The same tactics used to suppress dissent in academia -- with the goal of making colleges "safe spaces" that feel "welcoming" to snowflakes -- have graduated to the tech world. Fortunately, rather than let activists do to their startups what they did to academia, some CEOs are fighting back. This episode begins when a new employee at Basecamp, a Chicago-based software firm, formed a diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI, as it is known) committee to improve workplace diversity. In short order, the atmosphere at Basecamp became so toxic that management told staff to stop pushing their politics at work. "No more societal and political discussions on our company Basecamp account," CEO Jason Fried announced in a blog post. "It's a major distraction. It saps our energy, and redirects our dialogue toward dark places."