More than 20 civil service employees resigned Tuesday from billionaire Trump adviser Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency, saying they were refusing to use their technical expertise to “dismantle critical public services.”
More than 20 civil service employees resigned Tuesday from billionaire Trump adviser Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency, saying they were refusing to use their technical expertise to “dismantle critical public services.”
They should have stayed and sabotage DOGE efforts. Do people not know how to resist? If you find yourself in a position where you can work inside the beast and slow it down or fuck it up. Do it.
In this scenario, although the best, people would risk jail time (or other significant punishment). It’s easy to say it, but so damn hard to actually do it.
So leaving is actually a great decision that doesn’t give (any) risks
You don’t have to sabotage, but you can slow walk, make small mistakes, and not do anything until the fire you. Just don’t give up any useful tribal knowledge and do everything they want, wrong. Build tech debt and make it very difficult to get anything accomplished.
Slowly incorpore more and more perl scripts into your code until it’s unmaintainable.
I’ve seen a junior dev wipe out an entire database, and then corrupt the backup trying to restore it. Given the incompetence already on display, I’m kinda surprised it hasn’t happened already.
No risks. Except the rise of the 4th Reich.
Short term peace for onesself, long term hell for all.
Unless you’re in DC right now trying to physically block cars with your body I think it’s fair to let average technical workers in public positions decided to draw the line at doing no harm and resigning. There’s a lot of folks out there doing less and it’s not possible to comprehend people’s personal and family situations from afar.
Allowing a dictator to continue concentrating power and loyalty is not doing no harm.
Maybe no harm for them. For now. But it will come.
Appeasement does not work.