>In the memo, the former employee cites a few moments where he felt uncomfortable at Google, particularly after big news events such as the police killings of E

>In the memo, the former employee cites a few moments where he felt uncomfortable at Google, particularly after big news events such as the police killings of Eric Garner and Michael Brown, and during the ensuing protests against police brutality. The Vice article, from what I saw, doesn't clarify if the writer themself felt threatened by his coworkers, or if he/she just felt comfortable talking about police brutality against people of color. Obviously, if the writer was experiencing some hostility at work that would be one thing – and surely would be a serious problem worth discussing. But I'm not a person of color, and I'm very uncomfortable talking about police brutality at work. The topic is very sensitive and I don't think it's appropriate to distract my coworkers from their jobs by stressing them out. I work with some people that simply couldn't finish their day if I started a discussion about police brutality, or the murder of innocent people of color, or about X-phobic issues. Work is somewhat of a social place, but it's not really acceptable anywhere to just openly discuss politics, gender, identity, violence, etc. in my opinion. I don't even like talking about my music and movie tastes at work! Work is also, for me, a place where I can come in and be good at what I do, separate myself from the outside world, and have a little fun here and there (and get paid). My office isn't really a place for activism, to me. Does that make me a racist? Or classist? Or sexist? About the only important things I'm willing to discuss that isn't work related are my garden, my family, and where we want to eat lunch. Otherwise... it's headphones on.