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There's some assymetry at work here: everybody will remember that Google fired "that engineer" who wrote the memo, but a month or two from now, nobody will reme

There's some assymetry at work here: everybody will remember that Google fired "that engineer" who wrote the memo, but a month or two from now, nobody will remember his name. He still has a possible future career.

xienze 9y ago
> but a month or two from now, nobody will remember his name. He still has a possible future career. Oh you must be joking. He'll never, ever work in the valley again. If he spends the next couple months on a non-stop apology tour and participate in however many struggle sessions the various women's groups deem necessary, perhaps one day he'll be left alone and Twitter campaigns won't be started up every time he finds stable employment. Maybe.
- maxlybbert 9y ago
  I guess I'm thinking "regular people won't remember his name," but "regular people" and "hiring managers at large tech companies" are different groups. I don't remember why, but I recently read some old blog posts about Joe the plumber (2008 election), so I've been thinking about how the public has a very short memory.
- stale2002 9y ago
  You are completely wrong on this. The market for developers is very very good, right now. Especially ex-googlers. Maybe the big 5 tech companies won't hire him, because of the PR disaster that it would be, but any number of startups and small companies would be willing to do so. Many companies wouldn't even bother to Google his name (personally, I've never seen anyone do that. I just get handed a resume). And even if they did, others would just keep it on the hush hush. Many small startups would be ecstatic to get a Google engineer for cheap. Other engineers that have been on the receiving end of major scandals, have had no real long term consequences. EX: the donglegate guy was quickly employed elsewhere after he got fired. Judging by many of the comments in this thread, there seems to be a lot of tech people HERE who are defending him, and would be willing to hire him if they were a hiring manager.
  - chillingeffect 9y ago
    What will happen is he'll find acceptance in a different crowd and the authoritarian left has created a visceral enemy instead of trying to change his mind through gentle means.
- goobynight 9y ago
  Doubt it. Google is big enough to be picky and make a cut like this. There are plenty of places that would pick up a Google tier engineer regardless of backlash. The company doesn't even need to be desperate. Michael Vick got picked up by an NFL team after dog fighting. It will be similar to that only this guy won't be a celeb.
- tanilama 9y ago
  That is an over-exaggeration, Palmer Luckey, who founded oculus and being a trump supporter, has his new startup right now: https://www.nytimes.com/2017/06/04/business/oculus-palmer-luckey-new-start-up.html https://www.nytimes.com/2017/06/04/business/oculus-palmer-lu... Believe or not, he is going to be a figure, the anti-PC figure that certain group always wish to see, and shall be welcomed by them as a hero. Maybe not big companies, but his future might not be that difficult after all.
  - xienze 9y ago
    Wow you mean you just have to be a billionaire and start your own company to find work after committing the sin of being a conservative? Not really a great counter-example.

xienze 9y ago

> but a month or two from now, nobody will remember his name. He still has a possible future career. Oh you must be joking. He'll never, ever work in the valley again. If he spends the next couple months on a non-stop apology tour and participate in however many struggle sessions the various women's groups deem necessary, perhaps one day he'll be left alone and Twitter campaigns won't be started up every time he finds stable employment. Maybe.

maxlybbert 9y ago
I guess I'm thinking "regular people won't remember his name," but "regular people" and "hiring managers at large tech companies" are different groups. I don't remember why, but I recently read some old blog posts about Joe the plumber (2008 election), so I've been thinking about how the public has a very short memory.
stale2002 9y ago
You are completely wrong on this. The market for developers is very very good, right now. Especially ex-googlers. Maybe the big 5 tech companies won't hire him, because of the PR disaster that it would be, but any number of startups and small companies would be willing to do so. Many companies wouldn't even bother to Google his name (personally, I've never seen anyone do that. I just get handed a resume). And even if they did, others would just keep it on the hush hush. Many small startups would be ecstatic to get a Google engineer for cheap. Other engineers that have been on the receiving end of major scandals, have had no real long term consequences. EX: the donglegate guy was quickly employed elsewhere after he got fired. Judging by many of the comments in this thread, there seems to be a lot of tech people HERE who are defending him, and would be willing to hire him if they were a hiring manager.
- chillingeffect 9y ago
  What will happen is he'll find acceptance in a different crowd and the authoritarian left has created a visceral enemy instead of trying to change his mind through gentle means.
goobynight 9y ago
Doubt it. Google is big enough to be picky and make a cut like this. There are plenty of places that would pick up a Google tier engineer regardless of backlash. The company doesn't even need to be desperate. Michael Vick got picked up by an NFL team after dog fighting. It will be similar to that only this guy won't be a celeb.
tanilama 9y ago
That is an over-exaggeration, Palmer Luckey, who founded oculus and being a trump supporter, has his new startup right now: https://www.nytimes.com/2017/06/04/business/oculus-palmer-luckey-new-start-up.html https://www.nytimes.com/2017/06/04/business/oculus-palmer-lu... Believe or not, he is going to be a figure, the anti-PC figure that certain group always wish to see, and shall be welcomed by them as a hero. Maybe not big companies, but his future might not be that difficult after all.
- xienze 9y ago
  Wow you mean you just have to be a billionaire and start your own company to find work after committing the sin of being a conservative? Not really a great counter-example.