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Comment by briholt | Hacker News Reader

It would've been a week of impotent whiny tweets, then the outrage machine would've moved on to the next faux issue. What kind of insane world do we live in where leaders are too cowardly to withstand mean internet comments? Now they've got a lawsuit on their hands (which will surely open the floodgates) and an anti-science stigma that will stick with them for years.

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To clarify: you are aware that, prior to the memo, Google already a lawsuit on their hands from the Department of Labor with regards to alleged gender discrimination?

And let's not forget their participation in at least one de facto cartel to suppress salaries.

https://phys.org/news/2015-01-apple-google-settlement-high-t...

Don't forget to mention Google wouldn't hand over the data the Department of Labor demanded.

This is what really gets me and confuses me.

Google is accused of a "left wing bias" by many defenders of the manifesto and the writer himself. And yet, they don't want to turn over information that they're fairly hiring, firing and paying wages fairly?

How is being sly and secretive about your hiring practices and wage information "left wing"? Hardly seems consistent with the idea of supporting worker rights.

So how does Google (not to mention, it is a capitalist organisation) have a "left wing bias", as they say?

I see no evidence for it.

Are you serious? This is exactly the criticism leveled against the left. They've abandoned free speech, they judge people based on race, they've ignored working class voters in favor of coastal elites, yet they keep telling themselves they're "liberal."

I suppose I have a different idea of what 'left' means, then. For me, 'left' is at least strong social democracy and preferably [democratic] Socialism, Communism and anarchism. Not the US Democratic Party.

> Google is accused of a "left wing bias" by many defenders of the manifesto and the writer himself. And yet, they don't want to turn over information that they're fairly hiring, firing and paying wages fairly?

Then Google should cough up the data. But they won't, because they're hiding malfeasance.

Setting this particular issue aside, this really is a weird phenomenon that I don't quite understand, yet. So, a lot of people are condemning you on Twitter? I understand that as humans we don't like that feeling, but if you don't react to it nothing happens.

Why don't more people take that path?

Pick a topic that's really, really important to you. Let's say it's fishing.

You're known as someone who fishes a lot in your small circle on Twitter. Suddenly someone steps in and says "Fishing is stupid. Screw you, fishing people!". Maybe one of your followers explicitly tags you in it to bring it to your attention.

Ignoring it is the right thing to do but could you? You probably could since my example is extremely contrived but in general I gotta admit sometimes it's difficult to ignore something that's right in front of me that I staunchly disagree with. I try but I'm human and I fail at it sometimes. Other times if I don't respond others feel like I'm letting them down.

I hate Twitter. I also enjoy it at times, too, which keeps me on it but I really do hate it the majority of the time.

I guess a boycott could happen, or employees might get emboldened to quit or sue. Google would get lumped in with Uber and others accused of being brogrammer haven.

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