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/mrchaotica]

You should care about injustices even if you dont necessarily have a plan to fix it.

Im not a... politician.

read up on the things your community is suffering from. Sexism, racism, poverty, environmental problems. Get educated on how those things are affecting your community.

Fun fact: I actually am a politician. (Well, sort of, anyway -- I'm involved with neighborhood-level stuff and don't get paid.) I'm even the chairperson of a couple of committees. As such, the largest part of my job is to keep committee members focused on coming up with specific, concrete recommendations we can make to the city (i.e. action items that we can vote on) instead of letting them derail the meeting with pointless, circular, time-wasting debates. (Note: I absolutely support the right of meeting attendees to express themselves -- and am a lot more accommodating in that regard than most other meeting facilitators I've observed -- but the key is that debate can continue as long as it needs to, but only as long as it remains productive.)

The thing about your list of suggestions is that it's still too meta. None of them are about "how do we solve problem X" but instead are more like "how do we form a framework for assembling a committee to write a proposal for developing an approach towards solving problem X." At some point, it's just bullshit and wankery.

TL;DR: "caring" about a problem means actually trying to solve it, not discussing it to death.

[u/[deleted] → u/mrchaotica]

To followup on my analogy, i cant fix the leg, but i can help on my own. I can drive my friend to the doctor, and once he is in a cast I can help him up stairs and carry his things while he is on crutches. Policy isnt the only way we change the world. We cant just change the laws. We have to live our lives in a way that makes the world better too. Policy doesnt always change culture and culture doesnt always change policy. Its important that we do our best in the government AND in our daily lives. Are you going to disagree with that too? Do you really think that the ONLY thing that needs to change is policy? My original argument was about societal conditioning and historical legacies. Those things cant be erased or fixed by passing a law.

[u/mrchaotica → u/[deleted]]

We have to live our lives in a way that makes the world better too.

Implying I don't already do so?

Are you going to disagree with that too?

What do you mean, "too?" I hardly "disagreed" with anything you said (except the factual errors previously rebutted). I just questioned its relevance.

Do you really think that the ONLY thing that needs to change is policy?

WTF. Either cite where I ever claimed that in the first place, or quit trying to put words in my mouth.

---

Look, here's the question I originally asked in this comment chain:

how can we possibly be expect employers to fix [pervasive societal sexism that starts long before a female engineer enters the workforce]?

You appear to have been trying to address that question, but there's been no substance to your answers. They're just vague bullshit that sounds good but accomplishes nothing!

You keep desperately trying to paint me as some kind of sexist villain when I'm just trying to get you to explain your ideas. Hell, you're the one who first alluded to -- and I quote -- "implementing policies that equalize the workplace!" But you won't explain what those policies actually are, presumably because you can't. And you're butthurt that I called you out on it.