Google’s CEO, Sundar Pichai, has spoken out against Donald Trump’s incendiary comments about Muslim immigrants in the U.S.
Donald Trump is no stranger to controversy, but his latest comments regarding the immigration of Muslims into the United States have been almost unanimously denounced as insensitive and contrary to the values of the American people. According to a report from Tech Crunch, Google’s CEO Sundar Pichai, an immigrant from India, has written an open letter to Trump urging for tolerance and acceptance instead of fear and hatred.
Pichai posted his letter, titled “Let’s not let fear defeat our values,” to Medium without specifically naming Trump, though it was clear that the presidential candidate’s comments were the driving force behind the letter. Trump elicited worldwide criticism when he suggested that the United States immediately stop allowing Muslim immigrants to enter the country.
While the media has had a predictable response to the absurd and insensitive comments, many of Trump’s republican opponents have remained relatively silent on the issue. Trump has doubled down on his statements, and a vocal group of supporters appears to even agree with his suggestions.
Pichai, however, wanted to set the record straight. In his letter, he wrote of his experience as a first generation immigrant from India to the United States. While immigration is not easy for anybody, Pichai asserted that the accepting nature of the United States is what makes the country great in the first place.
Mr. Pichai touted Google as one of the most diverse companies in the U.S., with a “vibrant mix of races and cultures” making up its employee base. Despite Trump’s incendiary, hurtful, and frightening comments, diversity remains one of the key components of American productivity and will be a core value of the majority of U.S. citizens for generations to come.
A transcript of the letter can be found below.
“I came to the US from India 22 years ago. I was fortunate enough to gain entry to a university here, and time after time, I saw that hard work opened other doors. I have built a career and a family and a life here. And I’ve felt as much a part of this country, as I felt growing up in India.
My experience is obviously not unique. It’s been said a million times that America is the “land of opportunity” — for millions of immigrants, it’s not an abstract notion, but a concrete description of what we find here. America provided access to opportunities that simply didn’t exist for many of us before we arrived.
And it’s not just about opportunity. The open-mindedness, tolerance, and acceptance of new Americans is one of the country’s greatest strengths and most defining characteristics. And that is no coincidence — America, after all, was and is a country of immigrants.
That is why it’s so disheartening to see the intolerant discourse playing out in the news these days — statements that our country would be a better place without the voices, ideas and the contributions of certain groups of people, based solely on where they come from, or their religion.
I walk around the campus where I work and see a vibrant mix of races and cultures. Every one of those people has a different voice … a different perspective … a different story to tell. All of that makes our company an exciting and special place to be, and allows us to do great things together. We are urgently working to become much more diverse, because it’s so important to our future success. I firmly believe that whether you’re building a company or leading a country, a diverse mix of voices and backgrounds and experiences leads to better discussions, better decisions, and better outcomes for everyone.
I debated whether to post this, because lately it seems that criticism of intolerance just gives more oxygen to this debate. But I feel we must speak out — particularly those of us who are not under attack. Everyone has the right to their views, but it’s also important that those who are less represented know that those are not the views of all.
Let’s not let fear defeat our values. We must support Muslim and other minority communities in the US and around the world.”
Daniel J. Brown
Daniel J. Brown (Editor-in-Chief) is a recently retired data analyst who gets a kick out of reading and writing the news. He enjoys good music, great food, and sports, with a slant towards Southern college football, basketball and professional baseball.