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1. Embed this notice
   Paul Cantrell (inthehands@hachyderm.io)'s status on Saturday, 11-Jul-2026 08:00:27 JST Paul Cantrell

   RE: https://mastodon.social/@RuthMalan/116893028743364880

   Do human beings actually matter at all to the operations of business? We seem to be on the cusp of a “find out” stage for that question.

   • Embed this notice
     Paul Cantrell (inthehands@hachyderm.io)'s status on Saturday, 11-Jul-2026 08:13:00 JST Paul Cantrell

     in reply to

     A sizable subset of the upper upper echelons of business has long had the wet dream of a world where investors are the •only• humans who matter, and the rest of us — whether as workers or as customers — are just fungible goo.

     They now feel like they’re on the cusp of having that fantasy fulfilled, evidence to the contrary notwithstanding, and all kinds of ugly is coming out as a result.

     tinydoctor repeated this.
   • Embed this notice
     Misuse Case (misusecase@twit.social)'s status on Saturday, 11-Jul-2026 08:14:34 JST Misuse Case

     in reply to

     @inthehands My dad used to say “the ideal French company has no customers and the ideal American company has no employees.”

     Paul Cantrell repeated this.
   • Embed this notice
     Paul Cantrell (inthehands@hachyderm.io)'s status on Saturday, 11-Jul-2026 08:16:19 JST Paul Cantrell

     in reply to

     • Misuse Case

     @MisuseCase

     That is hilarious.

   • Embed this notice
     🇺🇦 haxadecimal 🚫👑 (brouhaha@mastodon.social)'s status on Saturday, 11-Jul-2026 09:34:54 JST 🇺🇦 haxadecimal 🚫👑

     in reply to

     • Misuse Case

     @MisuseCase @inthehands
     Thanks to globalization, now the ideal that companies everywhere strive for is to have no employees AND no customers.

     Paul Cantrell repeated this.
   • Embed this notice
     Paul Cantrell (inthehands@hachyderm.io)'s status on Saturday, 11-Jul-2026 12:12:21 JST Paul Cantrell

     in reply to

     • Dr Suzanne she/her

     @DrSuzanne Indeed, and they’ll even shame others as unsuitable for / bad at “business” for •not• joining in the negative behavior.

   • Embed this notice
     Dr Suzanne she/her (drsuzanne@ohai.social)'s status on Saturday, 11-Jul-2026 12:12:22 JST Dr Suzanne she/her

     in reply to

     @inthehands “It’s business” used as an excuse for many types of crappy behavior that benefit the business is something business owners actually say.

   • Embed this notice
     Paul Cantrell (inthehands@hachyderm.io)'s status on Saturday, 11-Jul-2026 12:18:05 JST Paul Cantrell

     in reply to

     • Misuse Case
     • Sashin

     @sashin

     Roughly speaking, it’s a joke about strong worker protections and benefits (e.g. generous vacation time) taking priority. The idea that customers are just an unwelcome interference that make it hard for companies to perform their primary function, which is benefitting workers. That’s a caricature, of course, but one that captures a certain cultural attitude.

     @MisuseCase

   • Embed this notice
     Sashin (sashin@veganism.social)'s status on Saturday, 11-Jul-2026 12:18:06 JST Sashin

     in reply to

     • Misuse Case

     @MisuseCase @inthehands Why does the ideal French company have no customers?

   • Embed this notice
     tinydoctor (tinydoctor@mstdn.social)'s status on Saturday, 11-Jul-2026 22:02:51 JST tinydoctor

     in reply to

     • 🇺🇦 haxadecimal 🚫👑
     • Misuse Case

     @brouhaha @MisuseCase @inthehands Just slaves and prisoners.

   • Embed this notice
     tinydoctor (tinydoctor@mstdn.social)'s status on Sunday, 12-Jul-2026 01:25:26 JST tinydoctor

     in reply to

     @inthehands

   • Embed this notice
     tinydoctor (tinydoctor@mstdn.social)'s status on Sunday, 12-Jul-2026 02:16:56 JST tinydoctor

     in reply to

     • Jacqueline

     @burnoutqueen Yes. Prisoners are consumed. Consumers become the consumed.

   • Embed this notice
     Jacqueline (burnoutqueen@todon.nl)'s status on Sunday, 12-Jul-2026 02:16:57 JST Jacqueline

     in reply to

     • tinydoctor
     • 🇺🇦 haxadecimal 🚫👑
     • Misuse Case

     @tinydoctor @brouhaha @MisuseCase @inthehands

     Prisoners don't consume.