Questions On The Damore Memo

Christopher Seaton
Aug 9, 2017 · 4 min read

The outcry on either side of the ten page “anti-diversity memo” penned by former Googler James Damore has the world in an uproar. If you are to believe one side, Damore is a misogynistic bigot who thinks women are unfit for roles in the tech industry. Listen to yet another side and you’ll hear the woes of a guy who dared express an opinion counter to his employer’s core beliefs and got fired for doing so. For those throwing their opinions out into the digital realm, I have some questions I’d ask you to ponder.

  1. Did you actually read Damore’s “Manifesto?”

No, seriously. This is one of the crucial areas of discussion. It’s understandable many people might not have read the document itself. We live in an age where attention is currency, and many have their attention elsewhere. It’s far easier to see someone’s opinion on the Damore Memo, comment on how you believe that idea, and leave your comment at that.

In this matter, however, a fundamental requirement for your opinion to mean something in this marketplace of ideas means you have to have actually read what James Damore wrote, and not get your hot takes from Jezebel or Motherboard. If you’ve not taken the time to actually read the memo, your opinion is nothing more than you parroting your ideological tribe’s belief on the document.

2. Having read the document, what issues do you take with it?

One interesting note of the responses to James Damore’s memo is that people seem to have differing viewpoints on what’s particularly problematic with it. Some seem to think the document is bad because Damore says women aren’t suited to engineering careers due to biological differences. (Spoiler alert: He doesn’t say that). Some think Damore was wrong to expose what he considered discriminatory practices at Google regarding diversity and inclusion practices.

What specifically do you find wrong what what he said? Why do you find it wrong?

3. Do you think this document irreparably harmed you or others?

Ken White at Popehat started twitting about the Damore memo this week and was met with a firestorm of an unhinged rant from someone in the tech industry about how Ken fundamentally misunderstood how tech companies work with regards to this memo. One individual said the document harmed people to the point where certain Google staff members had to take time off.

Do you think Damore’s words, none of which were a call to violence or suggested violence against others, harmed you, people in tech, or anyone in general? If so, why?

4. What kind of sick culture is in Silicon Valley right now?

This is a reference to question #3, but if people were so traumatized by Damore’s words they had to take time off to recover from the exhaustion of reading a different viewpoint, it speaks volumes about what’s really going on in Silicon Valley. It doesn’t tell me there’s mentally stable adults running some of the technology companies that are cornerstones of how we communicate and how we access information. Rather, it tells me there’s a lot of mentally ill children masquerading as adults at the reins.

5. Why do you believe James Damore shouldn’t get a job in tech now?

I reference this to a Medium post I read today labeling itself as a “how-to” informing the reader not only how to avoid hiring, but also why you shouldn’t hire, and always fire “tech dudebros” like James Damore.

So the guy has a different opinion than you. He also explicitly stated his discussion was about ideological viewpoints, not how women weren’t suited to work in tech because of biological differences. Let’s play this through. Let’s say he did think women weren’t suited to work in tech because they had innate biological differences. How does this affect you? Why does this mean a guy like James Damore shouldn’t get a job in his chosen industry?

Why does an alleged “tech dudebro” not deserve a job because he expressed a dissenting viewpoint?

6. Do you believe this to be a First Amendment violation of James Damore’s rights?

If your answer to this question is yes, then congratulations, slapnuts. You graduated from the Howard Dean School of Law, and have no clue on what the First Amendment actually means or how it applies here.

Let’s get one thing clear. Google, and its parent company Alphabet, are private corporations. As such, they can fire anyone that disagrees with their chosen ideological line. It’s not a First Amendment issue.

7. If you disagree with any of the above questions or answers, would you be willing to have a cordial discussion with me about it?

That’s the heart of the matter. James Damore’s memo, the reaction to it, his firing, and the response are not just about Damore. It’s about our world’s reaction to the marketplace of ideas. It’s about exchanging free and robust dialogue on issues that might make us uncomfortable.

Discourse of that nature used to be welcome. Damore’s firing indicates it’s not welcome any more in Silicon Valley. If you want to talk about any of these issues, I’m not too hard to find. If, on the other hand, nothing anyone can say would invite a discussion for you, then have a nice day.

Christopher Seaton

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Attorney. Mediator. See http://mediationisdead.com