FOLLOWING AN INTERNAL MEMO, QUESTIONING GOOGLE'S GENDER
POLICY AND ENGINEER WHO RELEASED TO THAT MEMO HAS BEEN FIRED
AND GOOGLE PROMISED TO HAVE A COMPANYWIDE MEETING TO
ADDRESS THE ISSUE OF GENDER IN THE WORKPLACE.
UNFORTUNATELY, THAT DIALOGUE WILL NOT HAPPEN AT LEAST NOT
YET BECAUSE GOOGLE HAS CANCELED THIS EMPLOYEE MEETING BECAUSE
OF FEARS THAT PARTICIPANTS WOULD BE HARASSED ONLINE.
IN FACT, HE RELEASED A STATEMENT, SAYING ñ
SO THEY ARE POSTPONING THIS COMPANYWIDE TALK, BUT I THINK
THIS DIALOGUE IS INCREDIBLY IMPORTANT TO HAVE, AND IT
IS UNFORTUNATE THAT PEOPLE ARE GETTING HARASSED, BUT
WELCOME TO THE INTERNET, GOOGLE, WHERE PEOPLE GET HARASSED.
IRONICALLY YOU HAVE TO WELCOME GOOGLE TO THE INTERNET.
LET'S TALK ABOUT A COUPLE OF OTHER ANGLES HERE.
WHAT BREITBART REVEALED WAS SOME EMPLOYEES TALKING ABOUT
PLANNING TO BLACKLIST THE PEOPLE WHO DON'T PLAN TO BACK THE
COMPANY'S EFFORTS.
THAT COULD BE PROBLEMATIC AND I CAN SEE WHY THEY WOULD ONCE
COVER THAT IS NEWS.
IT IS AN ENTIRELY DIFFERENT THINGS WHEN YOU START TALKING
PEOPLE AND SAYING LET'S FIND OUT THOSE PEOPLE ARE AND TALK OF
CONSEQUENCES AND THEN THIS THING GETS SHUT DOWN BECAUSE WHOEVER'S
ASKING THE QUESTIONS, ARE PEOPLE GOING TO REVEAL THEIR
IDENTITY AS?
AGAIN, WE'RE GETTING INTO MADNESS THERE YOU GO IN
THAT DIRECTION THOUGHT YOU AND HAVE A BATTLE OF IDEAS,
LET'S HAVE ADDED.
LET'S HAVE A CONVERSATION IN A DEBATE.
WHEN YOU NEED TO KNOW WHO THEY ARE AND WHERE THEY LIVE?
THAT IS DEEPLY PROBLEMATIC.
AND THEN THEY CANCELED THE MEETING.
IN THE MEETING THEY WERE GOING TO TALK ABOUT THREE DIFFERENT
THINGS, AND ONE WAS HOW THEY DID NOT HAVE TO LOWER STANDARDS
FOR HIRING WOMEN AND MINORITIES AND THEY WANTED TO EXPLAIN THAT.
YOU WOULD THINK YOU WOULD WANT TO HEAR THEM OUT ON THAT ISAIAH
TRUE, YOU MIGHT BE SKEPTICAL, BUT SHE WOULD WANT TO HEAR WHAT
THEY HAVE TO SAY, AND ONE OTHER THING THAT THEY WANTED TO TALK
ABOUT WAS ARE WE MAKING POLITICAL CONSERVATIVES
FEEL UNWELCOME AT GOOGLE?
THAT SEEMS LIKE THAT IS A CONVERSATION YOU WOULD WANT THEM
TO HAVE BUT NOW THEY'RE NOT GOING TO BECAUSE YOU THREATENED
TO OUT THE IDENTITIES OF PEOPLE YOU DISAGREE WITH DOCTOR THEY
MIGHT HAVE THE CONVERSATION FURTHER DOWN THE LINE, BUT I
WOULD'VE MUCH PREFERRED FOR THEM TO HAVE A CONVERSATION NOW
BECAUSE IT IS MORE RELEVANT NOW THAN EVER BEFORE.
LOOK, THAT IS THE THING THAT DRIVES ME CRAZY, RIGHT?
ABUSING PEOPLE, THREATENING PEOPLE, GETTING IN THEIR
WAY WHEN THEY WANT TO SHARE THEIR IDEAS OF THEIR
CONCERNS IS AN ISSUE.
JUST LET PEOPLE HAVE AN OPEN AND FRANK DIALOGUE WITHOUT
HAVING TO WORRY ABOUT THEM GETTING DOCS OR BEING MET
WITH ANY TYPE OF VIOLENCE OR THREAT.
THAT IS THE REASON WHY WE NEVER HAVE ANY TYPE OF PROGRESS
WHEN IT COMES TO THESE ISSUES BECAUSE PEOPLE ARE AFRAID TO
SPEAK OUT WHETHER YOU ARE ON THE RIGHT OF THE LEFT ON THIS ISSUE.
I WANT TO CLARIFY ONE THING.
BREITBART DIDN'T THREATEN VIOLENCE BUT THEY DID OUT THIS
MEMO WHICH I THINK IT DOES HAVE SOME NEWS VALUE, BUT ONE TWITTER
ACCOUNT SAID LET'S FIND OUT WHO THEY ARE AND RUIN THEIR LIVES.
IF YOU ARE ON THE INTERNET, THAT KIND OF TALK IS FAIRLY
COMMONPLACE BUT STILL, DISCONCERTING AND ESPECIALLY
IF YOU ARE NOT A PERSON WHO IS USED TO BEING ATTACKED ONLINE
AND YOU WERE JUST A CIVILIAN AND ALL THE SUDDEN YOU ARE THINKING
YOU WERE TALKING ABOUT RUINING THEIR LIFE SODAS PROBLEMATIC.
I DO WANT TO PUT IT NECESSARILY ON BREITBART, BUT IS A
REASON WHY GOOGLE WOULD BE SERIOUSLY CONCERNED ABOUT
THE SAFETY OF EMPLOYEES.
THIS IS A TACTIC THAT UNFORTUNATELY LET'S BE REAL
HAS BEEN FREQUENTLY INVOKED BY THE RIGHT USING DOCS INTO
HARASSED PEOPLE AND PUT THEIR PERSONAL SAFETY IN EXTREME
DANGER AND THEY RAN OFF LESLIE FROM SATURDAY NIGHT LIVE
OFTEN TWITTER
LESLIE JONES THE
BY DOCTRINE, THE SAME THING THAT MILO WAS DOING WITH
POTENTIALLY UNDOCUMENTED STUDENTS AT BERKELEY.
THAT KIND OF TACTIC IS REPREHENSIBLE AND LIKE YOU JUST
SAID, IT IS GOING TO ACTUALLY PREVENT THE CONVERSATION
AND THE OTHER THING THAT I WILL MENTION AND THIS MIGHT BE AN
UNPOPULAR OPINION, I DON'T THINK THEY SHOULD'VE FIRED THE GUY.
I AGREE WITH YOU.
I THINK THEY SHOULD'VE LOWERED HIS PAY AND DEMOTED
HIS LEADERSHIP POSITION TO SEE IF HE COULD TOLERATE STRESS
LIKE THAT WAS HIS CLAIM.
TO SEE IF HE WOULD HAVE A NEUROTIC REACTION.
IT IS INTERESTING BECAUSE BRIGHT ARE CALLED, THE HEADLINE
WAS SOCIAL JUSTICE WORRIERS CREATE WRONG THINK AND THEY ARE
TRYING TO RIP OFF THE ORWELL CONCEPT OF DOUBLETHINK AND
PEOPLE NOT BEING ABLE TO THINK FOR THEMSELVES AND ONLY
POLITICAL CONSERVATIVES CAN THINK FOR THEMSELVES IN AN
ENVIRONMENT THAT EMBRACES IDEOLOGICAL DIVERSITY BUT
LIKE YOU SAID THEY JUST PREVENTED THAT BY PUTTING
PEOPLE'S LIVES IN DANGER.
I THINK IT IS AN IMPORTANT CONVERSATION AND IT IS
SUPER IRONIC THAT IF YOU THOUGHT IT WAS WRONG TO FIRE HIM
BECAUSE HE WAS TRYING TO HAVE A CONVERSATION, YOU HAVE NOW
BLOCKED THE CONVERSATION THAT GOOGLE WAS GOING TO HAVE
ABOUT IT.
AND I THINK IT IS A FAIR ARGUMENT WE HAVE DEBATED
THIS ON THE SHOW ALL WEEK ABOUT WHAT GOOGLE SHOULD HAVE
DONE WITH HIM, BUT I THINK THE VALID POINT OF VIEW IS THAT
HE CREATED A HOSTILE WORK ENVIRONMENT.
JUST THINK ABOUT IT AS SUSAN WOJCICKI JUST TALKED ABOUT IT.
WHAT WAS IN ANOTHER CATEGORY EXCEPT WOMEN?
SHOULDN'T SAY THIS, BUT I WILL ADDED THAT SHE SAID IF HE
SAID LET'S JUST BE HONEST ABOUT THE BIOLOGICAL DIFFERENCES
OF JEWS, THERE IS NO QUESTION HE GETS FIRED.
EVERYBODY AGREES THAT THE WORLD HAS LIVED THROUGH THAT, IT
DIDN'T END WELL, I DON'T WANT TO SAY WE SHOULD NEVER HAVE A
CONVERSATION OF THE BIOLOGICAL DIFFERENCES OF WOMEN BUT I
DON'T KNOW, ESPECIALLY IF YOU ARE A BOSS, IF YOU ARE
SUPERVISING ANYONE, IF THOSE ARE YOUR VIEWS ABOUT A CERTAIN
GROUP YOU ARE SUPERVISING THAT COULD BE PROBLEMATIC.