There used to be posts in here that described a Lawyer who has taken up harassment cases against Medtronic. What’s his name I’d like to reach out to him
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Okay grandpa.....
I posted earlier on another thread as a minority engineer who opposes DEI without merit. I also posted on a 2nd thread about my opinion of what often happens when engineering companies send requirements offshore (it's bad - really bad).
As for r-cism or discrimination, I did not experience that at Medtronic. But I am much older and not hypersensitive like the young, far-left "wokies" of Gen Z. For example, in my old generation shows like "M.A.S.H.", "All in the Family", "CPO Sharkey", "Friends" or "Fast Times at Ridgemont High" were popular. None of those shows would survive the negative scrutiny of the woke movement. "Friends" was rejected as h-m-phobic. The others would be canceled by the woke movement as s-xist or r-cist. Keep in mind algorithms remove posts with terms deemed controversial. So, I use dashes above. I am an AI engineer and know many of the algorithms.
I can think of instances at Medtronic that in my opinion were not racist but would face strong disagreement from the young woke people. Here are some examples.
- When the deadline got close and production and testing were pending immediate closure, there was a business analyst who would get very loud and acerbic. It didn't bother me. I just kept working hard. To me, it was normal for some people to get upset if deadlines get close - nothing out of the ordinary. But the far left "wokies" would label that guy as racist, then they would probably post it on a social media site or channel with over a hundred thousand followers, stage a protest, and then threaten a lawsuit for a toxic environment. The point is that I am an old engineer who is not hypersensitive, but some young people are. I know a much younger Mexican engineer and female IT worker who would 100% likely contact HR and post the guy's name on social media to destroy his reputation. Look out for that next time you feel upset.
- It's very common for elite programmers from one domain to parlay that "expertise" to a field for which they are not an expert. I had one elite developer insist to me that mitochondria is a plant. Another elite developer thought a sample size for a study in epidemiology could be n=1. If a developer tries to proclaim expertise outside his domain that overrules other workers who actually have expertise in that domain, then the developer could be accused of "r-cism" or "s-xism". The individuals could go to HR, social media, and a lawyer. I am not making this up. I've seen it happen at other companies.
- Skin color - someone gets a tan after going to a state with a lot of sunlight in the winter like FL, TX, AZ, Southern Cal, etc. I saw one engineer who brought it up with a minority engineer. That engineer was simply perplexed that while he was trapped indoors in the MN winter with cabin fever, snow clouds, and frigid weather, other workers could go someplace and get tan from outdoor activities in the winter. To me, that exchange was not racist at all. So, the engineer who brought up the "tan" was lucky the minority was not hypersensitive about it. But there others out there who would be. They would label it as a microaggression with colorism. Colorism is a form of discrimination based on skin color - the lighter the better. Colorism is a very big problem in Latin America like the Dominican Republic or Mexico. It's rooted in the Spanish Caste System based on skin color - the "Casta". So, I would recommend not bringing up a "tan" as nonchalant as the situation might be. The far-left movement would accuse the engineer of racism, go to social media to destroy his reputation, go to HR, and likely file a lawsuit.
In summary, I am a minority from the old generation who is not hypersensitive. I pride myself on it. My threshold is high. There are instances where that threshold was crossed. It did not occur at Medtronic though (IMO). But just be warned that for the far-left "wokies" of young Gen Z or young Millennials, their threshold can be much lower. Think of me as a friendly scout who warned you of what's around the corner if you get into those gray areas noted above. I've seen it happen. It can get tense and ugly real quick with those accusations and HR in panic mode.
Benjamin Crump