In early June, dutifully doing its part to virtue signal along with the rest of the
world, Cisco Systems hosted an “all hands on deck” meeting on race, hosted
via videoconference. In the comments of the online forum, visible to
everyone, some workers q…
In early June, dutifully doing its part to virtue signal along with the rest of the
world, Cisco Systems hosted an “all hands on deck” meeting on race, hosted
via videoconference. In the comments of the online forum, visible to
everyone, some workers questioned the Black Lives Matter movement and
were subsequently fired from their jobs, proving once again that you can
have an opinion, as long as it’s the right opinion. Chief Executive Officer
Chuck Robbins talked with Ford Foundation President Darren Walker, who is
Black, and Bryan Stevenson, a Black lawyer and author who founded the
Equal Justice Initiative, during the company’s June 1 meeting in front of
30,000 employees, according to Bloomberg. This video is taken from a
Congressional hearing when Joe Biden was a senator and followed by a
collection of other racist remarks he has made on the 2020 campaign trail.
Several people spoke out online against Black Lives Matter during these
online forums. For example, one employee wrote: “Black lives don’t matter.
All lives matter,” while another wrote that BLM “reinforces racism”. A third
employee commented: “People who complain about racism probably have
been a racist somewhere else to people from another race or part of
systematic oppression in their own community!” Cisco says it fired a
“handful” of workers for “inappropriate conduct” because it won’t tolerate
racism. It also, apparently, won’t tolerate its employees opinions. The
“incident” at Cisco (read: people expressing well reasoned opinions) has been
a microcosm of similar situations at other silicon valley companies, who are
left to try and figure out how to posture to the public they are concerned
about racism, while at the same time not laying off their entire staff. Some
believe that protests at companies could be next if employees aren’t “trained”
to think the right way. Kristen Clarke, the president and executive director of
the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law, said: “Employers
should be striving for zero tolerance when it comes to racism and
discrimination, period. The protests we’ve seen in the streets have become
part of our new normal and will eventually make their way inside workplaces
if employers fail to meet the moment.” Cisco said that ultimately 237
comments of the 10,400 made during the videoconference “objected to what
was being presented”, while the majority of comments praised management.
On the video call, Cisco’s CEO was announcing a $5 million donation to
“groups combating racism”. Francine Katsoudas, Cisco’s executive vice
president and chief people officer, said: “I just felt sad to see it. I felt a ton of
empathy. I knew that for the African-American and Black employees that
were in the meeting, that it was heartbreaking to see that.” She then tried to
backtrack and justify the firings because they weren’t considered “legitimate
debate”. Katsoudas said: “You have a framework where red absolutely is
crossing the line. But if someone has a question or they don’t understand
something, there’s a way for them to ask that question. We went through and
just placed things on that spectrum.” The remarks were apparently so
offensive they were “seared in the minds of some Black employees,”
according to Bloomberg. One employee commented: “Wow…and these
people work at Cisco?” If they are bold enough to say those things at work
for all to see, imagine what is said behind closed doors.” Yeah, it could be
<gasp> differing opinions! “We still have work to do as a nation. I pray my
daughters have a better world to live in soon,” another employee said.
Meanwhile, we pray our children have a world where their first amendment
right hasn’t completely disintegrated over the next few years. But with the
direction things are moving, it doesn’t look promising…
https://www.infowars.com/cisco-fires-employees-that-question-black-livesmatter-
during-company-wide-racism-discussion/
Cover is Bettlejuice -- Still more sane than any Liberal Democrat who supports Antifa.
