Technology is political.

If your project or organisation has a “no politics” clause, you’re saying you’re happy to exclude people whose very existence is political in our societies.

It’s only defensible if you’re coming from a place of privilege where the dominant politics are to your advantage so you can take them as given.

There is no such thing as “no politics”; there is only “no politics other than the politics of the status quo that I benefit from, which I’ve internalised as normal.”

@aral My teenage daughter told me she’s “not into politics” — which is hilarious because she lives in the SF Bay Area and just doesn’t realize what politics is.

I asked her if she thought her friends should be able to choose their pronouns.

“Well, that’s just being kind, not politics.”

@stanley @aral
Some things certainly *shouldn't* be political, but that is a political statement in and of itself.
@stanley @aral
I guess it boils down to the question what do we mean with politics. And I guess those who say they are not into politics define it as whatever politicians do at their job.