7 ms·

If we look at things in terms of positive and negative reinforcement this has some interesting consequences. So, he admitted to antisemitism in the past and sh

by mfer 5y ago

If we look at things in terms of positive and negative reinforcement this has some interesting consequences. So, he admitted to antisemitism in the past and shared how he has grown or is growing past it. This kind of admission by him has the ability to challenge other and positively reinforce others who are in a similar situation to him. That _positive_ reinforcement for change away from antisemitism. He was pushed out which is a form of _negative_ reinforcement. That will teach him and others not to speak out with stories of how they have changed which will limit others from positively reinforcing future change like this. The way this influences people going forward is worth noting.

foolinaround 5y ago
damned if you do, damned if you don't!!
missedthecue 5y ago
Don't ask, don't tell: racism edition
- UncleMeat 5y ago
  Except being racist is bad and being gay isn't.
  - mhuffman 5y ago
    This is just our current social construction. There was a time right-here in the US when those were reversed. And there are societies right now where those are reversed.
    - pschuegr 5y ago
      And those societies are wrong.
    - UncleMeat 5y ago
      So? That doesn't change the fact that being gay is okay and being racist is bad. The obvious connotation of the post was that "don't ask, don't tell for racism" is bad in the same way that it was bad for homosexuality in the military - but there is obviously no comparison between being gay and being a racist.
    - cannabis_sam 5y ago
      There was a time in the west when having a vagina made you property, it does not stop any of us from judging those societies or criticizing current societies.
nbvxhnvc 5y ago
His manifesto is a self-congratulatory virtue signal that does more to show off his prejudices that still exist and which he demonstrates zero self awareness of, so it's no surprise that it backfired. These kinds of manifestos/confessionals on LinkedIn are so completely inappropriate. There's no reason this guy needed to ever publicly say anything on this topic no matter his intentions real or perceived, and it is absolutely predictably that he stepped in it.
mattzito 5y ago
So, I'll start off by saying - I work at google, in cloud, but not for this person, I don't know anything about him, and this is my own opinion. I think if someone had asked him at an all hands for his position on the israel palestine conflict, and he said something like: "I grew up in a strict Egyptian Muslim household, indoctrinated to hate Israel and Jews, and it wasn't until I was exposed to jewish people and became friends with them that I realized how toxic those ideas were, and I regret that I ever held those ideas and no longer do. And now I hope that everyone on both sides of that conflict can have the same realizations that I did, and realize that we are all human and just want to live in peace" I don't think it would have been an issue, or at least not to this degree. It's possible to acknowledge a past flaw, talk about how you've taken steps to address, and move on in a productive way. But that's not what he did. If you read the entire LinkedIn post, it's pretty cringey. It starts off going deep into how much he hated Jews, then talks about how long it took him to not hate Jews, then he takes a sharp right turn to point out that because he is .1% Ashkenazi according to 23andme, he's technically also Jewish, so isn't this whole thing just an idea? Aren't these political and cultural boundaries just ridiculous ideas we need to get past? Then he takes a swing at Zionism that I don't quite follow, and he wraps things up. First off, no one asked him to share his thoughts on the subject. Second, it's easy to find someone attempting to co-opt your identity via a saliva DNA test offensive. Third, by trying to talk about how made-up these groups and identities are, it can come across as erasing them. Fourth, and finally, his political views on solving the Israel-Palestine conflict have nothing to do with his previous beliefs. Again, if he stuck to what he used to believe, and how he sees that's wrong, that's less controversial. But he uses it as a springboard to offer up a grand unified theory of racial identity which, again, no one asked him for his ideas and solutions to this extremely complex problem. Then, from the article, apparently he continued to espouse these views in public, defending them, referencing his .1% jewish heritage as a defense. But setting aside all of the exact specifics - if you're a VP at any large company, you should know this is not acceptable. You have to be able to read the room, you have to listen to feedback, and you have to know how to communicate with others. You have to be able to build trust and rapport with your team, it's not about being "right". If he was unable to do that, as it seems like was the case, then he's not a good fit.
- deleted 5y ago
makeitdouble 5y ago
> When employees expressed their discomfort at the all-hands meeting Wednesday, the executive doubled down on his manifesto and insisted employees misunderstood, they said. It doesn’t look at he’s really open to feedback, doesn’t seem much sensible about how people react to his opinions in general. Other people might take the wrong message from his demotion, but then it also means they didn’t really care looking into the details, so wouldn’t they have been mistaken in other ways if he stayed in position and continued spitting weird manifestos ?

by mfer 5y ago

foolinaround 5y ago

damned if you do, damned if you don't!!

missedthecue 5y ago

Don't ask, don't tell: racism edition

UncleMeat 5y ago
Except being racist is bad and being gay isn't.
- mhuffman 5y ago
  This is just our current social construction. There was a time right-here in the US when those were reversed. And there are societies right now where those are reversed.
  - pschuegr 5y ago
    And those societies are wrong.
  - UncleMeat 5y ago
    So? That doesn't change the fact that being gay is okay and being racist is bad. The obvious connotation of the post was that "don't ask, don't tell for racism" is bad in the same way that it was bad for homosexuality in the military - but there is obviously no comparison between being gay and being a racist.
  - cannabis_sam 5y ago
    There was a time in the west when having a vagina made you property, it does not stop any of us from judging those societies or criticizing current societies.

nbvxhnvc 5y ago

His manifesto is a self-congratulatory virtue signal that does more to show off his prejudices that still exist and which he demonstrates zero self awareness of, so it's no surprise that it backfired. These kinds of manifestos/confessionals on LinkedIn are so completely inappropriate. There's no reason this guy needed to ever publicly say anything on this topic no matter his intentions real or perceived, and it is absolutely predictably that he stepped in it.

mattzito 5y ago

So, I'll start off by saying - I work at google, in cloud, but not for this person, I don't know anything about him, and this is my own opinion. I think if someone had asked him at an all hands for his position on the israel palestine conflict, and he said something like: "I grew up in a strict Egyptian Muslim household, indoctrinated to hate Israel and Jews, and it wasn't until I was exposed to jewish people and became friends with them that I realized how toxic those ideas were, and I regret that I ever held those ideas and no longer do. And now I hope that everyone on both sides of that conflict can have the same realizations that I did, and realize that we are all human and just want to live in peace" I don't think it would have been an issue, or at least not to this degree. It's possible to acknowledge a past flaw, talk about how you've taken steps to address, and move on in a productive way. But that's not what he did. If you read the entire LinkedIn post, it's pretty cringey. It starts off going deep into how much he hated Jews, then talks about how long it took him to not hate Jews, then he takes a sharp right turn to point out that because he is .1% Ashkenazi according to 23andme, he's technically also Jewish, so isn't this whole thing just an idea? Aren't these political and cultural boundaries just ridiculous ideas we need to get past? Then he takes a swing at Zionism that I don't quite follow, and he wraps things up. First off, no one asked him to share his thoughts on the subject. Second, it's easy to find someone attempting to co-opt your identity via a saliva DNA test offensive. Third, by trying to talk about how made-up these groups and identities are, it can come across as erasing them. Fourth, and finally, his political views on solving the Israel-Palestine conflict have nothing to do with his previous beliefs. Again, if he stuck to what he used to believe, and how he sees that's wrong, that's less controversial. But he uses it as a springboard to offer up a grand unified theory of racial identity which, again, no one asked him for his ideas and solutions to this extremely complex problem. Then, from the article, apparently he continued to espouse these views in public, defending them, referencing his .1% jewish heritage as a defense. But setting aside all of the exact specifics - if you're a VP at any large company, you should know this is not acceptable. You have to be able to read the room, you have to listen to feedback, and you have to know how to communicate with others. You have to be able to build trust and rapport with your team, it's not about being "right". If he was unable to do that, as it seems like was the case, then he's not a good fit.

deleted 5y ago

makeitdouble 5y ago

> When employees expressed their discomfort at the all-hands meeting Wednesday, the executive doubled down on his manifesto and insisted employees misunderstood, they said. It doesn’t look at he’s really open to feedback, doesn’t seem much sensible about how people react to his opinions in general. Other people might take the wrong message from his demotion, but then it also means they didn’t really care looking into the details, so wouldn’t they have been mistaken in other ways if he stayed in position and continued spitting weird manifestos ?