Google removes its head of diversity after 2007 blog post surfaces • Hacker News Board

Re: Google removes its head of diversity after 2007 blog post surfaces

#101

Post by gadders » Thu, Jun 03, 2021, 2:52 PM UTC

ttt0 wrote: post #83

gadders wrote: post #30

Earlier quoted context omitted.

>>People can be critical of the state of Israel, but they should not be antisemitic. As long as you (the general you, not you specifically) subject all countries that (allegedly) mistreat their citizens or neighbouring countries to the same level of criticism. When you single out the world's only Jewish state for criticism it looks kinda racist.

You can't even describe other states as "the world's only German state", or "French state" or "Polish state", "Russian state" etc. because racism, so what are we even talking about?

There are several Christian and Islamic countries but only one Jewish one.

Re: Google removes its head of diversity after 2007 blog post surfaces

#102

Post by whimsicalism » Thu, Jun 03, 2021, 2:52 PM UTC

tootie wrote: post #22

ostenning wrote: post #6

Here is a classic case of someone conflating the state of Israel and Jewish people and lumping it all together. Plenty of Jewish people that live both inside and outside of Israel are critical of the state. People can be critical of the state of Israel, but they should not be antisemitic. His comments are offensive for this reason.

Being Jewish is also multi-tiered because it's associated with both a religion and an ethnicity. I'd love to popularize being thought of Ashkenazi and not Jewish. I don't have a familial bond with Israel for probably 17 centuries and I don't really care if I ever did. My culture is more strongly associated with Eastern Europe and we were run out of town on a rail 100 years ago.

The popular understanding of Jewish in America is Ashkenazi

Re: Google removes its head of diversity after 2007 blog post surfaces

#103

Post by ravedave5 » Thu, Jun 03, 2021, 2:52 PM UTC

underseacables wrote: post #52

The left’s obsession with cancel culture and conducting archeological digs on past comments, tweets, etc is coming back to bite them. I think removing this guy was the right thing to do, BUT I also think a major company like Google needs to set an example: Something someone tweeted more than ten years ago should no longer be relevant and should be ignored. However until that standard is set as example by a major comp…

If this guy were a CTO or something sure. He was chief diversity officer though, there's gotta be a higher standard there.

Re: Google removes its head of diversity after 2007 blog post surfaces

#104

Post by KittenInABox » Thu, Jun 03, 2021, 2:53 PM UTC

nazca wrote: post #37

Slightly shocking that he didn't get fired. (yet?) They fired Damore for writing an email that was tone-deaf, insensitive, but largely supported by research. Bobb goes on a clearly antisemitic rant, and just gets reassigned. Is Google inconsistent, or has their policy on how to deal with these things changed over the past few years?

Damore held and advocated for those beliefs so much so that he communicated them within the company at the time of his firing, and then legally disputed his firing.

Bobb wrote something which he has since recanted, 10 years ago, outside of Google's official channels?

Re: Google removes its head of diversity after 2007 blog post surfaces

#105

Post by whimsicalism » Thu, Jun 03, 2021, 2:53 PM UTC

bitcharmer wrote: post #13

ostenning wrote: post #6

Here is a classic case of someone conflating the state of Israel and Jewish people and lumping it all together. Plenty of Jewish people that live both inside and outside of Israel are critical of the state. People can be critical of the state of Israel, but they should not be antisemitic. His comments are offensive for this reason.

> People can be critical of the state of Israel Sadly the moment you call out Israel's human rights violations and ethnic cleansing you get automatically branded as antisemitic on all major social media and by most mainstream outlets too.

You must be on a different social media outlet than I am.

Re: Google removes its head of diversity after 2007 blog post surfaces

#106

Post by nezirus » Thu, Jun 03, 2021, 2:53 PM UTC

bitcharmer wrote: post #13

ostenning wrote: post #6

Here is a classic case of someone conflating the state of Israel and Jewish people and lumping it all together. Plenty of Jewish people that live both inside and outside of Israel are critical of the state. People can be critical of the state of Israel, but they should not be antisemitic. His comments are offensive for this reason.

> People can be critical of the state of Israel Sadly the moment you call out Israel's human rights violations and ethnic cleansing you get automatically branded as antisemitic on all major social media and by most mainstream outlets too.

Yep, my experience too. Critics of Israel get called antisemitic too easily, moderated down here on HN too. On the other hand, people who defend atrocities committed by IDF get easy pass, openly defending stuff like: "the IDF is really gentle in killing civilians (collateral damage)", they nicely warn Palestinians "we're going to destroy your house, so please leave in 5 minutes", or "be silent while we bulldoze your house", etc.

Back on topic, the blog post title is definitely offensive, you can't label people like that. Maybe it was a bad tongue-in-cheek, thinking about it, I don't think you can even say Israelis or citizens of Israel, since not all people have the same political views or support the same solution of the "Palestine problem".

Re: Google removes its head of diversity after 2007 blog post surfaces

#107

Post by at_a_remove » Thu, Jun 03, 2021, 2:54 PM UTC

Gunax wrote: post #20

I support his speech, I just despise the hypocrisy. Nevermind that this position has an unwritten rule that it must be occupied by a minority.

I am enjoying the ever-more-blatant examples of this kind of thing.

Re: Google removes its head of diversity after 2007 blog post surfaces

#108

Post by KittenInABox » Thu, Jun 03, 2021, 2:54 PM UTC

eplanit wrote: post #25

anm89 wrote: post #12

This is the only instance relating to offensive social media I've ever heard of where someone got reassigned and not fired

He is black, and there is a double-standard -- but don't dare call that racist. It's all absurd, but it's actually good to see examples of "you become the thing you hate". Hate is a horrible, corrosive emotion. We see it a _lot_ these days -- people who become emotionally entangled and lost in their activism against racism (the mob encourages this mindset, as in that state, critical thinking is turned off). They then…

I think you're spreading FUD. People get reassigned instead of fired pretty regularly in response to PR. Please cite sources instead of making conjecture that this was due to race. At least leftists come with sources to back up their claims of racial discrimination, however flimsy the evidence is, it actually exists.

Re: Google removes its head of diversity after 2007 blog post surfaces

#109

Post by wonderwonder » Thu, Jun 03, 2021, 2:55 PM UTC

mikewarot wrote: post #78

So, it took some digging, but here is the text https://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search?q=cache:luIscB... As you can see, it's a quite well written critique of Israel, and it is definitely NOT anti-Semitic. I find it quite ironic that it took Google's cache to find the thing Google itself wants canceled

It is Anti-Semitic in that he is lumping all jews in with Israel. I am a Jew, America is my homeland. I live here and am an American. I am not an Israeli. I give almost zero thought to Israel in my day to day. Jews are consistently labeled with an "other" tag, we are not Americans, we are Jews and Israel is our country.

Also "If I were a Jew I would be concerned about my insatiable appetite for war and killing in defense of myself. Self defense is undoubtedly an instinct, but I would be afraid of my increasing insensitivity to the suffering others. My greatest torment would be that I’ve misinterpreted the identity offered by my history and transposed spiritual and human compassion with self righteous impunity."

How is that anything except Anti-Semitic?

Re: Google removes its head of diversity after 2007 blog post surfaces

#110

Post by whimsicalism » Thu, Jun 03, 2021, 2:56 PM UTC

underseacables wrote: post #52

The left’s obsession with cancel culture and conducting archeological digs on past comments, tweets, etc is coming back to bite them. I think removing this guy was the right thing to do, BUT I also think a major company like Google needs to set an example: Something someone tweeted more than ten years ago should no longer be relevant and should be ignored. However until that standard is set as example by a major comp…

Sorry, but if you think it was the right thing to do to remove him, then you agree with the methods, you're just showing your hand at not liking the things that most people are "cancelled" over.

Your entire comment is a contradiction.