"Retired" is a nice way to put: pushed out for being a sexual harasser. This looks like a classic case of whitewashing your image via philanthropy.
> I said and did things that made some women feel awkward, unwelcome, insecure, and/or discouraged. In social settings, under the guise of joking, being collegial, flirting, or having a good time, I undoubtedly caused some women to question themselves, retreat, feel alone, and worry they can’t be their authentic selves. By stupidly perpetuating a culture rife with busting chops, teasing, and peer pressure to go out drinking, I made some women feel self-conscious, anxious, and fear they might not be taken seriously.
https://medium.com/@sacca/i-have-more-work-to-do-c775c5d56ca...
It's fair to say he sexually harassed women, even if you think he should be forgiven after apologizing for it.
Also, an "extraordinary" claim would be "the Earth is flat." The harassment of women in the workplace is known and even quite common!
Such a society ultimately turns into a gaslighting double-down deny-everything debacle, where everything must be proven beyond a shadow of a doubt in a court of law. In this situation court cases will be dragged out forever, and asymmetric resources and power really will come into play.
Failing and fixing fast is much more preferable.
Sexual harassment is a broad label that doesn't discriminate between coercing sex and an inappropriate joke. However given that he also brought Twitter into the world, the lack of nuance here seems ironic.
Victory has a hundred fathers
- power dynamics in the workplace and culture (often those who raise these issues are punished not taken seriously and protected adequately)[0]
- when someone is reporting this kind of behavior their professional aspirations can and often are[1] hampered or damaged regardless of the outcome of any investigation. Backlash is common and frankly unacceptable
- Chris Sacca himself admitted to sexist behavior[2]
Given all this, I don’t think this is outlandish at all. In fact the odds of getting the correct eyes on a report of harassment is often so hard the only thing left often is whistleblower or public opinion to motivate something being done about and that is a sad untenable state of affairs
[0]: https://diginomica.com/how-can-companies-tackle-tech-sectors...
[1]: https://hbr.org/2020/05/why-sexual-harassment-programs-backf...
[2]: https://www.cnbc.com/2017/07/03/chris-sacca-and-dave-mcclure...
But, yes, I'd rather he fund these great companies than disappear.
If I were a woman who was considering working with him, would I appreciate a heads-up to maybe be a bit careful around him? It's clarifying to understand these as workplace issues.
I generally supported them in the past, but the evidence presented here was the tipping point and I now believe they do more harm than good. I would extend that principle to say that past a certain point, we shouldn't constantly remind people of past transgressions. Though I do understand the other side, and there is definitely a part of me that would always want to know if a sex offender lived near a child of mine.
- Eleanor Roosevelt