21st Century Wire says…
Earlier in the week, 21WIRE reported about the Google employee who released a controversial 3,000 word memo which went internally viral – complaining about the Silicon Valley tech giant’s “ideological echo chamber” – a repressive, intolerant corporate cultural where political correctness rules, and which only caters to the leftist ‘progressive’ side of the political paradigm. Any other viewpoints or opinions will not be tolerated at Google.
The man who wrote the memo as a Google engineer named James Damore, has since been fired for voicing his opinions on the company’s politics.
As a result of the employee blowing the whistle on this issue, other Google employees, like one Jaana B. Dogan (see tweet below), appear to have threatened to leave the company in protest if Human Resources did not retaliate against the political whistleblower:
Google staffer Dogan then goes further, and mocks Damore, by hurling slurs based on racial identity politics:
Of course, the irony (not surprisingly, unknown to those at Google) is that Dogan and others’ knee-jerk political reaction only proved James Damore’s point – that Google has fostered an insular, political and intellectual ghetto which does not tolerate any variance away for the prevailing group-think de jour.
In the video released last weekend by YouTube gamer pundit, Mister Metokur, the commentator predicted that, “the person who wrote that memo is probably going to be fired.”
Mister Metokur was right. But there’s an even bigger aspect to this story…
Why is all this important? Because that same repressive political culture at Google is reflected in how it programs the new censorship algorithms of its search engine – effectively disappearing political views and articles it does not like, and wishes to bury.
Bloomberg Business reports:
Alphabet Inc.’s Google has fired an employee who wrote an internal memo blasting the web company’s diversity policies, creating a firestorm across Silicon Valley.
James Damore, the Google engineer who wrote the note, confirmed his dismissal in an email, saying that he had been fired for “perpetuating gender stereotypes.” He said he’s “currently exploring all possible legal remedies.”
The imbroglio at Google is the latest in a long string of incidents concerning gender bias and diversity in the tech enclave. Uber Technologies Inc. Chief Executive Officer Travis Kalanick lost his job in June amid scandals over sexual harassment, discrimination and an aggressive culture. Ellen Pao’s gender-discrimination lawsuit against Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers in 2015 also brought the issue to light, and more women are speaking up to say they’ve been sidelined in the male-dominated industry, especially in engineering roles.
Earlier on Monday, Google CEO Sundar Pichai sent a note to employees that said portions of the memo “violate our Code of Conduct and cross the line by advancing harmful gender stereotypes in our workplace.” But he didn’t say if the company was taking action against the employee. A Google representative, asked about the dismissal, referred to Pichai’s memo.
Damore’s 10-page memorandum accused Google of silencing conservative political opinions and argued that biological differences play a role in the shortage of women in tech and leadership positions. It circulated widely inside the company and became public over the weekend, causing a furor that amplified the pressure on Google executives to take a more definitive stand.
After the controversy swelled, Danielle Brown, Google’s new vice president for diversity, integrity and governance, sent a statement to staff condemning Damore’s views and reaffirmed the company’s stance on diversity. In internal discussion boards, multiple employees said they supported firing the author, and some said they would not choose to work with him, according to postings viewed by Bloomberg News.
“We are unequivocal in our belief that diversity and inclusion are critical to our success as a company,” Brown said in the statement. “We’ll continue to stand for that and be committed to it for the long haul.”…
Continue this story at Bloomberg
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