have been openly supporting Trump and financing both him personally and his political projects. There is no ambiguity in that at all.
reply
So if Kim Jong Un ran your local bakery, you'd still buy his cakes? Or what's your point? That we need to be 100% flawless or else there is no point in doing anything at all?
reply
You’re telling me you wouldn’t go to the Kim Jong Un bakery? I bet it would be delicious.

Anyway, yes, I do judge you if you publicly and loudly declaim small to medium sized businesses that work really hard for your privacy while handing out money to megacorps who are directly involved in tightening the global surveillance net.

reply
I'd be among the first customers. North Korean dough products look quite delicious. They don't even use GMOs.
reply
An employee is different from a cofounder.

For example, I certainly boycott anything to do with Elon Musk, for the same kinds of reasons.

You seem to be falling into the "perfect is the enemy of the good" trap. It's not possibly to perfectly boycott every person and organization that deserves to be sanctioned, but that doesn't mean we shouldn't do it where it is possible.

reply
> do it where it is possible.

So lets only boycott small and inconsequential companies like Mullvad that are easily replaceable. However not companies like Apple, Intel or Nvidia etc. whose CEOs have expressed their personal admiration of Trump and supported him financially because it would not be very convenient?

To be fair that seems to be reasonably rational i.e. anthropomorphising lawnmowers is a fool’s errand while its feasible to actually make a difference in cases like this

reply