James Damore, the guy who was fired from Google after writing a 10-page screed accusing the company of discriminating against conservative white men, has filed a lawsuit against his previous employers and oh wow, it is … something. If you remember, Damore’s memo, titled “Google’s Ideological Echo Chamber,” alleged that women were underrepresented in tech not because of systemic discrimination, but because of “differences in distributions of traits between men and women,” and that “discrimination to reach equal representation is unfair, divisive, and bad for business.” Meaning, women just aren’t as biologically suited for the tech industry and to try to force them in is itself discrimination. He also called for an end to the alienation of conservatives, and to stop the company’s mandatory diversity and “unconscious bias” trainings.
After Damore’s memo went public and he lost his job, the internet joined in a good ol’ fashioned pile-on, informing Damore that if he felt alienated, it was likely less to do with being conservative or white or male, and more for being giant asshat who believed (and proudly shared his beliefs) that women were biologically unfit for jobs in tech.
That message clearly didn’t sink in, though, because Damore and another engineer, David Gudeman (who was fired after making a comment about a Muslim colleague possibly being a terrorist), have filed a lawsuit against Google.
Now, it’s pretty obvious what Damore is attempting here. I can’t believe he actually thinks this lawsuit will go anywhere, but it sets him up for his 15-minutes of fame as a conservative tech mouthpiece.
[whispering] the James Damore lawsuit is intended to raise his profile in the right wing media as the Silicon Valley Hates Conservatives Guy
— fresh recruit who thinks he can ‘own blaskowicz’ (@thetomzone) January 8, 2018
he’ll be on Fox every time they need someone to rant about how tech is censoring them
— fresh recruit who thinks he can ‘own blaskowicz’ (@thetomzone) January 8, 2018
As such, I hate to give him any attention at all. On the other hand, I find his self-aggrandized martyrdom hilarious and who couldn’t use a good laugh right now? Here are some of my favorite quotes from the suit:
- They say they were “ostracized, belittled, and punished .. for the added sin of their birth circumstances of being Caucasians and/or males.”
- The suit includes as evidence of discrimination a meeting held in March (“Women’s History Month”) in which two women, Ruth Porat, the Chief Financial Officer of Google, and Eileen Naughton, the Human Resources Director of Google. There is lengthy criticism of the way in which “either Porat or Naughton pointed out and shamed individual departments at Google in which women comprised less than 50% of the workforce. Alternatively, they applauded and praised departments, such as the sales department, where women comprised more than 50% of the workforce.” EITHER PORAT OR NAUGHTON. The guy who doesn’t get why gender is such a big deal couldn’t even be bothered to differentiate between two women he’s including in a lawsuit.
- Damore was asked to attend a diversity training entitled “Bias Busting.” According to the suit, Damore expressed displeasure with discussion of biases against women and the existence of “white male privilege.” His colleagues and managers, as he puts it, “laughed at him derisively.” He still maintains that they shut down his views because they were “conservative,” rather than sexist, racist, and generally assholish.
- Not only was Damore fired after his memo went public, but as he puts it, others who spoke out against him were rewarded. “In one example of this, an employee gave a Peer Bonus to another employee, and stated that the bonus was for ‘speaking up for googley values and promoting [diversity and inclusion] in the wretched hive of scum and villainy that is [Damore’s Memo].’ The Google Recognition Team reviewed this justification, considered it appropriate, and allowed the bonus to proceed.”
Somewhere around the time the suit got into “discriminating” against pro-Trump views and “conservative parenting styles,” my eyes finally rolled so far back in my head I was forced to give up. You can read the full 161-page lawsuit here if you’d like but really, why would you want to do that to yourself?
(via BuzzFeed, image: Shutterstock)
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