Former Google Engineer, After Backlash, Explains Why He Called KKK Titles ‘Cool’

James Damore, an engineer who was fired from Google after writing a memo filled with anti-diversity and sexist rhetoric, landed in another controversy when he tweeted Wednesday that the white supremacist group Ku Klux Klan gives their members “cool” names.

After receiving flak for his comment, Damore later tried to explain why he did so in a series of tweets, but the damage had already been done.

Damore made it clear in the first half of his tweet that he considered the KKK “horrible” and in no way supported it, but it was the second half, that made people angry. It was in the form of a poll which asked whether the titles that the members of KKK confer on each other were “cool” or not.

Needless to say, the poll was considered offensive by many, and reactions to it started pouring in immediately.

Damore initially defended his action of starting the poll in the tweet, which he has since deleted. “If you make the actual KKK the only place where you can acknowledge the coolness of D&D terms, then you’ll just push people into the KKK,” he wrote in a tweet, after news of his poll went viral on social media, prompting a severe backlash.

Damore also posted a series of tweets, explaining his poll was merely an attempt to find out what exactly attracts people to join the KKK.

“It’s like teaching your child to be responsible about drugs and sex without addressing the fact that they can be fun,” he wrote.

He, however, admitted that a Twitter poll was not the right way to go about talking about the sensitive issue.

Members of the KKK were initially known to give themselves titles such as "Grand Dragon" and "Imperial Wizard," which was what Damore was referring to.

Nowadays, racist organizations have begun conferring more formal-sounding titles like "National Director" and “National Organizer,” in an attempt to resemble non-profit or charitable organizations.

Damore was fired from the tech giant in August after his internal memo "Google's Ideological Echo Chamber" criticized Google's policies on diversity.

Since then, he has established himself as a free thinker who often criticizes the liberal views that Silicon Valley adheres to, CNET reported.

Damore’s Twitter handle reads: “Nerd centrist interested in open discussions and improving the world by fixing perverse incentive structures. Author of the pro-diversity #GoogleMemo.” After being fired, Damore has not stopped stirring up controversy with his less-than-inclusive opinions.

For example, when asked what he thought about organizations like Girls Who Code, Damore admitted that he did not have much information about the programs offered by them, and yet proceeded to give his opinions on the same. “They make coding look more people oriented than it really is in order to attract more women, which is deceitful,” he said, CNET reported. "They continue the 'women are victims' narrative, which can be harmful for everyone."

Kelly Parisi, spokeswoman for the organization, was not pleased with Damore’s view. “Girls Who Code and similar organizations aren't male-bashing clubs that cry 'woe is me' at every meeting. We're made up of badass coders who know what they have to offer the tech field and have the robots, apps and websites to back it up,” Parisi said.