Our scandal du jour comes from a disgruntled former SpaceX employee with complaints about what might be the lamest "frat boy" culture ever. Either that or she lacks imagination — but I'll get back to that part momentarily.
Paige Holland-Thielen was one of a group of eight employees that CEO/founder Elon Musk fired in 2022 after Musk learned they had "drafted and circulated a letter criticizing founder Elon Musk and urging executives to make the firm’s culture more inclusive."
At last count, SpaceX had about 9,500 employees, none of whom appear at all disgruntled if you watch all of their launch videos like I do.
Anyway, the New York Times reported that the company said they'd been fired for making other employees feel "uncomfortable, intimidated and bullied, and/or angry because the letter pressured them to sign onto something that did not reflect their views."
Last month, the Disgruntled Eight sued for wrongful termination, claiming "rampant sexual harassment and a hostile 'Animal House'-style work environment at the company." They also complained — I love this part — about Musk's posts on X, the social media platform he purchased in 2022.
Holland-Thielen is back in the news today, with lurid details about SpaceX's hostile culture. According to her and Business Insider, other employees — the fun ones — would use "their work email to plan rounds of a drinking game called 'nug and chug' in which they would try and consume as many chicken nuggets as possible."
Chicken nuggets? Really? That's pretty much my only complaint with these revelations, mostly because at 55, my constitution no longer allows me to binge on chicken nuggets. Thank goodness the same is not (yet?) true of icy martinis and single malt scotch.
She also says she felt like a "babysitter for frat boys."
I'm not about to defend hostile work environments, and Holland-Thielen, who quickly landed back on her feet as the Ops Automation Lead at Muon Space, seems to be a real pro who knows her space stuff. I also can't help but think that "bro culture," which isn't limited to men any longer, still has a place in American life — and ought to.
Bitchin’.
— Stephen Green (@VodkaPundit) July 11, 2024
This country once went from nothing to landing men on the Moon in less than eight years, thanks in no small part to men who drank their lunch. https://t.co/xmk7nRtpx8
Today's NASA, DEI-approved and standing on the shoulders of the giant Apollo program, can't stick to any budget or timetable. SpaceX is on track to launch — and recover for reuse — almost 150 rockets in 2024 alone. Enjoy all the "nug and chug" you can handle, fellas.
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I'm reminded for the second time in recent weeks of my favorite scene from the first episode of "Mad Men." While the other 99.99% of the series has left my brain, this moment has stuck for almost 20 years.
Don Draper has spent the evening with his mistress in the Village, and they eventually end up smoking weed with her beatnik/proto-hippie friends — with the police doing a drug bust in the same building.
Beatnik: "The cops, you can't go out there."
Draper: "YOU can't."
Unseen in this particular YouTube clip: on his way out, the police address Draper as "Sir."
I'm not here to endorse keeping a mistress or smoking weed. But I am here to share a truth that the people who get things done have always known. If you dress like you deserve respect and work like you want respect, you'll likely have to blow off some steam — and get the latitude to do it, too.
So I don't care how many beers the SpaceX engineers have at lunch, but when I see one of those Falcon rockets return safely to Earth, I can't help but think those guys deserve a "Sir," too.
And that includes the women doing their part, too.
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