Politics and KubeCon
Ok, another short post this week. I really didn't want to be writing this post, and I almost didn't. I'd way rather just be writing about SimKube and getting on with things, but I actually can't just ignore what happened in America last week. So let's talk about it.
First things first: we live in a racist country. It's racist now, it was racist in the sixties, it was racist when it was founded. It was founded on racist principles that were written into the Constitution, and everything we've been done since then is either doubling down on that or fighting to dismantle it: but the people fighting to dismantle it are fighting against centuries of codified policies and patterns of behaviour. The fact that we just elected a right-wing, fascist, lunatic, twice-impeached, completely unhinged convicted felon to be President instead of a moderate Black woman is just another entry in a long, long, long history of deeply-entrenched racism in our country.
Secondly: there's a whole bunch of companies putting out statements right now. Some of these companies are like "Please just keep politics out of the workspace so we can get on with our business." And some of those companies are saying that while at the same time making political donations to further political causes that generally further the racist agenda. But even ignoring that blatant bit of hypocrisy, pretending like a Corporation in America is not a political entity is just burying your head in the sand. You can't keep politics out of the workplace when you are inherently a political creation.
There are other companies out there putting out statements that say things like, "We are shocked and appalled at the outcome of this election. We don't stand for racism or meanness, and we'll do everything in our power to fight against Donald Trump's agenda." Some of these companies are just virtue-signalling, but I actually tend to believe that the CEOs and leaders of companies really do believe what they're saying, and want to make things better. But look: Trump was elected. Which means we1 already failed. We are already standing for racism, meanness, and Trump's policies. If that weren't true, we would have made sure he didn't get elected.
"But how could we have done that?" I hear some of you asking. "We don't have any control over how people vote!" Please. Don't play dumb. Corporate dollars influence elections. The Supreme Court made sure of that. You could donate your money to support progressive policies if you wanted to. You could tell your employees that you're endorsing a particular candidate if you wanted to. You could stop union-busting if you wanted to. You could pay your gig economy workers a living wage if you wanted to. You could stop relying on cheap labor from exploited workers in third-world countries if you wanted to. You could stop laying off people at the behest of your shareholders if you wanted to. You could improve your diversity metrics if you wanted to. But, you don't. Not really. Because if you wanted it that badly, you would have done it already. Instead, you put out a strongly-worded message on LinkedIn.
So where does that leave us now? Honestly, I don't have any idea. Things are probably going to get worse before they get better. I hear some folks saying, "Well, at least it's his last term," and I'm like, "It doesn't matter, because the damage that's about to unfold is going to take generations to repair." And I don't know how "building a simulation environment for Kubernetes" is going to help prevent any of that damage, but that's all the political entity known as ACRL has to contribute in this moment, so I guess I'm just hoping and praying that it will help. Somehow.
Anyways, come find me at KubeCon this week if you want to talk.
~drmorr
And just to be really clear, when I say "we" I'm including "me". This isn't an "us" versus "them" issue, this is an everybody issue, and that starts by acknowledging our own faults. I definitely make mistakes. I've made them on this very blog! And I'm sure I'll make more.