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Google Fires VP over Bizarre Anti-Anti-Semitic Rant

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Re: Google Fires VP over Bizarre Anti-Anti-Semitic Rant

#21

Post by totalZero »

jsiepkes wrote: post #15
drstewart wrote: post #7

Earlier quoted context omitted.

While I partially agree, it certainly seems very tone deaf on the VPs part. A 10k word post and two hour readout on YouTube? Citing specific Jewish people he thinks are good? Really? It seems like there's something bordering on unhinged in that behavior.

> It seems like there's something bordering on unhinged in that behavior. While I personally wouldn't do it and also think it comes across as kind of weird and unsettling I also think that what you are saying is based on your own cultural perspective. Let's take a few steps back and look at it. Is it really that bad if you talk about having a harmful belief in the past and how you let go of that? Should you be fired…

I think you make a good point, but maybe it's still right to fire this guy.

Using one's platform as a way to talk about personal racial views beyond the basic "don't be racist, and try to judge others based on their individual qualities" is unprofessional no matter what one's viewpoint may be. (I suppose an exception to this would be when your profession involves analysis of different groups of people, such as in diplomacy or sociology.)

Imagine a flight attendant using the in-cabin PA system to advocate that everyone should read How to Win Friends and Influence People. The message posted on LinkedIn may have been positive in a way, but at the same time a Developer Relations professional is supposed to use that kind of platform in a more topical manner.

Edit: I'm not usually one to complain about getting downvoted but I personally believe this is a fairly circumspect comment about using a professional platform in an unprofessional manner, and I'd appreciate if one of you would explain your distaste for it.

Re: Google Fires VP over Bizarre Anti-Anti-Semitic Rant

#22

Post by Traster »

Infinitesimus wrote: post #11

How disappointing. It seems the post was about his journey from indoctrinated hatred to coming go see that we are all the same... and Google's response is "you used to have views we don't approve of so you're fired". It doesn't matter that he uses that past as a way to show that there is hope to get past the deep hatred between many groups in the middle east. It is sad how little grace (and perhaps reading comprehens…

Can we be clear that Google hasn't publicly stated why they chose to remove him. They have absolutely not said they fired him for his old views.

Re: Google Fires VP over Bizarre Anti-Anti-Semitic Rant

#23

Post by roundTwoFight »

vogon_laureate wrote: post #17
yardie wrote: post #9

1. I think posting something like that on LinkedIn is wildly inappropriate. I know it has dreams of being the next Facebook. I wish they’d stick to their lane and keep on being the professional social network everyone hates to use except when they’re job hunting. 2. Part of his statement rings true. Like how can you be anti-Semitic when you are also a Semite. 3. The west should really pay attention. The same propagan…

2: the word ‘antisemite’ was popularised by German trade unionist and pamphleteer Wilhelm Marr who wanted to have a fancier, and thus more acceptable, scientific name for Judenhass (‘Jew hate’). The word has only ever been used to refer to anti-Jewish racism. The word ‘Semite’ is a product of the abhorrent ‘race science’ of the time in Europe that purported to divide up peoples according to pseudo-scientific fashion…

Being separated by pseudoscientific categories of race is very backwards.

It's much more scientific to be separated into 33,000 psychometric bubbles that can fold instantly into narrative-compliant political frames based on whoever can pay journos to write headlines that game SEO and HFTs instead.

Re: Google Fires VP over Bizarre Anti-Anti-Semitic Rant

#24

Post by OhWellLol »

happytoexplain wrote: post #12
Infinitesimus wrote: post #11

How disappointing. It seems the post was about his journey from indoctrinated hatred to coming go see that we are all the same... and Google's response is "you used to have views we don't approve of so you're fired". It doesn't matter that he uses that past as a way to show that there is hope to get past the deep hatred between many groups in the middle east. It is sad how little grace (and perhaps reading comprehens…

That's a very charitable description of what he wrote.

Why don't you post some of the harshest shit you've ever written right here, right now so we can see just how charitable he can be.

Re: Google Fires VP over Bizarre Anti-Anti-Semitic Rant

#25

Post by vogon_laureate »

joecool1029 wrote: post #19
vogon_laureate wrote: post #17

Earlier quoted context omitted.

2: the word ‘antisemite’ was popularised by German trade unionist and pamphleteer Wilhelm Marr who wanted to have a fancier, and thus more acceptable, scientific name for Judenhass (‘Jew hate’). The word has only ever been used to refer to anti-Jewish racism. The word ‘Semite’ is a product of the abhorrent ‘race science’ of the time in Europe that purported to divide up peoples according to pseudo-scientific fashion…

> The word ‘Semite’ is a product of the abhorrent ‘race science’ of the time in Europe that purported to divide up peoples according to pseudo-scientific fashion of the time. Nope. The word Semite was coined in 1771 by August Ludwig von Schlözer to refer to a family of languages and their people. https://muse.jhu.edu/article/18229/summary

‘And their people…’ Schlözer was a member of the Göttingen School of History which is credited with “two fundamental groups of terminologies of scientific racism” one of which is the biblical terminology for race (eg. Semitic, Hamitic, etc).

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Göttingen_school_of_history

Re: Google Fires VP over Bizarre Anti-Anti-Semitic Rant

#26

Post by vogon_laureate »

totalZero wrote: post #21
jsiepkes wrote: post #15

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> It seems like there's something bordering on unhinged in that behavior. While I personally wouldn't do it and also think it comes across as kind of weird and unsettling I also think that what you are saying is based on your own cultural perspective. Let's take a few steps back and look at it. Is it really that bad if you talk about having a harmful belief in the past and how you let go of that? Should you be fired…

I think you make a good point, but maybe it's still right to fire this guy. Using one's platform as a way to talk about personal racial views beyond the basic "don't be racist, and try to judge others based on their individual qualities" is unprofessional no matter what one's viewpoint may be. (I suppose an exception to this would be when your profession involves analysis of different groups of people, such as in dip…

Yeah. Also a 10,000 word rant accusing Israel of fascism, telling diaspora Jews to “butt out” because they don’t know enough when he clearly doesn’t either, and listing all the ‘good Jews’ (particularly highlighting their atheism), is not the enlightened look-at-how-great-I-am-now post he thinks it is.

I wouldn’t fire him for it, preferring to have his views challenged but it also sounds like there were other factors to do with his management style that played a part too.

It’s a shame because I feel like he meant well but it also belies poor decision-making for someone at such a high management level in a major corporation.

Re: Google Fires VP over Bizarre Anti-Anti-Semitic Rant

#27

Post by dclusin »

nodesocket wrote: post #10

Why is it that Google seems to always have these sorts of very public employee issues and controversies? I’ve got a pretty good idea, their work culture is one of the most toxic in respect to diversity of thought and freedom of expression. This echo chamber culture comes all the way from the top. Don’t get me wrong, I am in no way advocating that employees should be allowed to post or disseminate any sort of hate spe…

Plenty of smaller companies have these sorts of personnel issues, its just that nobody cares because they aren't worth a trillion dollars or whatever.

Re: Google Fires VP over Bizarre Anti-Anti-Semitic Rant

#29

Post by anonuser123456 »

Infinitesimus wrote: post #11

How disappointing. It seems the post was about his journey from indoctrinated hatred to coming go see that we are all the same... and Google's response is "you used to have views we don't approve of so you're fired". It doesn't matter that he uses that past as a way to show that there is hope to get past the deep hatred between many groups in the middle east. It is sad how little grace (and perhaps reading comprehens…

It could be more of “we don’t particularly want to employ you, and here is a convenient excuse to get rid of you” scenario.

Re: Google Fires VP over Bizarre Anti-Anti-Semitic Rant

#30

Post by jacob2484 »

nodesocket wrote: post #10

Why is it that Google seems to always have these sorts of very public employee issues and controversies? I’ve got a pretty good idea, their work culture is one of the most toxic in respect to diversity of thought and freedom of expression. This echo chamber culture comes all the way from the top. Don’t get me wrong, I am in no way advocating that employees should be allowed to post or disseminate any sort of hate spe…

"I am in no way advocating that employees should be allowed to post or disseminate any sort of hate speech" -> you want freedom of expression yet support what others will claim as "hate speech". If hate speech is something that someone disagrees is with or is slightly offended, then there's no freedom of expression.
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