GitHub fired Jewish employee who said 'stay safe homies, Nazis are about' on Slack amid Capitol riot, 200 staff sign letter asking Microsoft-owned biz to denounce Nazis
GitHub fired a Jewish employee after he posted in the company's internal Slack to, "stay safe homies, Nazis are about," during the attack on the US Capitol, reports Business Insider.
Read the full report at Business insider (paywalled).
The fired employee says concern for relatives and co-workers living in Washington, DC motivated his comment — some of his family died in the Holocaust, and he'd observed that some attackers (uh, 'Camp Auschwitz?!') were obviously associated with neo-Nazi organizations, reports The Verge:
The message sparked controversy inside the company, with one colleague criticizing him for using divisive language. GitHub's HR team chastised the employee for using the word "Nazi" in a company Slack channel. Two days later, GitHub allegedly fired him, citing vague patterns of behavior. The employee asked Business Insider to remain anonymous for fear of online harassment.
The move shows a lack of understanding on the part of GitHub management, both about the gravity of the attack on the US Capitol and the contextual use of the word Nazi. After Business Insider published its report, the company was widely criticized on Twitter for trying to "both sides" the issue.
Now, roughly 200 of GitHub's 1,700 employees have signed a letter asking executives to take a stronger stance against anti-Semitism and white supremacy. They also want to know why the employee was fired.
GitHub CEO Nat Friedman told workers that "the company is actively looking into the circumstances surrounding the separation of an employee last week and will take any and all appropriate action following a thorough investigation."
More at The Verge: GitHub reportedly fired a Jewish employee who warned co-workers to stay safe from Nazis
DMT.NEWS
via https://www.DMT.NEWS
Xeni Jardin, Khareem Sudlow
