However, stuff like we use and have always used Kafka (read the code!) for messaging, so we're not doing kernel-by-pass to move data now is small 'c' culture.
Small 'c' culture is the kind of stuff that, if you abrogate it, a small army of people will come out of the woodwork and brow beat you for it. Brow beating to keep you inline is not engineering. It's nagging.
Tradition, when it's small 'c', is stifling. Don't fall for it.
I’ve probably paraphrased this line to every junior engineer I’ve mentored. It’s such a succinct and pithy insight.