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Firing someone for removing hate from their lives and becoming a better person doesn’t send the right message…

drstewart 5y ago
While I partially agree, it certainly seems very tone deaf on the VPs part. A 10k word post and two hour readout on YouTube? Citing specific Jewish people he thinks are good? Really? It seems like there's something bordering on unhinged in that behavior.
- jsiepkes 5y ago
  > It seems like there's something bordering on unhinged in that behavior. While I personally wouldn't do it and also think it comes across as kind of weird and unsettling I also think that what you are saying is based on your own cultural perspective. Let's take a few steps back and look at it. Is it really that bad if you talk about having a harmful belief in the past and how you let go of that? Should you be fired overt that? I think Google just chose the easy way here; Fire the person involved, least chance of having a controversy. I don't know where you live but I can tell you in most western European countries there is a very strong hatred against Jews under Arab migrants. This hatred is also passed along to newer generations. A blog post this might actually make the world a bit of a better place instead of a worse one...
  - totalZero 5y ago
    I think you make a good point, but maybe it's still right to fire this guy. Using one's platform as a way to talk about personal racial views beyond the basic "don't be racist, and try to judge others based on their individual qualities" is unprofessional no matter what one's viewpoint may be. (I suppose an exception to this would be when your profession involves analysis of different groups of people, such as in diplomacy or sociology.) Imagine a flight attendant using the in-cabin PA system to advocate that everyone should read How to Win Friends and Influence People. The message posted on LinkedIn may have been positive in a way, but at the same time a Developer Relations professional is supposed to use that kind of platform in a more topical manner. Edit: I'm not usually one to complain about getting downvoted but I personally believe this is a fairly circumspect comment about using a professional platform in an unprofessional manner, and I'd appreciate if one of you would explain your distaste for it.
    - vogon_laureate 5y ago
      Yeah. Also a 10,000 word rant accusing Israel of fascism, telling diaspora Jews to “butt out” because they don’t know enough when he clearly doesn’t either, and listing all the ‘good Jews’ (particularly highlighting their atheism), is not the enlightened look-at-how-great-I-am-now post he thinks it is. I wouldn’t fire him for it, preferring to have his views challenged but it also sounds like there were other factors to do with his management style that played a part too. It’s a shame because I feel like he meant well but it also belies poor decision-making for someone at such a high management level in a major corporation.

While I partially agree, it certainly seems very tone deaf on the VPs part. A 10k word post and two hour readout on YouTube? Citing specific Jewish people he thinks are good? Really? It seems like there's something bordering on unhinged in that behavior.

jsiepkes 5y ago
> It seems like there's something bordering on unhinged in that behavior. While I personally wouldn't do it and also think it comes across as kind of weird and unsettling I also think that what you are saying is based on your own cultural perspective. Let's take a few steps back and look at it. Is it really that bad if you talk about having a harmful belief in the past and how you let go of that? Should you be fired overt that? I think Google just chose the easy way here; Fire the person involved, least chance of having a controversy. I don't know where you live but I can tell you in most western European countries there is a very strong hatred against Jews under Arab migrants. This hatred is also passed along to newer generations. A blog post this might actually make the world a bit of a better place instead of a worse one...
- totalZero 5y ago
  I think you make a good point, but maybe it's still right to fire this guy. Using one's platform as a way to talk about personal racial views beyond the basic "don't be racist, and try to judge others based on their individual qualities" is unprofessional no matter what one's viewpoint may be. (I suppose an exception to this would be when your profession involves analysis of different groups of people, such as in diplomacy or sociology.) Imagine a flight attendant using the in-cabin PA system to advocate that everyone should read How to Win Friends and Influence People. The message posted on LinkedIn may have been positive in a way, but at the same time a Developer Relations professional is supposed to use that kind of platform in a more topical manner. Edit: I'm not usually one to complain about getting downvoted but I personally believe this is a fairly circumspect comment about using a professional platform in an unprofessional manner, and I'd appreciate if one of you would explain your distaste for it.
  - vogon_laureate 5y ago
    Yeah. Also a 10,000 word rant accusing Israel of fascism, telling diaspora Jews to “butt out” because they don’t know enough when he clearly doesn’t either, and listing all the ‘good Jews’ (particularly highlighting their atheism), is not the enlightened look-at-how-great-I-am-now post he thinks it is. I wouldn’t fire him for it, preferring to have his views challenged but it also sounds like there were other factors to do with his management style that played a part too. It’s a shame because I feel like he meant well but it also belies poor decision-making for someone at such a high management level in a major corporation.