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I am not defending Damore's thesis. I am defending his right to advance it without putting his livelihood at risk. The trouble is that this was at work where
by CalChris 9y ago
I am not defending Damore's thesis. I am defending his right to advance it without putting his livelihood at risk.
The trouble is that this was at work where Damore was earning that livelihood and the First Amendment guarantee of freedom of speech doesn't extend to work. Google was well within its rights in CA to fire him for having a bad haircut.
BTW, I have a new theory about the manifesto: Damore is a really bad writer. He probably got an A on every paper he ever turned in and he's still a bad writer.
One of Orwell's rules in Politics and The English Languages [1] is:
The great enemy of clear language is insincerity.
I don't think Damore is being sincere and says what he means. He's clearly angry about how people have misinterpreted him and says that Pichai misrepresented him. But really, he's just a bad writer who isn't saying what he means.
[1] http://www.npr.org/ombudsman/Politics_and_the_English_Language-1.pdf http://www.npr.org/ombudsman/Politics_and_the_English_Langua...
- Houshalter 9y agoNo one said that what Google did was illegal. Just that it was wrong and makes the world a worse place.
- CalChris 9y agoWhen Ron says that he is defending [Damore's] right he is saying that Damore's rights have been offended. But Damore has no right of free speech in Google's hallways.
- lisper 9y agoThat's true. I used the word "right" too glibly. However, Google claims to encourage free speech and dissent. Its actions in this case undermine that claim.
- deleted 9y ago[deleted]
- abnry 9y agoYou are projecting by assuming Damore isn't saying what he means. I.e., you are assuming he is deep into the alt-right, which seems like a hidden smear, when there is no evidence that he is.
- candiodari 9y agoIf you read the doc[1] it will become very clear that Damore is a leftist/progressive, not a rightist. The right is defending him, and that by itself seems to be enough reason for the left to vilify him. I'm left, and I feel ashamed at the way this is happening and how many of my friends do the same. [1] https://medium.com/@Cernovich/full-james-damore-memo-uncensored-memo-with-charts-and-cites-339f3d2d05f https://medium.com/@Cernovich/full-james-damore-memo-uncenso...
- croon 9y ago> If you read the doc[1] it will become very clear that Damore is a leftist/progressive, not a rightist. Would you mind elaborating on how/where that is very clear? Honest question. Not that I think it should matter, but I'm inclined to say the opposite and that he very much had an agenda. > But as mainstream journalists across the globe reached out to him for interviews this week, Damore largely ignored the queries and instead selected two rightwing YouTube personalities [...] Stefan Molyneux and Jordan B Peterson, who both have large followings on YouTube and have espoused anti-feminist views.
- nodamage 9y agoIf that's the case then immediately giving interviews to several right-wing YouTubers and telling them he's a "huge fan" is simply terrible optics...