Hey so here& #39;s a thing about banning "political discussions" from a space because they& #39;re "divisive:" that does not resolve the division. It just says "if you feel marginalized or unsafe here, keep it to yourself, we don& #39;t want to hear it."

The way to reduce division is to set clear standards and show folks who don& #39;t meet those standards the door.

Which I guess "don& #39;t talk about politics here" is doing that--it& #39;s just that your clear standards are extremely low and you& #39;re showing folks who exceed them the door.

It is in fact possible for political discussions to go too far in the other direction, where it& #39;s so pervasive that marginalized employees can& #39;t just do their jobs without also doing Exhausting Discourse. You solve that with leadership and boundaries, not gag orders.

You can "both sides" about tabs vs spaces. You can& #39;t "both sides" politics when the politics are about who is a person.

neutral in the face of injustice, can& #39;t stay still on a moving train, etc etc etc. Parging over a crack in your foundation doesn& #39;t keep the building dry.