LLNL lab director pushes critical race theory and fabrication on recent massage parlor shootings.
To: Kim's Connection
Colleagues,
Today I am writing to you with great sadness and frustration as I read about the continuing, and escalating, violence against Asian and Asian-American members in our community and across the country. People simply going about their day being targeted and scapegoated, harassed and injured, and in the recent violence in Atlanta, killed. I cannot imagine the fear, anxiety, and grief these incidents have caused for our Asian colleagues and friends, and their families, but I write today to express my empathy, my support, and my commitment to strive to make our Lab a safe, supportive, and inclusive environment for all.
Unfortunately, xenophobia, prejudice, and violence toward Asians are not new phenomena in our country. The heated political rhetoric surrounding the pandemic and its origins did not create this bigotry, but it amplified and empowered those who seethe with this hatred. And beyond these shocking and very public acts, there are many ways that our biases and prejudices play out each day. I have had numerous incidents related to me by our colleagues where more common events have taken a toll. During a resume screening meeting one resume was rejected out of hand due to an Asian name. A racial slur was hurled at an Asian Lab employee walking the site. These things should never happen, but the fact that they happened at the Lab should give each one of us pause. To me the message is simple – we cannot be complacent. Inclusion takes real effort and a meaningful commitment to addressing bias in ourselves and others in an honest and forthright way.
I am sure you share my outrage at these senseless acts, but I hope you also share my desire to support our Asian colleagues in whatever ways we can. This is a moment to reach out and learn about their experiences, to listen without judgement, and offer support. These conversations, over time, are the best way to change this dynamic and build trust across all of the wonderful and diverse groups that make up our Lab and our country.
I recently provided a quote for our diversity, equity, and inclusion website that I will repeat here. People are the foundation of the Lab. Excellence is always our objective – our important missions demand it – and high-performing teams require a diversity of perspectives, experiences, backgrounds, and ideas to successfully innovate. Building an inclusive and equitable environment, a culture that embraces diversity and strives for common cause, a work environment that celebrates both individual and team achievements in meaningful ways, is our greatest opportunity and most essential responsibility.
Take care and stay safe,
Kim
37 comments:
(1) There is no evidence that the crimes in Atlanta where based on anti-Asian sentiment. The shooter himself said that, the law enforcement is saying that and the fact that several non-Asians where killed also points to this. The idea that this is connected Covid makes no sense.
(2) There has indeed been escalation against Asian Americans this past year, however this is predominantly coming from one community. It is nothing new either it just picked up this last year. Since LLNL is the bay are they might want to look at the statistics which are over the top. You want me to post these links.
(3) Telling the lab to do something will do nothing since hate crime or crime against Asians is not coming from people at the lab. Until a serious look at where this is arising or where interracial crime in general is occuring nothing will improve. Until the real issues are addressed no progress can be made and things will only get worse for every community.
I am not going to party to this garbage anymore it is leading to division and death. The idea that society should be controlled by hyped up individual events rather than real statistical data is dangerous and stupid. I figured the Director has some idea of math, than if she really cared about any of these issues they look up the real numbers.
The director is said to "...push critical race theory and fabrication...". In what way? Please quote the specific lines in which critical race theory is "pushed".
Also, what is meant by the "...and fabrication" part of your comment. Fabrication of what? Lies? Fake news? More NIF?
She did write that "..there are many ways that our biases and prejudices play out each day...", which could be read to imply that said biases and prejudices are likely racist, but that isn't CRT. Its not even close.
"...high-performing teams require a diversity of perspectives, experiences, backgrounds, and ideas to successfully innovate."
Meaning, skin color.
LLNL is in the bay area. Ever ride the BART, it is pretty clear who is doing the violence against Asians and this has been going on for years and years. With Covid it really took off.
"there are many ways that our biases and prejudices play out each day...", which could be read to imply that said biases and prejudices are likely racist, but that isn't CRT. Its not even close."
Do you know what CRT theory even is? One of the tenets is exactly
"there are many ways that our biases and prejudices play out each day."
There is no evidence for this, there is is not even evidence for unconscious bias. The few works that have been done have been debunked. Even Skeptic magazine which is pretty far left just did a series of stories debunking this nonsense or stories. The resume study was shown to be junk and of course not even reproducible
Lets try a simple test. You state "that our biases and prejudices play out each day." Prove it, provide some evidence, any evidence. Don't say it is " I like apples" what it means that you have racial biases and prejudices that you act on every day. Ok prove it, what do you or anyone do every day that is actual evidence for such biases.
The lab director is supposed to be a scientist. There are standards for science of what it means to theory, to be testable, to be provide evidence act. Another is that you cannot draw conclusions of limited data.
Fine you want some actual evidence and numbers about racism in the US. Here are a few statistics.
NYC crime states. They do a very good job going through all the crime by race and type of crime. They have reports for every year from 2008 to 2020. Just click on the reports, I leave as in exercise to draw a few conclusions.
https://www1.nyc.gov/site/nypd/stats/reports-analysis/crime-enf.page
Another one
https://ucr.fbi.gov/crime-in-the-u.s/2018/crime-in-the-u.s.-2018
They have many other years
https://www.sfgate.com/bayarea/nevius/article/Dirty-secret-of-black-on-Asian-violence-is-out-3265760.php
The last article is from 2010 and things have actually gotten worse since then.
"...high-performing teams require a diversity of perspectives, experiences, backgrounds, and ideas to successfully innovate."
Diversity makes since in terms of one person is say good at computers, one is good at coding, one is lots of experience with imaging, another knows some machine learning. But how would skin color, religion, gender ect really matter to most of the projects done by teams at LLNL?
Also "diversity of perspective" is absolutely something they never want. Diversity of ideas is the enemy of the woke.
Looks like anonymous 3/22/2021 4:27 PM does not know what CRT is, and has not been paying attention to the world around her.
Did the director just admit to hiring discrimination at LLNL? Seem like that wasn’t smart from a legal perspective.
“LLNL Director speaks on race”
The Directors opens a Pandora’s box. One can not honestly speak of inclusiveness based on skin color, and at the same time, distance themselves from diversity of opinion within the LLNS for profit structure. Give us all a break. Be a part of the solution please, or just enjoy your corporate approved compliant profits. You can’t do both with credibility.
"Did the director just admit to hiring discrimination at LLNL? Seem like that wasn’t smart from a legal perspective.
3/23/2021 3:29 PM"
She said she heard that a resume was thrown out because of an Asian name. I simply do not believe this occurred and it was simply heresy or there was some other reason. In any case this is hardly shooting 6 people.
" A racial slur was hurled at an Asian Lab employee walking the site. " Again I am calling BS on this. It never happened.
"The heated political rhetoric surrounding the pandemic and its origins did not create this bigotry, but it amplified and empowered those who seethe with this hatred"
These is no evidence for this particularly when look at who is committing the crimes against Asians. It is more likely amplified by the fact that more people in poorer areas are not working have more time to commit crime. Of the endless videos the crimes are also connected to robbing people.
" To me the message is simple – we cannot be complacent. "
I do not understand what that means. Again people in the lab are not commiting crime against Asians and I doubt there is any discrimination or racism at the labs either. What are the people at the labs suppose to do? I have an idea why not get the actual numbers of statistics on what is really going. Before you attempt to solve a problem you have to understand what the problem is. I would figure the lab Director would have understood this.
“Did the director just admit to hiring discrimination at LLNL? Seem like that wasn’t smart from a legal perspective.”
These were likely NNSA/LLNS approved Director talking points and they don’t mean much by themselves. Remember Director Miller’s “my extended family” speech during the 2008 gray march mass layoff period, allowing LLNS to balance the budget after LLNS hired a bunch of Bechtel cronies? Past is prologue. You gotta walk the talk to be taken seriously. LLNS new hires are VERY capable of determining inconsistencies. I wouldn’t under estimate them.
3/23/2021 7:36 PM
Anyone would think that, if she is smart enough to be lab director. But "smart" is a multi-faceted thing.
Mason at LANL is also going along with this.
"The recent shootings in Atlanta amplified an ongoing discussion about harassment, xenophobia and outright violence against Asians, Asian-Americans and Pacific Islanders. The event follows a year with thousands of documented hate-induced incidents reported to Asian advocacy groups."
Those "thousands of of documented" incidents are coming from 90% of one demographic. There are endless videos of this but
the media will never show them. The news media is spinning this all the wrong way. There is also no evidence that the Atlanta shooting was racially motivated. To be clear even the thousands of incidents are probably not racially motivated but simply due to opportunity. A lot of Asians live in big cities or own stores in poorer neighborhoods and seem like easier targets. This by the way has been going on since the 80s it just happens during Covid that you have a lot more people with time on their hands or less money so crime went up. In the Bay area 85% of all violent in the Bay is black on Asian. Kind of a shocking statistic.
https://www.zerohedge.com/markets/surge-asian-hate-crimes-more-boogeyman-fact
Interestingly enough if you want to talk about actual quantifiable racism Asians more specially subgroups of Asians are one of the only groups that you can point that are indeed systematically discriminated against when it comes to college admission. Now in the Bay area and NYC they are trying to get rid of gifted programs or talented programs or getting or getting rid of the merit requirements to get in.
Of course by implying that all this violence is due to Trump and his followers will guarantee that violence against Asians will continue since it does not address this actual issue. Notice that the labs Directors never out say Trump is the problem but sort of imply this, which makes me guess that they may know the truth but will not say this , which is utterly dishonest. I guess we can sacrifice Asians lives to keep the media narrative going, which is utterly disgusting.
As Bill Maher said we are becoming a silly people.
Bill Maher said we are becoming a silly people.
We are already there.
llnl is biased against asians and south asians...did you see how many asian indians and asians left lab in last 5 years?
"llnl is biased against asians and south asians...did you see how many asian indians and asians left lab in last 5 years?
3/30/2021 12:16 PM"
I think there are simply more opportunities for smart and hardworking people. LLNL is no longer a top place to do cutting edge science and engineering. In fact large amounts of talents from all demographics are leaving the labs. I would not read any particular bias into any of this. Be honest if you knew a talented young person who wanted to really use their technical skills would you recommend the labs as a place to go?
Diversity is our strength!
There is no strength in diversity unless each element of the diversity brings strength. Weak elements included only for the sake of ethnic, racial, or political diversity do not necessarily bring strength.
“There is no strength in diversity unless each element of the diversity brings strength. Weak elements included only for the sake of ethnic, racial, or political diversity do not necessarily bring strength.”
The appearance of a “strength” can occur when one is hired and promoted at LLNL primarily because their relative or friend has the pull to do so, even when one is clearly an under qualified “weak element”. It’s not what you know at LLNL, it’s who you know that counts for “strength” identification.
It's not just who you know, it's who you know and if they like you or not.
But if you're a jerk and they know you, then it's better not to know too many people.
4/01/2021 8:24 PM
Spoken like someone who didn't qualify but thinks someone less qualified got in because of favoritism. Blaming someone else for your failures won't produce fewer failures.
"Spoken like someone who didn't qualify but thinks someone less qualified got in because of favoritism. Blaming someone else for your failures won't produce fewer failures."
Promoting unqualified employees won't advance mission objectives, but with DOE contractors that are not directly impacted by real market forces, that just means they need to sweet talk the Field Office to move the annual goalposts. This is why employees are sometimes treated like disposable commodities and are leaving, while others are just not interested in applying. What a strategic plan this is.
Perhaps 4/02/2021 5:21pm, should write an open letter to LLNL Director Budil to inform her that everyone at LLNL is being treated fairly in the workforce, and anyone opposing opinions to this fact, must certainly fall into the category of under performing failures. You may further suggest the LLNL Director delete all references to LLNL Equal Employment Opportunity policies in job postings etc. Why state the obvious, besides, workforce policies of the1950s were good enough right? Nope.
"Spoken like someone who didn't qualify but thinks someone less qualified got in because of favoritism. Blaming someone else for your failures won't produce fewer failures."
OK, and degree less Teresa was not promoted to division superintendent by her neighbor a Division Leader, and Clark a NIF EE supervisor, was not hired and promoted because of his Division level Daddy. Both being white has nothing to do with it right?
4/04/2021 11:42 AM
You will make whatever political point you want to out of it. It's what you do. So boring.
"You will make whatever political point you want to out of it. It's what you do. So boring."
I never thought of cronyism and nepotism at LLNL as boring, just inappropriate. Maybe the Director should have a look see for herself.
"Maybe the Director should have a look see for herself."
In order for the LLNL Director to make material progress on racial bias, she must also address cronyism and nepotism at LLNL. Otherwise, she is just forwarding NNSA and LLNS pre-approved talking points.
Which would be appropriate for a paid contractor who wants to keep her job.
I’m still struck by the fact that Kim knows the motivation of the killer in the Atlanta shootings. It’s as if she can read his mind in the absence of any other evidence of that being an anti-Asian hate crime.
Anonymous Anonymous said...
I’m still struck by the fact that Kim knows the motivation of the killer in the Atlanta shootings. It’s as if she can read his mind in the absence of any other evidence of that being an anti-Asian hate crime.
4/06/2021 10:56 PM
So the guy in Atlanta kills 6 Asians and 2 whites and it is anti-Asians violence by whites.
The guy in Colorado kills 10 whites and it is not anti-white violence, but just gun
violence.
I am detecting some cognitive dissonance.
One thing that is good to know is that there has never been an Asian mass shooter. Oh yes Virginia Tech with 33 killed. Hmm maybe mass shooting are by people that are insane so it is very hard to discern what their motivation actually is. In any case most shooters that are targeting a specific group are usually very open about their motivation as they want their message to go out, like the guy in New Zealand. In fact mass shooters usually say why they are doing it and it is usually an insane reason. Why would the guy in Atlanta lie about his motivation it is not going to change anything for him.
To be be honest the Director is just putting out some statements to look good and who knows what she really thinks. She probably figures "hey this will not hurt to say this". I would counter that not only is it not helping but ultimately hurts since it does not address the real issues with the rise anti-Asian violence.
"Which would be appropriate for a paid contractor who wants to keep her job."
So if forwarding contractor talking points on racial issues to protect the Directors job is understandable, where does that leave future Directors comments on assurances of the viability of our nuclear arsenal? To "keep her job" wouldn't she also need to communicate contractor talking points based on your assertion? I hope not. I don't think you have thought this through.
4/07/2021 5:03 PM
Apples and oranges. But conflate them if you wish. The strawman you built isn't hard to knock down.
"Apples and oranges. But conflate them if you wish..."
Perhaps consistent honesty is a confusing concept for you, but please don't include our new Director in your honesty comprehension struggle.
"Apples and oranges. But conflate them if you wish."
OK, then please explain the differences between "honesty" of the LLNS contractor to its NNSA customer, "honesty" of the LLNS contractor to the LLNS worker bees, and "honesty" of the LLNS contractor to the general pubic or "downwinders" ? This should be interesting and informative
You really have a skewed view of the world. But good for you. I have no need to validate your view of things. Or to repudiate them. That's your responsibility to yourself.
Kim’s virtue signaling has nothing to do with the stockpile. Absolutely nothing. It’s a separate issue that is troublesome in itself.
Kim’s virtue signaling has nothing to do with the stockpile. Absolutely nothing. It’s a separate issue that is troublesome in itself.
4/12/2021 2:46 PM
A counter argument is that Kim is trying to make this a functioning lab where all the workers are feel safe. At LLNL up to 15 to 20% of the LLNL is Asian. 60% is of the lab is white. If one believes the uptick in anti Asian racism is coming from whites that means the 15% could harassed by that 60%. The other premise is that the last administration targeted Asians which could cause that 60% to become biased perhaps only unconsciously. So Kim is doing her part to keep the lab workforce working in harmony.
The counter to the counter point is that the uptick in violence against Asians in the US is due to a demographic that that does not include people that work at LLNL. The uptick in anti-Asian violence is actually associated with a general uptick in violence since the Covid lockdown which is primarily in a specific set of cities. LLNL is not in those cities, does have have demographics involved in high crime.
The other is that there is no direct evidence that Trump calling it the China virus has any effect on the
uptick in crime, especially when you consider that he could have been talking about the Chinese government not the Chinese people. Not to mention that even if someone bought this idea, it would be only be subset of Asians (the Chines), while Asians in general are a much larger group. It seems a bit far fetched to say that since Trump called Covid the Chinese virus that it increases crimes against people from Pakistan.
The counter to the counter of the counter is that Kim knows all of this and is just trying to score points with DOE and DC which could be going more and more woke. She figures that if she jumps on the bandwagon first that this could lead to more money for the labs in the long run ect, and having more money is probably better for the stockpile than less money.
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