Common Sense has left the building. It was escorted out by HR. Actually, it was the Director of “Diversity, Integrity & Governance.”
Common Sense has been in the process of leaving for a long time, but it just had to clear out its desk. As Common Sense put its stuff in a box, it was surprised at the clutter --- lots of things that weren’t on its desk when it first started working here --- you know, stuff like what marriage is, a baby’s right to live, gender differences, religious freedom, capitalism, socialism, basic First Amendment rights.
As a society we’ve reached an absurd, dangerous place. Thank God, it’s not absurd everywhere yet. There is a lot of common sense left in many corners of the country, but not in some of our biggest institutions and most powerful companies. And that’s why this internal Google memo drama matters.
Late last week a male senior software engineer --- we don’t know his name --- wrote a lengthy memo that he shared with colleagues titled, “Google’s Ideological Echo Chamber.” He basically criticized the company’s diversity policies that he says actually result in reverse discrimination and suppress conservative political views. This kind of progressive insanity has become the default norm in many of these places.
His memo is thoughtful and well-written, but it’s 10 pages long so I’m just going to give you some of the highlights:
• He starts out by saying, “People generally have good intentions, but we all have biases which are invisible to us. Thankfully, open and honest discussion with those who disagree can highlight our blind spots and help us grow, which is why I wrote this document. Google has several biases and honest discussion about these biases is being silenced by the dominant ideology.”
• “Google’s Left bias has created a politically correct monoculture that maintains its hold by shaming dissenters into silence. This silence removes any checks against encroaching extremist and authoritarian policies.”
• Later, this guy has the audacity to point out that men and women have biological and personality differences. I guess when Common Sense has left the building, you have to get back to the basics of the birds & the bees. He says, “We need to stop assuming that gender gaps imply sexism.”
• Then he points out some “non-discriminatory ways to reduce the gender gap,” which is a section many of his critics apparently missed, like, “Unfortunately, as long as tech and leadership remain high status, lucrative careers, men may disproportionately want to be in them. Allowing and truly endorsing (as part of our culture) part time work, though, can keep more women in tech.”
• He lists some of the harms of Google’s biases like, “Programs, mentoring, and classes only for people with a certain gender or race,” and “A high priority queue and special treatment for ‘diversity’ candidates.”
• “In highly progressive environments, conservatives are a minority that feel like they need to stay in the closet to avoid open hostility. We should empower those with different ideologies to be able to express themselves.”
• “Microaggression training incorrectly and dangerously equates speech with violence and isn’t backed by evidence.”
• “Once we acknowledge that not all differences are socially constructed or due to discrimination, we open our eyes to a more accurate view of the human condition which is necessary if we actually want to solve problems.”
Good for this guy. That takes guts. What a conservative rebel hero, right? Except that he’s not a conservative --- he describes himself as a “classical liberal.”
So what has been Google’s reaction to this “classic liberal” --- one of their own who dared to rock the progressive boat? Well, he says, “Despite what the public response seems to have been, I’ve gotten many personal messages from fellow Googlers expressing their gratitude for bringing up these very important issues which they agree with but would never have the courage to say or defend because of our shaming culture and the possibility of being fired. This needs to change.”
After reading the memo, one livid female co-worker tweeted: “Still shaking in anger… If HR does nothing in this case, I will consider leaving this company for real for the first time in five years.”
Any resistance to ideas like this protectionist, diversity stuff at Google is read as hate speech and worthy of firing. We’ve got to stop making that huge leap in logic.
Saturday evening, Google released an official response to the viral memo from Danielle Brown, their new VP of “Diversity, Integrity & Governance.” She wrote: “Many of you have read an internal document shared by someone in our engineering organization, expressing views on the natural abilities and characteristics of different genders, as well as whether one can speak freely of these things at Google. And like many of you, I found that it advanced incorrect assumptions about gender. I’m not going to link to it here as it’s not a viewpoint that I or this company endorses, promotes or encourages.”
Google translation: This company does not allow any reasoned argument that questions our vacuum-sealed progressive agenda, so shut the hell up and get in line.
Brown continues, “Part of building an open, inclusive environment means fostering a culture in which those with alternative views, including different political views, feel safe sharing their opinions. But that discourse needs to work alongside the principles of equal employment found in our Code of Conduct, policies, and anti-discrimination laws.”
Google translation: If your “alternate views” include things like conservative politics and/or believing women are different than men, you’ll feel safer discussing them outside a 200-mile radius of our campus.
Google should thank this guy and promote him. This is the kind of dialogue a common sense company would want --- a respectful, intelligent, well-thought-out memo. It will be a miracle if this Google guy survives the week without getting fired.
This “diversity governance” culture is way overcompensating for the mistakes of America’s past. How long do we have to flog ourselves for past sins? Where’s the grace to move on? Now we’ve overcompensated to the point that a memo asserting that men and women are made differently and might perform differently in the work environment is considered radical!
Diversity is not a virtue. Diversity is not a principle, although progressives are hell-bent on trying to make it one. And saying diversity is not a virtue or a principle is not racist, or sexist, or homophobic.
We need more brave people like this Google guy, on both sides of the aisle, to stand up for common sense because that battle is only going to intensify. But we also need to sit down and reason together, Left and Right, while we still can, while there’s still enough freedom of speech left in the tank. Let’s listen --- we might both be surprised by what the other has to say.
