For the record, I think modern politics is total garbage. Republican, Democrat, it's all the same coin. I believe in equality, not equity, and I believe in equal rights. This mindset that some people are more deserving of rights than others based on how marginalized they are, should be antithetical to modern progressive thought, instead it's become infected by it.
It's more defined by rectifying historical injustices rather than giving more rights to some over others.
This is a problem. History happened. Those people are long gone. We should focus on being fair and creating equal opportunity for people today, not discriminating because of some random sample of events at a time and place way beyond anyone currently living.
But if they are, then change the policies that affect people today. Making up policies based on what happened centuries ago fixes nothing.
So, firstly Martin Luther King was assassinated for fighting for civil rights only 51 years ago. So you might wanna get your time line sorted. When you say “centuries” I reckon you’re talking about slavery, which ended in America about 150 years ago, which also technically isn’t even a multiple of centuries yet, so maybe you wanna look into that also.
Secondly it is actually exactly the policies that MLK was fighting against that still have their effects on black communities today. Segregation, underfunded school districts, black disenfranchisement, these things are still going on. They don’t just disappear when the laws change, you know. The result of centuries (yes multiple) of mismanagement and mistreatment don’t disappear in decades.
Lastly, it’s great that the black white unemployment gap has closed a little bit, but it’s not clear that this is a result of directed policy to achieve that. Currently we’re living in a time of extremely low interest rates and decent public spending. Anyone who wants money can get money cheap right now, which has helped aid extremely low unemployment generally. It’s a risk though, because the national debt has ballooned and this policy if not properly regulated can easily precipitate a recession. Low unemployment is a nice side effect though.
"Rectifying historical injustices" is by itself a meaningless phrase, as there are many ways to do this, some of which unduly affect others, and some of which don't.
Seriously? What exactly are these actors going to do?
As it happens, Charles Wood is by all accounts a very decent person, whereas the folks who complained to the Linux Foundation have a public history of abusive and bigoted behavior. That you would think so little of his character, while saying nothing of his interlocutors, is pretty ridiculous.
Yet, if you actually look at his behavior, and the remarks of those who came to his defense, you might see that you were being presumptuous. You might then update your mental model of people who wear MAGA hats, and whether their presence would be a problem at a technology conference.
It also seems rather silly to analyze the symbolic significance and racist undertones of some guy wearing a MAGA hat once, when the people who complained about him to the Linux Foundation were openly attacking Mr. Wood on the basis of his race and sex.
That aside, this doesn’t mean I think he’s a good guy. From what I gather he seems like a normalish dude, maybe a little troll-ish, but I mean we all enjoy a good troll every now and then. I can’t hold that against him. But there’s no chance he wasn’t aware of the symbolism of posting that picture when he did. He pretends he doesn’t, but you’d have to be a fool to accept that.
I doubt he’s a Trump supporter or a racist, but even if he was I don’t think that’s good enough grounds to ban him unless there was good reason to think he was going to be a disruptive presence.
I decided to put all my cards on the table here because I’m a bit disturbed by the idea that you think that he was banned because he’s a white man? Banned by an organisation that is run largely by white men? Just trying to figure out how this works in your head.
Is it the white men on the board that hate him for being white? Is it the Asian men on the board that hate him for being white? Or is it the white women on the board that hate him for being white?
If you could clear that up, it’d be cool.
That's exactly what was said of allowing African-Americans into white theaters and restaurants in the Jim Crow south.
Subtle but important difference.
Of course, some people might be wearing MAGA hats and be unaware of Trumps demonisation of immigrants, banning Muslims, alleged (and admitted) attacks on women and refusal (initially at least) to condemn the KKK, Nazis and white supremacists, but I’m gonna go out on a limb and assume most of them have an inkling of this.
https://twitter.com/cmaxw/status/800385886479323136?lang=en
Surely we reached peak SJW imperialism and its time to roll this crap back.
He could be a Trump supporter, but is actually trolling. He could be trolling and not be a Trump supporter. Either way, it’s impossible to accept that he didn’t know that Trump was a controversial character in 2016.
Do you have any idea how many people would find your perspective disturbing?
That said, no. I don’t.
Look, this sort of thing is unsustainable. If you interact with a large group, someone, somewhere, is going to wear, say or think something you do not approve of. It is a mathematical certainty and part and parcel of the human condition. Far from a problem, this is good, its through differences and debate that we grow, we learn and maybe come together.
This SJW culture on the other hand is all wrong. Its weak, fragile, authoritarian and self-righteous, even as it contradicts itself. It is profoundly un-American, and it does does nothing but weaken and divide us all.