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Comment by 1970-01-01 | Hacker News Reader

1970-01-01

>I’m certain he wouldn’t be rude to my face, but he might quietly discriminate against me, say no thanks. He might not even think of it as discrimination, only that I don’t have what it takes.

>I’m better at my job than most. I’d be a better startup founder today than I was in 2015. None of that will matter.

IMHO, jumping to conclusions just like this is a big reason why 'going woke' isn't a healthy mindset for someone to hold. Stating that none of it matters is exactly the same thing as saying "I can't do it"

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> IMHO, jumping to conclusions just like this is a big reason why 'going woke' isn't a healthy mindset for someone to hold

This is not unique to "wokeness" and is in fact much more clearly expressed by people who are "anti-woke". Many folks just can't handle things that don't fit neatly into their (unexamined) categories about the world.

They'd rather destroy that person or thing rather than reflect and improve their understanding of the world.

This feels like a pretty shallow reading of the article and you've fallen into the trap - described in the article itself - that "woke" is "some left-wing thing that I don't like". Whatever your views on trans issues, I think this article deserves a more thoughtful answer.

Will you agree with the author's viewpoint that "none of experience" matters if one is trans?

My reading of the author's viewpoint is that there are a lot of people in leadership positions in the tech world who would have previously recognized the author's talent and supported them, but would now form a negative opinion of them, regardless of their experience. These people would no longer give them the opportunity they gave them previously.

I think good leaders recognize people like the author simply have an additional life burden that they both choose and need to fight against and uphill. Additionally, those fights will ebb and flow unpredictably, possibly becoming too much of a burden for them at unpredictable times. If this is what you mean by negative opinion, then I agree. But I really don't think good leaders will take it out on them personally or hold them back to the point where they choose fighting inner trans issues over their business and success.

"I really don't think good leaders will take it out on them personally"

This feels like the beginning of a "no true scotsman" fallacy. The question is not what a "good leader" does, the question is what this person's experience will be with the people they actually encounter.

That’s what facing structural oppression feels like.

You can have the right skills and competency and mindset and disposition but will be looked over because you don’t fit the norm.

It's hard to prove that this happens to any given individual, because employers aren't mandated to announce why any person was "overlooked". One might be quick to blame "structural oppression", racism, sexism, or any other -ism or -phobia, but that doesn't necessarily make it true.

I agree with this somewhat, however, facing structural oppression is very different from deciding if a journey simply isn't worth starting. The mindset and disposition you speak of is or is not inclusive of assuming oppression will fully control one's overall success and happiness at a company?

Yup but still a poor attitude to have. I feel this way often times as a white male in tech, that they would rather hire literally anyone else if they can add some much desired "diversity" but I'm sure you would disagree that this is the case. Better for me to try anyways and have the best possible outlook even if I believe the cards are stacked against me.

>I feel this way often times as a white male in tech

Wait, you feel like you face structural oppression as a white man in tech?

Could you explain what challenges you face as a result of your gender identity and race?

The person you're replying to mentioned it in the post you quoted:

> "they would rather hire literally anyone else if they can add some much desired "diversity""

He feels like his applications are automatically deprioritized in favor of minorities.

I'm pretty sure the hiring numbers still show white men have it easier than all other groups. Even with "DEI" policies.

I'd be interested to see data that suggests otherwise.

He’s saying, for people who take Zuckerberg, Trump, and Paul Graham’s statements as permission to discriminate against trans folks, their experience doesn’t matter. The author is not giving up, they’re saying that essays like Paul’s make the world worse for them, for no good reason.

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