- cross-posted to:
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- cross-posted to:
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cross-posted from: https://lemmy.ml/post/21201228
cross-posted from: https://lemmy.world/post/20643795
It’s early morning, and Zelda Montes walks briskly through the crisp New York air as they head to Google’s headquarters on Manhattan’s 9th Avenue. Montes, who self-identifies as they, fumbles with their ID card at the entrance, blending in with the steady stream of Googlers swiping through the security barriers as if it were just another day at the office.
Armed with an oversized tote bag, Montes pulls back their purple hair and heads to the 13th-floor canteen to order their usual: a dirty chai and an egg, avocado, and cheese sandwich with a bowl of raspberries.
Their hands tremble slightly as they grip the coffee cup.
Locking eyes with two others, they get the signal that the coast is clear, head down to the entrance, and sit. The three Googlers unfurl their banners and begin chanting to demand that Google do one thing: Drop Project Nimbus.
But this will be the last time they sit inside Google’s New York office as Googlers, as Google itself refers to its own employees. “Getting fired felt like a possibility but never a reality,” remarked Montes, one of 50 employees fired by Google for staging a 10-hour sit-in at one of its American offices in April.
For the last three years, Montes has been one of several activists calling for Google to drop Project Nimbus, a partnership Google and Amazon have with the Israeli government reportedly worth $1.2bn.
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“Getting fired felt like a possibility but never a reality,”
They took over an executive’s office and a cafeteria. Not knowing that you’d be fired as a result is a severe lack of judgement.
Protests are important. But you have to understand that there will be consequences for your actions. Embrace that going in.
Saying that you didn’t think they’d actually fire you comes off as childish.
Could this just be journalistic framing to make you feel a certain way? Do you think any reasonable person hired by Google wouldn’t know that they could/would be fired for staging a protest in the cafeteria?
I know people that occupied the offices. They were perfectly aware they would be fired and the people selected for the action were the least vulnerable economically, because retaliation was certain. Anything else is journalistic spin.
