So they have to fill the diversity quota or you'll be unhappy? That makes no sense!
It makes a kind of sense. Even ignoring the reputation that Giant Bomb has for being more sensible and socially aware than most sites, the fact of the matter is that a group of white men are the faces of one of the most popular gaming websites on the internet, and when two slots for hirings opened up, they hired two more white men. And every aspect of those hirings that could be defended can also be strictly criticized.
If they say, "we felt they were the best person for the jobs" - then how can we be sure they were proactive, that they really hunted down the best hires? There are plenty of writers out there who aren't white or male, and they might do as good a job as these two, or maybe even better. They don't have to prove anything to anyone, of course, but it'll just be another black mark on their track record so far.
If they say, "we felt they were the most experienced candidates" - then they're drawing from a stacked deck. There's not that much diversity in the industry as is, and hiring from experience just makes it harder for people who weren't in it before, people who weren't "part of the boys' club". Not to mention that it stops them from getting said experience in the first place.
If they say, "we're comfortable with these two hires/they're old friends" then it totally is a boys club and they're gonna get torn to shreds.
The intent, the means, what they plan to do with them in the future - none of it matters. All that matters is that they played into the status quo, and they'd be smart to watch their tone in their response, if they intend to respond at all.
Of course, their critics don't have to watch shit, but that's nothing new. Those tweets from Alexander and Allen will be written off as frustrated-but-justified posts once the story gets traction, and the whole thing will be written off as a teaching moment soon enough.
