Is it? I have to assume that Pichai was informed beforehand that there would be a walkout. Around 10% if the class walking out is not that big of a deal, especially considering that ten percent was probably not likely to seek gainful employment with Pichai’s companies anyway.

Economically, the BDS movement is making demands of so many companies that there’s hardly a large firm or other organization in the country they don’t have a problem with. But if you are saying you’re going to boycott everyone, it means you’re not really boycotting anyone.

▲

EA-3167 7 hours ago | parent [-]

That assumes that the real purpose of these movements is to achieve their stated goals, rather than as a social activity for people of a certain mindset. If you look at it more like a church outing it makes a lot more sense, albeit the church is really messed up.

▲

JumpCrisscross 7 hours ago | parent [-]

They’re expressing a broad slice of gripes to a powerful person. The point isn’t to get a win. It’s to embarrass them. Make them uncomfortable. So that they then ask how to prevent that in the future.

▲

asdfasgasdgasdg 7 hours ago | parent | next [-]

I don’t think there is any action Pichai can take on this that wouldn’t hurt vastly more than a few students walking out of his commencement speech. He is a man well used to people complaining about his policies. Googlers do so all the time internally, including on this same topic, and have been for years. If gestures like this were going to move him, he’d have been moved already.

That being said, I don’t have a problem with people standing up for what they believe, even when it has no practical impact. It’s good character building. I would expect that Sundar is similarly unbothered.

▲

EA-3167 7 hours ago | parent | prev [-]

If you're still trying to shame the shameless in 2026 then you missed the past decade IMO. The likes of Pichai can afford to ignore the 10% that walked out, frankly they can afford to ignore far more than that and have to great success. The idea that symbolic actions by a small number of students represents something other than entertainment for those students and hope-porn for their elders doesn't stand up to scrutiny.

▲

JumpCrisscross 6 hours ago | parent [-]

> likes of Pichai can afford to ignore the 10% that walked out

Of course he can. But he’s still choosing to speak at a commencement. Why?

▲

asdfasgasdgasdg 6 hours ago | parent | next [-]

For the other 90%? For his own personal reasons? It’s almost impossible to guess.

	▲	JumpCrisscross 3 hours ago \| parent [-]
		> For the other 90%? If it’s this, the protest had no effect on him. > For his own personal reasons? I’m guessing this plays a bigger part than comments here give credit for. Pichai isn’t pitching anyone on anything of consequence to him at this commencement. He is, broadly speaking, flattering his ego.

▲

EA-3167 5 hours ago | parent | prev [-]

If you stand in front of a room full of people, about to give a speech, you already know that you aren't going to reach 100% of the people present. Moving the floor to 90% hardly matters at all, and the fact that the minority wasn't able to mobilize the majority would be my takeaway.

Beyond that why do any of these guys give speeches? They do it to raise their profile, to polish their ego, to promote recruitment or their ideals, and of course because they genuinely believe they have something to offer.