Linked List: February 2, 2017

Thursday, 2 February 2017

Felix Salmon: ‘Impartiality or Diversity. Pick One.’ ★

Felix Salmon, writing for Fusion:

Today, the personal is political; identity politics is politics. Political stances aren’t just something that we choose to express when we open our mouths in a certain way; they’re a way of living in the world. If I am a gay Yemeni immigrant, or a black trans woman, or a Muslim trans man who’s a survivor of sexual assault, then to be open and unapologetic about my identity is to be a partisan in the most urgent political debates of the day.

Comcast Employees Walk Out to Protest Trump’s Immigration Order ★

Billy Penn:

Comcast employees self-organized a march to City Hall to protest Donald Trump’s recent immigration executive order. The rally came together through an internal Slack channel that a high-level source at Comcast told Billy Penn grew from about 100 people to 1,200 people this week. Comcast is one of the largest employers in the Philadelphia region and stands as the most influential corporation in the city.

In Philadelphia, where Comcast is headquartered, the one-hour rally began at 2 p.m. Thursday at the plaza outside the Comcast Center at 17th and JFK. Others in the Philadelphia tech sector were encouraged by organizers to attend, and as hundreds and bordering on thousands of protesters joined in the march. Comcast campuses in Washington, D.C., New York City (SoHo) and Sunnyvale, CA held their own rallies, as well.

The action is not technically a “walk-out” as the company is offering paid time off to anyone taking part in the demonstration.

You know we’re in perilous times when you find yourself cheering for Comcast.