this post was submitted on 24 Dec 2023
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His original post , titled I can't sleep, is some brilliant writing. When we talk about the chilling effect that criticism of Israel creates in industries everywhere (including ours) this is what that looks like.

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[–] [email protected] 247 points 11 months ago* (last edited 11 months ago) (3 children)

When you read about the Holocaust and the Nazis, you like to imagine you'd be the good guy. You'd fight the Nazis, you'd free the concentration camps. But apparently I wouldn't. Apparently I would have just sat there paralyzed, incapable of doing anything about the genocide I see every day. Unable to think of any way to help. All I can do is retweet and protest and write a stupid blog post. I feel so stupid...

I wasn't ready to see that my friends are Brownshirts [34]. That they actively cheer on the genocide...I wasn't ready for my friends being [concentration] camp guards, party officials, propagandists.

Fuck, such an accurate picture

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[–] [email protected] 177 points 11 months ago (1 children)

I don't know what to do, but I know these are not my people. Who can work with people whitewashing genocide. Are we supposed to pretend it's business as usual as we send our friends' intros, frolic at conferences, discuss monetization strategy.

To Ed Sim, Erica Brescia, Michael Dearing, and especially Matt Ocko, we're done [47]. I'll never pitch you again, never ask for help, never send intros or recommend you. I'm done with Boldstart, and DCVC, and Harrison Metal, and Redpoint. (I’m also done with Bessemer [48] and Sequoia [49] and First Round [50].)

Damn, the balls on this guy. Very inspiring

[–] [email protected] 85 points 11 months ago

Nothing short of heroic - too many people in a similar situation find themselves saying that it's awful what's happening, but there's nothing they can do about it.

Well, it turns out there is. Inspiring as hell.

[–] Sanctus 108 points 11 months ago* (last edited 11 months ago) (1 children)

Paul, you are clearly a man who would have refused to take part, even when those you held dear cast aside their humanity. Keep the fight up, your people are out there making the same sacrifices in their life.

[–] [email protected] 19 points 11 months ago (1 children)

I'm not him, just someone sharing his story.

[–] Sanctus 31 points 11 months ago (1 children)
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[–] Linkerbaan 103 points 11 months ago

Not supporting the Nazis had financial impact on people. Some American compagnies in fact gladly did business with the Nazis and made bank from it . But after a while they still managed to scrape some morals from the bottom of the barrel and say "hey this Genocide thing is maybe not okay".

Paul can stand proud for standing up for his morals. Sadly seems like many western companies and even the entirety US congress loves to sell their souls for genocidal Nazi stuff these days. Modern day America would have been a dream come true for Hitler.

[–] [email protected] 90 points 11 months ago

Paul is a chad. He also got kicked out of ycombinator for outing the founders skipping vaccine lines and encouraging others to do the same.

[–] [email protected] 72 points 11 months ago (8 children)

Does someone know if anyone maintains a list of companies or organizations where this kind of bullshit has gone down, with link to sources? Could be useful to keep track.

I can't believe how quickly we went from pretending we thought murdering civilians was a bad thing to concluding it's merely a matter of killing the right civilians.

[–] [email protected] 41 points 11 months ago (1 children)

There's a conversation going on in that Mastodon thread where one dude is proposing a static site fueled by a fact-checked list, but that's the only thing I've seen other than BDS.

[–] [email protected] 14 points 11 months ago (1 children)
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[–] [email protected] 17 points 10 months ago (1 children)

I will preface this by saying that there are risks to being openly involved.


There are people work to avoid taking actions that may benefit Israel:

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boycott,_Divestment_and_Sanctions

https://bdsmovement.net/get-involved/what-to-boycott

[–] [email protected] 18 points 10 months ago (8 children)

Definitely doesn't help that most of the damn US has some form of Anti-BDS laws. Because everybody knows Anti-Zionism is Anti-Semitism right guys?

[–] [email protected] 10 points 10 months ago

The US ""free market"" - Where if you choose not to do business with somebody they make it illegal not to.

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[–] answersplease77 60 points 10 months ago (1 children)

It's extremely rare to see someone like Paul Bigger whose morals are not for sale

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[–] ook_the_librarian 44 points 11 months ago (2 children)

Actions have consequences, and that's ok.

That is, sincerely, such a hugely refreshing statement in any current affair. I don't mean to distract from his more specific points, but that key insight really shows integrity in a way that I wish didn't seem so rare.

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[–] [email protected] 44 points 10 months ago (1 children)

When there is a war, there are war crimes - it's not surprising, it's not new and it's not special. Every single time, regardless of nationality, race, creed, invader or defender. Every single time. You give a lot of people guns, teach them to de-humanise the enemy and then put them through unimaginable stresses, it's inevitable that some will do bad things. Those who orchestrate such actions and trigger events like this know, accept and want these atrocoties to achieve their own ends.

I respect Paul Biggar for having an opinion and writing a well researched and unimpeachable personal blog about it. Why should any of us who hold feelings have to suppress them?

It's sad that he's become yet another victim of this unwinnable war, it's even sadder that he won't be the last.

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[–] filister 38 points 11 months ago

It is sickening the double standards we have. And all because of money and powerful lobbies.

[–] [email protected] 35 points 11 months ago* (last edited 11 months ago) (3 children)

Between the recent breach and the clear sentiment behind their staff, I really don't know why anyone chooses CircleCI over GitHub / GitLab Actions.

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[–] [email protected] 31 points 11 months ago

This is why I hate startup culture. When you give off your equity to capitalist fat cats, you make yourself a bootlickers of mainstream discourse, even if that discourse is calling for genocide.

[–] [email protected] 30 points 11 months ago

Fuck CircleCI

[–] qevlarr 24 points 10 months ago

Such a powerful article! Standing up for what's right, I would always invest in such a person if I had any say in it.

[–] FrostKing 21 points 10 months ago (1 children)

Genuine question: What's this have to do with open source?

[–] [email protected] 20 points 10 months ago (1 children)
[–] FrostKing 7 points 10 months ago

Makes sense. Thanks!

[–] [email protected] 21 points 11 months ago (1 children)

He should probably leave the US and go to Europe (where his Irish passport entitles him to work). He’s certainly not going to work at a Fortune 500 company any time soon, and any firm that hires him is likely to find itself reciprocally blacklisted.

[–] [email protected] 39 points 11 months ago

Ireland is generally supportive of Palestinian freedom, given their history. This extends back well before the recent horrific Hamas terrorist attacks. Israel and Ireland have a rocky relationship, including Israel using fake irish passports for agents. Ireland is not antisemitic, but Israel obviously tries to paint them that way.

[–] [email protected] 17 points 10 months ago

Don't give CircleCI my money, got it

[–] [email protected] 14 points 10 months ago (1 children)

What I don't understand is him getting sacked. While he did name a few people and cut ties, I don't see the people named couldn't stand up with him after being named. It seems as if they really support the war crimes in Gaza.

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[–] [email protected] 12 points 11 months ago (1 children)

I don't mean to undermine anything when I ask this. The article was very good, thank you sharing. I wanted to ask if circleCI made any floss software, or if paul biggar was a contributor to particular open source projects.

[–] [email protected] 34 points 11 months ago (1 children)

I don't know. I posted it here because CicleCI is a popular tool for Open source projects.

[–] [email protected] 17 points 11 months ago

It's valid and relevant. Thank you for sharing to this community.

[–] [email protected] 10 points 10 months ago

What an article. I have no words, but that's always the case when thinking about Gaza

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