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Google Fires Employee Behind Controversial Diversity Memo

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Re: Google Fires Employee Behind Controversial Diversity Memo

#241

Post by mc32 »

golemotron wrote: post #205
mc32 wrote: post #71

I feel Google cornered itself into this pickle. On the one hand they need to grow their pool of talent and make the non majority to feel comfortable --which makes those not in the majority feel they have more than average support from Management, who in turn turn a blind eye to anti-majority bashing. On the other going above and beyond for underrepresented groups will eventually grate against the majority when they h…

> On the one hand they need to grow their pool of talent and make the non majority to feel comfortable It isn't useful to make people comfortable in a way that is easily destabilized by other information (be it opinion or scientific research). It's actually terribly fragile and it does a real disservice to people.

True but they just can't impose received knowledge the way an authoritarian regime could.

There are advantages to having absolute power over people. But the disadvantages (corruption and despotism, for example) are too great.

Re: Google Fires Employee Behind Controversial Diversity Memo

#242

Post by [deleted] »

refulgentis wrote: post #40
Afforess wrote: post #4

I read the memo and didn't find it particularly persuasive; but this dismissal does further its core point. It's a bit tone deaf of Google to fire an employee concerned about groupthink.

You can't express vast generalizations that are stereotypes and expect the rest of us to feel comfortable working with you.

[deleted]

Re: Google Fires Employee Behind Controversial Diversity Memo

#243

Post by mehwoot »

Reading the letter, what surprised me was how political it was, framing everything as a "left vs right" cultural fight. I think if it was up to me I'd probably fire anybody on either side of that debate who started circulating shit like this. As soon as you're on that level, nothing good is going to come of it and you're just going to make a lot of people angry, which is very bad for the business in a lot of different ways.

The workplace is no place for politics like this. If you are going to strictly stick to narrow issues that are relevant to the job, then maybe, but as soon as you're writing a 10 page manifesto with phrases like "the Left's affinity for those it sees as weak" or "some on the Right deny science" or "the Marxist intellectuals transitioned from class warfare to gender and race politics" you are way out of line. It doesn't matter if you are correct or not, politicising your workplace in that way shows a stunning lack of judgement.

Re: Google Fires Employee Behind Controversial Diversity Memo

#244

Post by thesmallestcat »

kozikow wrote: post #217

Suppose that you work for the company that consists of 80% vimers and 20% emacsers. All documentation is geared towards vimers. There are interests groups geared towards vimers. No one questions you if you are a vimer. If you are a stuck with some error as an emacser there are fewer people to turn to or discuss your favorite text editor, so some people start to suggest that emacsers are worse programmers. The company…

The analogy doesn't hold, emacser heathen deserve neither support nor sympathy for their choice of "editor."

Re: Google Fires Employee Behind Controversial Diversity Memo

#245

Post by chx »

falcolas wrote: post #100

We fire people for snickering at the word "Dongle". We witch hunt people who play at Gor in their spare time. We hound CEOs who disagree with the popular stance on gay marriage. We fire people who clumsily try to open a dialogue internally to a company. The tech industry is indeed fucked, but perhaps not for the reasons that are currently popular.

> We witch hunt people who play at Gor in their spare time.

Fuck that noise. Larry Garfield was asked to step down because his Gorean activities leaked into Drupal events and that made others feel unwelcome.

Re: Google Fires Employee Behind Controversial Diversity Memo

#246

Post by jorgemf »

donohoe wrote: post #213
jrs95 wrote: post #187

This is disappointing. I didn't really agree with his premise, and I think he was generally wrong honestly, but I don't think his views were so unrealistic or offensive that this was warranted. I think this was probably done mainly because there was negative media about it. Which sort of demonstrates that Google is just another corporation that doesn't really value its employees that much. Maybe as a collective, but…

I hear you, but I disagree. If you haven't had a chance yet, then I'd suggest you read this pots by Yonatan Zunger. He puts it a 100 times better than I ever could. https://medium.com/@yonatanzunger/so-about-this-googlers-man...

That post is only a personal opinion based on his own bias and prejudices without any scientific reference. Moreover it make claims about the article that the author hasn't made.

Re: Google Fires Employee Behind Controversial Diversity Memo

#248

Post by drawkbox »

It was a bit of a Jerry Maguire moment even if you agree with some of it.

At work you should be professional and not only work to make yourself and the company/product better, but the people around you better.

It is mostly not healthy to get political or ideological at work unless you want to divide people. A company and employees really shouldn't get political if at all possible, to prevent a divided customer base. You should treat everyone at work like a client and not go all tribal or into cliques that end up in groups that are constantly complaining.

If you don't like something you can work to change it but in a company the size of Google that is not always possible. If you don't like the ideology of a company then leave. Do a good job yourself, setup your own thing if you want to control everything, but don't bring down other individuals, encourage them and make them better, create respect internally. Don't rock the boat, try to guide it, if you can't, hop on a new ship. In the end we live in a free country but work for companies that are more dictatorial/authoritarian where we are just sharecroppers on their feudal land. Companies are not democracies unless they are really small and even then they are not.

Sometimes manifestos are needed [1] but for the most part it is like calling out an employer. Not only will it probably not change the company, it will follow you around for better or worse.

Oh, there’s one final lesson: you never know when something you write is going to unexpectedly be published in the Wall Street Journal. So watch those split infinitives.

[1] http://www.businessinsider.com/what-i-got-wrong-in-the-peanu...

Re: Google Fires Employee Behind Controversial Diversity Memo

#249

Post by sna1l »

casefields wrote: post #238
sna1l wrote: post #156

Does anyone know first hand if any employees agreed with the sentiment in this memo? Shouldn't they be let go as well?

Considering he was just fired, why would anyone speak up in support of it?

I meant on the internal thread this memo was released to and discussed on.

I heard from a indirect source that it blew up partially because others agreed with the sentiment. Just wondering if there could be confirmation on that.

Re: Google Fires Employee Behind Controversial Diversity Memo

#250

Post by falcolas »

chx wrote: post #245
falcolas wrote: post #100

We fire people for snickering at the word "Dongle". We witch hunt people who play at Gor in their spare time. We hound CEOs who disagree with the popular stance on gay marriage. We fire people who clumsily try to open a dialogue internally to a company. The tech industry is indeed fucked, but perhaps not for the reasons that are currently popular.

> We witch hunt people who play at Gor in their spare time. Fuck that noise. Larry Garfield was asked to step down because his Gorean activities leaked into Drupal events and that made others feel unwelcome.

I'm sorry, but citation needed. His activities were brought to light by others, and he was hounded for that. There was no report of his outside interests impacting anyone.
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