Google comes up with a tepid halfway solution for Kamau Bobb
Yesterday I wrote a post about some of the opinions expressed by Google’s “diversity head” Kamau Bobb a few years ago in a blog post of his. One of the many things he’d written was, “If I were a Jew I would be concerned about my insatiable appetite for war and killing in defense of myself.” Interesting sentiments for a head of diversity, but really quite unsurprising these days.
On the other hand, it’s at least somewhat surprising that Google decided to do anything negative to Bobb as a result of learning about that old blog post of his. I wrote “learning,” although it’s something they probably should have found and certainly could have found before they hired him. Perhaps they did already know, and just didn’t care until it came to public light and they got some flak about it.
At any rate, here’s what Google did with Bobb:
Google announced it’s removing its global lead on diversity strategy and research from his post after it was discovered he’d made antisemitic comments in a past blog post.
Kamau Bobb will be reassigned to a STEM research role after The Washington Free Beacon uncovered a 2007 blog post by Bobb titled “If I were a Jew.”…
In a statement released Wednesday evening, Google said it “condemned the past writings by a member of our diversity team that are causing deep offense and pain to members of our Jewish community and our LGBTQ+ community.”
“These writings are unquestionably hurtful,” the statement continued. “The author acknowledges this and has apologized. He will no longer be part of our diversity team going forward and will focus on his STEM work.”
I missed the LGBTQ part, but perhaps the comments of Bobb’s that offended that group were in another blog post of his.
I actually don’t care whether Bobb is head of diversity or in a STEM role at Google or not, because I wouldn’t be surprised if he were replaced by someone with similar views who has had the foresight to keep them to him/herself. The left is the left, and the things Bobb wrote about Jews are pretty much in the mainstream on the left and probably at Google as well.
What I do think is of interest is that Google did something about him but couldn’t bring itself to fire him, although Google had no hesitation in firing James Damore for his infamous internally circulated memo questioning Google’s hiring and diversity practices. Perhaps you remember Damore:
“Google’s Ideological Echo Chamber”, commonly referred to as the Google memo, is an internal memo, dated July 2017, by US-based Google engineer James Damore about Google’s culture and diversity policies…
The company fired Damore for violation of the company’s code of conduct. Damore filed a complaint with the National Labor Relations Board, but later withdrew this complaint…After withdrawing this complaint, Damore filed a class action lawsuit, retaining the services of attorney Harmeet Dhillon,alleging that Google was discriminating against conservatives, whites, Asians, and men. Damore withdrew his claims in the lawsuit to pursue arbitration against Google.
James Damore was spurred to write the memo when a Google diversity program he attended solicited feedback…Calling the culture at Google an “ideological echo chamber”, the memo states that while discrimination exists, it is extreme to ascribe all disparities to oppression, and it is authoritarian to try to correct disparities through reverse discrimination. Instead, the memo argues that male to female disparities can be partly explained by biological differences. Alluding to the work of Simon Baron-Cohen, Damore said that those differences include women generally having a stronger interest in people rather than things, and tending to be more social, artistic, and prone to neuroticism (a higher-order personality trait). Damore’s memorandum also suggests ways to adapt the tech workplace to those differences to increase women’s representation and comfort, without resorting to discrimination.
The memo is dated July 2017 and was originally shared on an internal mailing list. It was later updated with a preface affirming the author’s opposition to workplace sexism and stereotyping.
Compare that to Bobb’s screed. And yet it is Bobb who’s been retained by the company in contrast to Damore’s firing. And the action against Damore occurred after feedback was solicited by the diversity program. It is ironic that the subject of Damore’s memo was Google’s diversity practices, and it would have been even more ironic had Bobb been head of Google’s diversity program at the time of Damore’s firing (apparently he was hired about three years ago, so probably not).
Perhaps Bobb was “punished” (sort of) because the founders of Google are jewish.
Lefties are able to rationalize anything at all – even murder or mass
exterminations – as long as they have no skin in the game.
When the policies they encourage / support negatively affect them, well then, that’s a different story.
Think about it; if the mayor of Portland (or Seattle, or the governors of Oregon and Washington, or the mayor of Chicago, etc) had his home burned to the ground, and he had gotten physically assaulted real bad (requiring a hospital stay of a few days) or had close relatives shot and wounded or killed, who thinks they would allow ANTIFA or BLM to do their thing?
Well Andy Ngo is Asian (Vietnamese American actually). So the white Antifa fascists in Portland can beat him in the streets again. Because, justice! Funny how progressive Portland rolls.
He’s Pro-Life, but without a provision for self-defense?
Diversity (i.e. color judgment) not limited to race-ism, sex-ism, age-ism, inequity, and exclusion.
No, he’s Pro-Choice. One step forward, twos steps backward.
Isn’t Ngo also gay? I think I recall them hurling gay slurs at him during one of his beatings (or attempted assaults) that was recorded. So he’s technically a “twice over victim” that would be propped up by the “stop Asian hate” and gay rights movements if he was on the other team.
Yes Andy Ngo is gay, but gay is less than trans and Asian is white unless they are AAIPC ….. Portland rules (see anarchistic communo/fascist). Because justice!
Perhaps Bobb was “punished” (sort of) because the founders of Google are jewish.
One of them is a post-Soviet migrant whose family settled here rather than in Israel. The other’s a faculty brat from Ann Arbor.
Wait 6 or 12 months and Mr. Bobb will be back in his old job.
They knew.
“Wait 6 or 12 months and Mr. Bobb will be back in his old job.” – TommyJay
Probably less.
Also note that STEM jobs at Google are not bias free; somebody is encoding the cancellation algorithms somewhere.
“They knew.” – Rick
Now, now. That’s a baseless assumption without evidence.
Rules for Thee, but Not for Me…”
– Liberal mantra –
}}} }}} “They knew.” – Rick
}}} Now, now. That’s a baseless assumption without evidence.
What, they can’t use their own search engine to find old writings by prospective executives? 😛
What’s red and bad for this guy’s teeth?
A brick.
That Google fired Damore for criticizing Google but retained Bobb gives their game away. They didn’t demote Bobb because he made antisemitic comments. No woke company’s leadership has a problem with antisemitism.
No, it was his ‘anti’ LGBTQ comments that could not be overlooked. It’s where a group or individual lands on the victim ladder that determines what punishment if any, is handed out.
White, male, heterosexual, Christian conservatives are of course at the bottom, followed by women of that identity.
Conservative Jews, Blacks, Asians and Hispanics are a notch above because while supportive of the white power structure, they are also victims of it… they simply haven’t a’woke’n.
Though jew-haters insist that the millenia long Jewish conspiracy to dominate the world is at base the problem. For such as they, ‘gotta hate’ is an emotional imperative. Jews being relatively few in number are a convenient scapegat and target.
That the narrative and contrary facts, logic and reason ‘validate’ that narrative because they act in support of the cultural norms that, whatever the cost must be erased.
Cappy, them be Portland rules. 🙂
That Google fired Damore for criticizing Google but retained Bobb gives their game away.
They solicited commentary on matters being discussed intramurally, then fired him for offering his opinions. Honorable people do not do that. Our elites are garbage human beings.
Had Damore criticised the Jews as well, he’d have been fired twice.
Bobb has Magic Black Invincibility Cloak and went at Jews via the only survivable attack vector (Israel and Palestinians) and doubtless thought he could score some nice style points with his passive-aggressive musings.
Thing is… he forgot that he’s working for a company with many tentacles and lots of Deep State(S) dealings… everyone pissing in each others’ pockets… not to mention at that scale companies grow via acquisitions more than through internal innovation… even Googles… and if you’re going to be buying stuff off venture capitalists and founders you probably don’t want to be pissing off Jews.
Special Skin Sambo just demonstrated the Peter Principle.
Furthermore.. Empire! 😛
We can only hope that the “French Revolution” comes for them, but I have my doubts that it will happen.
Tepid Half-Way Solution
Never Again ™
I know what they say about Foolish Consistency…
Firing Damore and retaining Bobb aligns with the adage I recognized after many years as an employee of a Fortune 500 company:
“A company is know by the management it keeps.”
Good quality contributors usually don’t stay where they are not appreciated.
Damore is probably better off outside of Google than inside, possibly becoming a valued contributor for someone else, or an entrepreneur in his own right.
@R2L:
Yes. But as far as I recall, Damore is silenced by the terms of his settlement with Google. Art+Deco please fact check.
If so they win again.
“Bobb has [a] Magic Black Invincibility Cloak” Zaphod
He does and that is more than sufficient against evidence of rabid antisemitism. Protests against commentary clearly seen by the conservative right as antisemitic are easily dismissed by the left. After all, everyone on the right is a racist and a supporter of genocidal Israel.
Howver, Bobb’s Magic Black Invincibility Cloak is NOT sufficient protection against evidence of anti-LGBTQ sentiments. Which is why he had to be shifted into a less visible position… especially as firing Bobb would have laid open Google to accusations and thus confirmation of Google being racist. Since no other motivation is possible in the firing of a black person.
@GB:
Genocidal Israel has some clout too, you know 🙂
Ask Gerald Bull or the crew of the Good Ship USS Liberty.
Let’s not pretend that Jews don’t have actual serious power and willingness to use it. Not all Jews and not everywhere. But when things get serious they tend to give as good as they take + Interest (heh). Which is great. So should we all.
Plucky little nation of Kibbutzim Citizen Soldiers making the desert bloom. More like 300 Pound Gorilla today in its neighbourhood — for which neighbours bear much blame true… and 500lb Gorilla in Big Tech and Intelligence/Surveillance/Deep State stuff.
But it could be the Deviants, true.
USS Liberty was near or in a war zone. And then of course there are those all too common incidents where Americans kill other Americans in war zones, aka friendly fire, blue on blue, “short” rounds in artillery, bad coordinates entered into smart bombs, all those things that make war and even civil war a pleasant predictable affair. But you have an axe to grind. Not your circus, remember?
Regarding Gerald Bull; well don’t make advanced artillery for the Iraqis IIRC. Or as others have found, don’t make nukes for the Iranians. Tough neighborhood. Like Hong Kong.
Can Do! Zaphod Can Do!
“Perhaps Bobb was “punished” (sort of) because the founders of Google are jewish.”
One of them is a post-Soviet migrant whose family settled here rather than in Israel. The other’s a faculty brat from Ann Arbor.
Larry Page’s parents were on the faculty at Michigan State, in East Lansing. His mother is Jewish, his father is not, and he was raised with no religion. Brin is also a faculty brat, his father was a professor in Russia and later in Maryland. Brin also is not a practicing Jew and his current wife is not Jewish. Neither man is notable for attachment to Jewish causes and interests.
@Om:
Perhaps you can go fact check the USS Liberty Veterans’ Association. It was their circus.
https://www.usslibertyveterans.org/
“On June 8, 1967 the USS Liberty was cruising in the Mediterranean in International waters ordered to monitor the Israeli-Arab war. In the morning the ship was circled a dozen times by low flying Nord propeller “boxcars” at mast height with Israeli designation. The planes flew at mast height; the men on the ship could see the teeth of the pilots as they smiled. They waved at them. The ship was flying a 4’ x 7’ American flag; it stood straight out on a clear, breezy day. The ship had large letter designation on the bow GTR-5. The attack by unmarked Israeli planes (Israel says the attack was an accident – the ship was an Egyptian horse carrier – less than 1/2 the size of the USS Liberty) commenced in the afternoon in International waters. After the attack with cannon, rockets, napalm and torpedo fire; the torpedo boats came back and machine gunned the life rafts as they were thrown overboard (a war crime according to International Law). 34 men were killed and 171wounded (out of a crew of 291) this day by the Israelis. The men on board the ship call it murder. Captain Ward Boston was given one week to conduct an investigation of the attack. Before he died Ward Boston signed an affidavit stating that the attack on the USS Liberty was deliberate.
Many American intelligence servicemen have come forward stating they overheard the Israelis identifying the ship as American. I do not believe the Israeli government – I believe it is lying.”
Goddamn Antisemitic US Navy Lying Basterds… I mean Mistakes Were Made in the Fog of War.
Looks like some Industrial Strength Derring Do Can Do to me… but what would I know?
Zaphod:
1967. Six Day War. War is still hell. Still not your circus. Sucks to be you.
@Om:
A Holy Black Object gets semi-cancelled for making the novice error of saying ‘Jew’ instead of just the OK to take a Free Shot But Only from the Left Mind You ‘Israeli’ or better yet ‘Zionist’ and there’s a huge effort here to convince ourselves that the Google Gays and Trannies took him down.
What’s wrong with Jews defending their own and throwing their weight around when someone pisses them off?
Talk about mental contortions.
In defense of Mr. Bobb, he’s merely believing the incendiary trash that has been spewed endlessly and repeatedly about this conflict by Hamas and the Palestinian Authority, and picked up by the global media and spewed globally non-stop.
Why shouldn’t he (and millions like him—Jews and Israelis, too, BTW) believe it?
It would be a miracle if he (and they) didn’t. (After all, Islam is the religion of peace—and Hamas and the PA are only trying to regain their land, achieve “justice”, kick out the colonialist usurper, etc., etc.):
https://www.debka.com/mivzak/hamas-co-founder-denies-israels-right-to-exist-this-is-an-islamic-region/
https://blazingcatfur.ca/2021/05/31/canadian-imam-younus-kathrada-the-muslims-enmity-towards-the-jews-is-just-and-logical/
FWIW, here’s a long but cogent and impressive corrective, from a Palestinian journalist based in Israel—i.e., from someone who knows what he’s talking about—that should but probably won’t have much of an impact….
People’s minds—driven by their emotions—-have been “made up” (or made up for them….)
https://www.gatestoneinstitute.org/17429/biden-middle-east-alarm-bell
The mind of Zaphod is a mental contortion.
Re: Israeli attack on USS Liberty.
That attack was no accident; it was intentional.
What I still do not understand is why the Israelis attacked that ship.
That attack was no accident; it was intentional.
The attack was an accident. Michael Oren has delineated quite precisely the misunderstandings incorporated into it.
What I still do not understand is why the Israelis attacked that ship.
They had no reason to attack it, which is why people like Donald Neff resorted to fanciful speculation .
Because they assumed the ship was full of libertarians? (sarc)
Zaphod,
“Let’s not pretend that Jews don’t have actual serious power and willingness to use it.”
A nation’s willingness to use what power it has in defense of its citizen’s lives is a positive attribute. To suggest that it requires an apology for its use or that, the use of that power renders an equivalence with the attacker is, at the least, an indication of moral confusion.
At worst, it is a moral abomination. As it is in the case of a deeply hypocritical Islam.
Barry Meislin,
Anyone who actually believes that Islam is a religion of peace is a moron. As, even if ignorant of Islam’s tenets, the repeated and consistent behavior of devout Muslims puts the lie to that assumption.
Anyone who claims to believe that Islam is a religion of peace is either willfully blind or a liar. In either case, they are enabling terrorism and thus complicit in it.
@JohnTyler:
Most plausible theory I’ve read is that it was a Joint US/Israel attempt to create a false flag Causus Belli for a US Mediterranean fleet immediate retaliatory strike against Egypt — got warned off by the Russians and they thought better of it.
I tend to discount the ‘Israeli War Crimes’ radio intercepts theory given that that would have been buried anyway.. plus probably did not happen.. Some more stuff maybe in 73 during initial panic.
Given that they flew around it with surveillance aircraft and it was flying the flag and looked nothing like anything Egyptian, had military markings — and then the way the crew were mistreated afterwards and the whole thing brushed under the carpet, it stinks. Then again, so did the Jonathan Pollard Case. Strong rumor that Israel traded the Pollard espionage material to Soviets for more emigres –> Soviets learned stuff US didn’t want them to know and were also able to identify US agents given Pollard told Soviets things that US knew that Soviets didn’t want them to know. Not to mention them helping Chinese with fighter aircraft development — another story for another day.
Israel is a Country. Countries do shitty things. I happen to like the existence of Israel. On the whole it is good for the security and moral improvement of the Jews (Zionist Founders said they needed some more of both, and who am I to argue?). So, Long Live Israel! But preferably at Israel’s expense in blood and treasure than that of Americans or the Rest of the West who really shouldn’t have a dog in these Nasty Little Ancient Middle Eastern Tribal Blood Feuds. Frankly I don’t give a damn about Arab or Persian blood and treasure and welcome to attrit them to taste.
Most plausible theory I’ve read
You need to read better material (or acquire better judgment).