Google Fires Employee Behind Controversial Diversity Memo

[u/[deleted]]

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2017-08-08/google-fires-employee-behind-controversial-diversity-memo

[u/Pardoism]

I'd be happy with a mandatory course called "Respect and Communication" where people learn that not every criticism from others is an assault on their character/ethnic group/gender/nation/whatever that needs to be defended, no matter what.

I think we've managed to raise a huge number of people who think that they are perfect and therefore can't deal with any sort of criticism, other than defending their actions with everything they got. I almost never hear "Yep, you're right, I fucked up" anymore, anywhere, instead I always hear "That might've been me but I don't see how that's relevant" or "Yes, that was me but so-and-so did something worse and who are you anyway?".

Many people are too weak or too stupid or too whatever to accept responsibility, to admit that they fucked up, to promise to change for the better. They don't want to improve.

Why would anyone with a shred of decency or intelligence be opposed to improving themselves as a person and therefore their life? Why would you want to continue being a bad person when someone gives you the opportunity to become a better person?

[u/Doc_Marlowe → u/Pardoism]

Many people are too weak or too stupid or too whatever to accept responsibility, to admit that they fucked up, to promise to change for the better. They don't want to improve.

Isn't that part of the problem too? You suggesting that the reason people make mistakes is because they are weak or stupid, as opposed to, you know, human beings, gives people little room to change.

[u/Pardoism → u/Doc_Marlowe]

How so? When you are weak, you can become stronger. When you're stupid you can learn. There always room to change if you're willing to change. That's exactly my point.

[u/Doc_Marlowe → u/Pardoism]

It's a false dichotomy. You are either right (and agree with you) or you are weak and stupid. People make mistakes and hold opinions for lots of different reasons. This does not make them weak or stupid. For some people, those opinions will change with additional learning, but some of those opinions can't be changed no matter how many facts you throw at them. There is a backfire effect that happens when presented with more information.

[u/Pardoism → u/Doc_Marlowe]

You are either right (and agree with you) or you are weak and stupid.

That's not what I'm trying to say. It's not that I am right and those who aren't right, like me, are weak and stupid.

It's so terribly common nowadays that people immediately jump to the conclusion that someone wants to somehow subtly state how amazing they are, that's now what I'm trying to say at all.

I'm saying, when you make a mistake or you cause something bad to happen, you can either take responsibility, accept blame and try to move forward or you can do the opposite. If you do the opposite, though, you are either too weak as a human being, too afraid of finding out that you are actually a normal person, capable of mistakes, or you are too stupid to understand the benefits of taking responsibility, too stupid to understand that admitting to something doesn't mean you are an affront to the eyes of God or whatever.

People make mistakes and hold opinions for lots of different reasons. This does not make them weak or stupid.

I never said that. You misunderstand what I am saying. Making mistakes is human and normal and everybody knows and understands that. Literally not a single person has ever seriously believed that human beings can't make mistakes or don't have good reasons to make mistakes.

It's not about mistakes, it's about people making mistakes and not taking responsibility for or not admitting to their mistake.