After WWII, my uncle got a job with a new company making a new product, electric powered adding machines and typewriters. He worked for IBM the rest of his life. He didn't complete high school, so as IBM moved to computers, he became low value, and IBM gave him early retirement.
His retirement was delayed while they made him a fantasti…
After WWII, my uncle got a job with a new company making a new product, electric powered adding machines and typewriters. He worked for IBM the rest of his life. He didn't complete high school, so as IBM moved to computers, he became low value, and IBM gave him early retirement.
His retirement was delayed while they made him a fantastic offer, fly back and forth to Chile for a while.
His last job with IBM was flying suitcases stuffed with $100 bills to help the dictator, really ANY dictator, prevent Allende from nationalizing the brand new state of the art IBM computer factory. It wasn't illegal, but fairly risky.
I did not know that about IBM, but it doesn’t surprise me. Did your uncle ever discover the intent of his assignment was the slaughter of tens of thousands of innocent citizens? How awful for him. You say it wasn’t illegal. But truly - r your unclewasn’t it? Aiding in the overturning of a foreign democracy? Certainly reprehensible of IBM. I’m sorry for your uncle.
I didn't directly answer your question. IBM and the CIA and the NSA and Microsoft and lots of companies tried to hire me when I graduated college, high IQ, high grades, all that stuff - I took a job with a foreign company overseas instead, and would have never come back except my wife insisted.
I asked the CIA about the IBM situation. They said IBM was planning to move most of their computer manufacturing to Chile for a number of valid reasons. The reason they supported the dictator was the socialist elected administration announced they were going to nationalize all foreign industry. IBM didn't care about the factory, but at the time IBM led the world in IC fabrication and computer design, and ALL THE KNOWLEDGE was in that factory.
You will hear various reasons the fascists took over, but the main reason was nationalizing US industry. It was an incredibly stupid thing for the Chilean government to do.
OK, the rest of the story. I come from a long line of preachers on my grandma's side and grocers on my grandpa's side. I was taught from birth to hate - pretty much everyone.
The only people I was taught to NOT hate were German men from Bavaria who belong to a particular Lutheran sect (oddly, god's chosen Lutheran sect doesn't even exist in Germany)
Tell me your religion, gender, and where your ancestors came from and I can explain the various ways to hate you. It's fairly complex, only jews deserve total hate all the time, then you get into layers of variable hate by skin tone, religion, language, and gender.
In WWII, my father and uncles refused to fight in Europe because they basically worshipped Hitler - want to hear how wonderful he was? I know all the lies.
I was taught that my own mother, of Irish Catholic ancestry, and - gasp - FEMALE, was barely acceptable. I was a half breed, of course, but since I was male, my German ancestry would rule over my inferior Irish genes. Of course, I could never be as superior as my father. We had to have women around for one reason, as lesser vessels to bear superior German children.
Back then we were IQ tested every year and I was in the top 1%, so I was reading college level as a toddler, and rejecting the hate by 3, when I could read and write and speak fluently (when you can speak well, you can reason well).
I was sent to a religious cult school for immersion training. That was great, now I had the top haters to talk to. By 7, I had rejected all forms of hate - racism, religion, misogyny, all of it. At 12, my father allowed me to quit going to cult school and church and told me that at 16, I was out the door. I managed to graduate high school and do 12 hours of college by 16, then got on my bicycle and left. I never suspected that living in cash-rented slum housing until I was able to sign a contract at age 21 would be such a wonderful experience, the finest education I have ever gotten. When the voting age was dropped to 18, it really helped because I could buy a car and sign a lease, but I stayed in the slums by choice. Residents of the slums were more honest, nicer, just plain finer citizens than the white suburbs. They judged you on you, not your parents or address.
Anyway, I have no doubt my uncle happily did the cash and carry. Those people in Chile are Hispanic and they don't speak English. It's OK to kill them, as they aren't human.
I had a very educational youth. and if I could do it again, I would not change a thing. Most people aren't shown the inside of hate cults, nor do they learn that poor people have the highest percentage of "good guys" in our society. Many weeks, Sylvia and Sybil, who ran the corner bar, loaned me many a meal until I could pay them on Friday. Try to find that level of kindness and humanity in the white burbs.
One final short story. 2 years ago I was on Amtrak where a French man of Basque ancestry and a PhD in Basque studies was working trains as a means to see the USA before settling down. He immediately asked if I was Basque. Huh? never heard that before. He asked several questions and informed me that my ancestry was clearly Basque, NOT Bavarian German. My last name is a Germanized version of a common Basque name which means "warrior from the mountains". It sounds like a German name, but it isn't spelled right and had another syllable before we came to the USA.
I gave up fear long ago and never, ever, allow bigotry. I have fired contractors with a project half done when they spewed unsupported hate. At the next family meeting, I told everyone we are not superior Germans, we are actually Hispanic refugees that Germany allowed in. I stretched it a little. The Basque aren't Hispanic, but Spain is a Hispanic country, so.........
I pointed out that while myself and my siblings are Nordic white, that's from my mom, my father's side are "swarthy", and really should hate themselves, by their rules anyway.
They turned white, then denied everything, and that was the last time I was invited to ANY family gathering, except I'm tolerated at funerals if I don't stay lone. Most of my family haven't talked to me in 50 years. One sister will email, but that's it, she won't let me visit or come visit me or meet anywhere. Liberalism and reasoning could be contagious, don't ya know.
After WWII, my uncle got a job with a new company making a new product, electric powered adding machines and typewriters. He worked for IBM the rest of his life. He didn't complete high school, so as IBM moved to computers, he became low value, and IBM gave him early retirement.
His retirement was delayed while they made him a fantastic offer, fly back and forth to Chile for a while.
His last job with IBM was flying suitcases stuffed with $100 bills to help the dictator, really ANY dictator, prevent Allende from nationalizing the brand new state of the art IBM computer factory. It wasn't illegal, but fairly risky.
I did not know that about IBM, but it doesn’t surprise me. Did your uncle ever discover the intent of his assignment was the slaughter of tens of thousands of innocent citizens? How awful for him. You say it wasn’t illegal. But truly - r your unclewasn’t it? Aiding in the overturning of a foreign democracy? Certainly reprehensible of IBM. I’m sorry for your uncle.
I didn't directly answer your question. IBM and the CIA and the NSA and Microsoft and lots of companies tried to hire me when I graduated college, high IQ, high grades, all that stuff - I took a job with a foreign company overseas instead, and would have never come back except my wife insisted.
I asked the CIA about the IBM situation. They said IBM was planning to move most of their computer manufacturing to Chile for a number of valid reasons. The reason they supported the dictator was the socialist elected administration announced they were going to nationalize all foreign industry. IBM didn't care about the factory, but at the time IBM led the world in IC fabrication and computer design, and ALL THE KNOWLEDGE was in that factory.
You will hear various reasons the fascists took over, but the main reason was nationalizing US industry. It was an incredibly stupid thing for the Chilean government to do.
OK, the rest of the story. I come from a long line of preachers on my grandma's side and grocers on my grandpa's side. I was taught from birth to hate - pretty much everyone.
The only people I was taught to NOT hate were German men from Bavaria who belong to a particular Lutheran sect (oddly, god's chosen Lutheran sect doesn't even exist in Germany)
Tell me your religion, gender, and where your ancestors came from and I can explain the various ways to hate you. It's fairly complex, only jews deserve total hate all the time, then you get into layers of variable hate by skin tone, religion, language, and gender.
In WWII, my father and uncles refused to fight in Europe because they basically worshipped Hitler - want to hear how wonderful he was? I know all the lies.
I was taught that my own mother, of Irish Catholic ancestry, and - gasp - FEMALE, was barely acceptable. I was a half breed, of course, but since I was male, my German ancestry would rule over my inferior Irish genes. Of course, I could never be as superior as my father. We had to have women around for one reason, as lesser vessels to bear superior German children.
Back then we were IQ tested every year and I was in the top 1%, so I was reading college level as a toddler, and rejecting the hate by 3, when I could read and write and speak fluently (when you can speak well, you can reason well).
I was sent to a religious cult school for immersion training. That was great, now I had the top haters to talk to. By 7, I had rejected all forms of hate - racism, religion, misogyny, all of it. At 12, my father allowed me to quit going to cult school and church and told me that at 16, I was out the door. I managed to graduate high school and do 12 hours of college by 16, then got on my bicycle and left. I never suspected that living in cash-rented slum housing until I was able to sign a contract at age 21 would be such a wonderful experience, the finest education I have ever gotten. When the voting age was dropped to 18, it really helped because I could buy a car and sign a lease, but I stayed in the slums by choice. Residents of the slums were more honest, nicer, just plain finer citizens than the white suburbs. They judged you on you, not your parents or address.
Anyway, I have no doubt my uncle happily did the cash and carry. Those people in Chile are Hispanic and they don't speak English. It's OK to kill them, as they aren't human.
I had a very educational youth. and if I could do it again, I would not change a thing. Most people aren't shown the inside of hate cults, nor do they learn that poor people have the highest percentage of "good guys" in our society. Many weeks, Sylvia and Sybil, who ran the corner bar, loaned me many a meal until I could pay them on Friday. Try to find that level of kindness and humanity in the white burbs.
One final short story. 2 years ago I was on Amtrak where a French man of Basque ancestry and a PhD in Basque studies was working trains as a means to see the USA before settling down. He immediately asked if I was Basque. Huh? never heard that before. He asked several questions and informed me that my ancestry was clearly Basque, NOT Bavarian German. My last name is a Germanized version of a common Basque name which means "warrior from the mountains". It sounds like a German name, but it isn't spelled right and had another syllable before we came to the USA.
I gave up fear long ago and never, ever, allow bigotry. I have fired contractors with a project half done when they spewed unsupported hate. At the next family meeting, I told everyone we are not superior Germans, we are actually Hispanic refugees that Germany allowed in. I stretched it a little. The Basque aren't Hispanic, but Spain is a Hispanic country, so.........
I pointed out that while myself and my siblings are Nordic white, that's from my mom, my father's side are "swarthy", and really should hate themselves, by their rules anyway.
They turned white, then denied everything, and that was the last time I was invited to ANY family gathering, except I'm tolerated at funerals if I don't stay lone. Most of my family haven't talked to me in 50 years. One sister will email, but that's it, she won't let me visit or come visit me or meet anywhere. Liberalism and reasoning could be contagious, don't ya know.