the email to Aboussad reads. “It is also concerning that you have not apologized to the company, and in fact you have shown no remorse for the effect that your actions have had and will have.”
Obviously there were going to fire these employees, especially the one who gave notice then did this.
But why the fuck would anyone be like “yOu DiDn’T eVeN aPoLoGiZe To ThE cOmPaNy”? That’s the stupidest god damn thing I’ve heard since “Liberation Day”
What about "you haven't even thanked us!" to Zelensky?
Same energy.
Apologized? Did they berate her for not "wearing a suit" too?
Or speaking without permission with a vagina?!
The impertinence!
Hey, when's the last time you showed remorse to your multi-trillion market cap employer? Next you're gonna tell me something really outrageous like you didn't even swear an oath of fealty to them.
That email was almost certainly written by lawyers with the intention of supporting MS in court, should it come down to that.
Is anyone surprised? Maybe the surprising part is that she's still alive and only got fired.
Microsoft has policy that prevents it from retaliatory actions against human rights violations. Court should rule Microsoft violated its own policies...
prevents it from retaliatory actions against human rights violations
They can't retaliate if someone violates human rights?
They're referencing what the second protester (Vaniya Agrawal) mentioned in her email:
Know that Microsoft’s human rights statement prohibits retaliation against anyone who raises a human rights-related concern: Human rights statement | Microsoft CSR
The Microsoft Global Human Rights Statement has a "Foundational principles" section that says:
Our commitment to human rights defenders: Our commitment to respecting and advancing human rights includes respect and support for the work of human rights defenders around the world. Human rights defenders are people who, individually or with others, engage in activities and advocacy that contribute to the protection of human rights and the rule of law, good governance, tolerance, and diversity and inclusion. Human rights defenders face persistent physical, social, economic, and psychological threats. Microsoft does not tolerate threats, intimidation, retaliation, physical, legal or cyber-attacks against human rights defenders. This commitment extends to all human rights defenders, including those working on issues related to Microsoft and those exercising their rights of freedom of expression, association, and peaceful assembly, including to challenge or protest aspects of our own business.
Microsoft is clearly declining to fulfill its commitment as it is written in its statement.
The fact that they're asking her to apologize is Just ass backwards.
They should apologize, and look into the issue, and possibly, stop, war profiting.
That's okay. They're going to lose a lot of Windows users, forcing them to upgrade Perfectly good computers.
i agree with what you're saying from an ethical standpoint. i think she's right to protest.
but it's not "an issue", it's a huge fucking client of theirs. from a business standpoint its a huge ask to fire a whole military as a customer.
Surely there's an option between "drop major client" and "punish the person pointing out problems"
"We cant stop selling to war criminals. They are among our biggest customers."
Sounds more like a company that needs to be dismantled and have their leadership face prison sentences. Given the size of Microsoft they could take the hit economically w.o. much hassle. They dont have to be evil. They want to be evil. And we need to punish them for it by boycotting their shit as much as possible.
I wish that were the case. But I doubt most people will ditch Windows. They’ll just pony up for a new computer. They’ll certainly lose some users. But Windows will still remain as top dog, most likely. And I doubt that’ll ever change so long as traditional desktop computers and laptops still exist.
I would have been surprised if they hadn’t fired her. Good on those two for causing a ruckus for a cause they believe in though. Nonviolent one too, well done.
They were probably going to quit over personal morality anyway, so good for them for using their exit for positive. At least they can leave with their self-respect and dignity intact, and the respect of their co-workers and the world. Somewhere there is a moral employer who will appreciate them.
the best thing i did was spend last month deleting the partitions in my desktop and laptop and installing mint.
I’ve been on Arch for a little while now, and Kubuntu before that. After Valve launched Proton on Steam, I found myself almost never booting into Windows. Once I ran out of disk space, it was an easy decision to completely purge Windows from my machine. Haven’t looked back in years.
Fuck Microsoft for trying to control my computer. Finally nice not having it reinstall Candy Crush after every update. And none of that copilot or online account bullshit.
Genocide Profiteer not War Profiteer
Fuck you Microsoft, if I wasn't already done with you for completely enshittifying your operating system, I would DEFINITELY be done with you for this.
Fuck off and continue to become a Kodak or Yahoo or other still existing washout company that totally lost the plot.
"I'm not interested in arguing" -someone who knows they're in the wrong, but still holds the power
It is also concerning that you have not apologized to the company, and in fact you have shown no remorse for the effect that your actions have had and will have.
the fucking audacity. i mean, we all knew how it would end, but talk about 5d reverse psychology mindgames
Ah, yes, nothing quite like retaliating against someone who says you did a bad thing. Sure showed them!
Microsoft has recently been added to the BDS list. Do not forget to give their apps a review.
Only trouble is Microsoft clearly doesn't care about negative reviews of their applications, because they've been receiving negative reviews for years now.
It's not like you can even avoid using their products, personally you can install Linux but you're probably going to still have to use a Windows device at work, and business is where they make most of their profit anyway.
There is no such thing as "free speech" under capitalism.
As enraging as this whole story is, I don't think there's any coming back from 'you're a war profiteer'
Yeah, I assume the now-former employee acted with full expectation of losing her job over this. She succeeded at bringing attention to something many people (myself included) hadn't heard about before, so she at least accomplished that much.
Linux isn't perfect but I don't have to put up with that kind of bullshit from the makers of my OS. Glad I switched long ago and never looked back (except for the Windows laptop I keep around for games)
Just out of curiosity, what games do you need a windows machine to play that proton can't make work on Linux?
I am not worried about the firing part. This lady and her friends must have been added to the DHS list. They are going to deport her if she is on any visa or PR.
Well, what did they expect?
They probably expected their employer not to participate in genocide.
What a dummy, right?!?! \s
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