Google fired James Damore yesterday for writing about diversity and the Mountain View campus’s “ideological echo chamber” on a private, internal message board intended for critiques of the company’s policies. The memo’s full text is worth the read. His swift termination reminds me of how dictators welcome dissent with open arms, but only as a tool to sniff out and exterminate any detractors.

With over 70,000 employees, it’s not surprising Google found him disposable. Damore was the sacrificial lamb that allows us to continue to sweep our differences of opinion under the rug.