‘People could well die from this work.’
That’s what employees at a California tech company were saying to each other earlier this year. They’d been asked to sell surveillance technology to one of the big telecoms companies in Turkey. It would give the government access to the passwords of millions of citizens.
The extraordinary thing is that the employees of this firm, Procera Networks, just refused to do it. One of them, Kriss Andsten, sent an indignant company-wide email and walked out. (Here’s the whole story.)
I was blown away by this when I heard about it. What’s so fascinating is that the employees didn’t just quietly fret about the bullshit their executives were trying to pull. They saw something was wrong, and they said they weren’t going to be a party to it. Contrast their actions with the employees at Wells Fargo, who lost sleep over their fraudulent behavior but went along with it anyway. Or the thousands of bankers who sold junk securities knowing they were risking the world economy. Or the lawyers who defend insurance or energy companies from poor people they’ve harmed.
It’s not easy to walk out. We’ve got bills. Nobody wants to be famous in their industry for refusing to play ball. And besides, most of us never find ourselves in that kind of situation. I don’t think I ever have—not in a big way, at least. But if you do, that’s when you get to decide: Will you live your ideals or just talk about them?
“I do not wish to spend the rest of my life with the regret of having been a part of (Turkish President) Erdoğan’s insanity, so I’m out,” Andsten wrote.
I hope I’m that brave.
Here’s what else we’re reading:
- Laura Kasinof was in Spain being a fly on the wall in a house where three refugee families lived. Here’s what happened one night on the patio.
- Turkey turned off the internet for 6 million people. (Engadget)
- Two former ISIS sex slaves won the Sakharov prize for standing up to their tormenters on the international stage. (NYT)
Till next time,
Ben
PS. Your last chance to join Latterly and get a copy of Laura’s book on the Arab Spring is midnight U.S. eastern time on Monday.
