Google employees ask SF Pride to boot their employer from parade
Pride has always been political, and a coalition of Google employees are doing their best to remind their employer of that very fact.
In an open letter published Wednesday morning, the group encourages the San Francisco Pride board of directors to kick Google out of the upcoming June 30 Pride parade. The letter, which at the time of this writing is signed by 101 employees of the Mountain View-based tech giant, calls the company to task for both its treatment of LGBTQ+ employees and its perceived failure to address hate speech and harassment directed at members of the queer community on Google properties like YouTube.
"We feel we have no choice but to urge you to reject Google’s failure to act in support of our community by revoking their sponsorship of Pride, and excluding Google from official representation in the Pride parade," the letter reads.
This latest call follows on the heels of Google's warning to employees marching in the parade as part of the official company contingent that protest is against its code of conduct.
"Employees are free to make whatever statement they want personally, apart from our corporate sponsored float/contingent," Verge reports Google as telling its employees. "But they are not permitted to leverage our platform to express a message contradictory to the one Google is expressing."
Tweet may have been deleted
That, obviously, did not sit well with those at the company who felt obligated to speak out.
"We have considered the possibility that our employer will punish us for signing this letter, or that supporters of these very hatemongers will attack us personally, online or otherwise, simply for speaking out against them," the open letter continues. "Despite these risks, we are compelled to speak."
SEE ALSO:10 brands that tried too hard during Pride Month in 2019We reached out to Google for its official response to the open letter, but received no response as of press time.
This is not the first time that a Bay Area-based tech company has risked being booted from Pride. In 2015, KQED reports that Facebook received criticism for its unwillingness to stop targeted harassment of drag queens on its platform under the guise of enforcing its so-called real name policy.
In that case, the official Facebook float was allowed to participate in the parade. It remains to be seen how the Pride board of directors will respond to this latest demand for accountability.
UPDATE: June 26, 2019, 11:18 a.m. PDT:A Google spokesperson provided the following statement:
"Google has marched in the San Francisco Pride Parade for more than a decade and we are excited to continue the tradition this weekend. We are grateful for SF Pride’s partnership and leadership."
Featured Video For You
Stonewall survivor tells his story of the uprising
-
[Online Predators] Deepfake pornography haunts S. KoreaChatGPT and social media influencers: AI's effect on the creator economyNo breakthrough for interJames Webb telescope just stared into the core of a fascinating galaxy21 Unexpected Wonders in Colorado’s Vibrant Cities and Small TownsInstafest, Receiptify, and more: 13 best websites to analyze your Spotify dataWWDC 2023: Apple's CheckAnxious parents are using bugs to eavesdrop on teachersCheap heatJames Webb telescope just stared into the core of a fascinating galaxy
- ·Abrar Ahmed returns as Pakistan names squad for second Test against Bangladesh
- ·Anxious parents are using bugs to eavesdrop on teachers
- ·N. Korea's FM reaffirms stronger cooperation with Russia
- ·Review: Opulus skincare system simplifies retinol
- ·Apple Watch bands: 5 favorites to consider as Apple Watch 10 looms
- ·NASA captured images of private Japanese moon lander's crash
- ·Using Affirm on Amazon: How to buy now, pay later this Black Friday
- ·提升“获得电力”服务水平 持续改善用电营商环境
- ·N. Korea test
- ·How CPUs are Designed, Part 4: Where is Computer Architecture and Design Headed?
- ·REI outdoor sale: Get 40% off REI camping and hiking gear
- ·Derek Chauvin’s defense begins, asks jurors not to believe their eyes.
- ·11 Telescopes Exploring The Magic of Space
- ·Elon Musk mocks '#StayWoke' shirts at Twitter HQ, criticizes Black Lives Matter protests
- ·No breakthrough for inter
- ·The Derek Chauvin verdict isn’t justice.
- ·The Weird, Wonderful World of Water Towers
- ·North Korea's largest youth group to hold first congress in 5 years next week
- ·Ruling party head accuses opposition of ‘fraternizing with China’
- ·Urban Outfitters is selling original iPods for hundreds of dollars
- ·Scientists detect water sloshing on Mars. There could be a lot.
- ·S. Korea has right to make any foreign policy decision it sees appropriate: White House
- ·TikTok Series is a new way to pay creators on the app
- ·点燃创业之火 引领创新热潮
- ·PS5 Pro: It looks like a sketch of the design just leaked
- ·TikTok Series is a new way to pay creators on the app
- ·Newborns hit new low, but births to those unmarried reach record high: data
- ·Instafest, Receiptify, and more: 13 best websites to analyze your Spotify data
- ·提升“获得电力”服务水平 持续改善用电营商环境
- ·When does Spotify Wrapped 2022 come out?
- ·14 Heists, Robberies, and Other Great Capers
- ·Can an $8 Twitter subscription bail out Elon Musk? Let's look at the numbers.
- ·Putin calls for guaranteeing North Korea's security to resolve nuclear quandary
- ·Tyla's 'Water' dance trend: Women are using it to test their partners
- ·CrowdStrike outage is still causing hundreds of flight cancellations daily
- ·What are police thinking? A culture of fear makes everyone unsafe.