If he takes his own advice[1], he'd be hard pressed to say anything at all. When people furiously accuse you of misogyny for not repeating the party line, there's no good faith discussion possible.
Maybe it's due to the rise of twitter and the ease of taking things out of context. It seems to fuel tabloid "journalists" like Sam Biddle who sit around on twitter all day, looking for tweets that he can read X-ism into.
The sad thing is that if Paul Graham were an employee of a tech company, he'd probably be fired by now[1]. The room for thought and discussion is much smaller than it used to be, even though we have more tools for self-expression than ever before.
Moldbug saw this happening and he decided that "America is a Communist Country". I think that's a bit strong, but I agree that at least the progressive half of the country is converging on a narrow, extreme Social Justice ideology.
First they came for the dongle jokers, and I did not speak, because I was not a dongle joker...
[1] http://handleshaus.wordpress.com/2013/12/26/bullied-and-badg...
What's depressing is how many people get added to that list, some unexpectedly; I had a lot of respect for Alex Gaynor until he filed that famous pull request and threw his lot in with that crowd (which he did when he wrote a blog post that said "if you disagree, you are wrong," effectively ending the possibility of rationally disagreeing with him).
I want to make things better as a white male, but I am fairly tired of her group trying to make me regret the situation I was born into. It's not my fault I'm a white male, I am cognizant of my advantage, and I want to help other groups in this industry; however, there is no speaking to them. I've tried. I'm a white male and I am evil to them, the irony of which is not lost on me given their purpose. I think I partially know how it feels to be gay, because I didn't choose my situation yet there is an extremely vocal group that wants me to believe I am doing something wrong.
On top of that, I know several women in the industry, from marketing wizard to expert programmer with publish credits, who have to tip toe when they go to a company because men are being trained that all women are like Shanley in the industry. I have yet to meet a woman that appreciates the efforts of the Twitter cabal. Some of them won't share that opinion because they're scared to death of being marked. Just look at historical precedent. Shanley never misses a chance to go after Sarah Lacy. Zed Shaw is still going after Steve Holden every chance he gets. Once you fuck up you are followed for life. I bet people are religiously looking for the guy from PlayHaven to see what he does next.
More apropos, Shanley is now furiously trying to get journalists to support her anti-HN agenda, and is calling for a boycott of all portfolio companies, simply based on one comment by pg. That's the modus operandae of these people: all it takes is one mistake, one out of context quote, anything, and the party line is now that Y Combinator is misogynistic and represents the active VC discrimination against women. Some brave soul asked her for proof on Twitter and got a healthy "fuck you" back after she told him to Google it. That's some McCarthyesque shit right there. Is that what we are now? Communist hunters? Because I could have sworn we were smart folks trying to make the world a better place.
I worry about the outright animosity that is gaining support in our industry. There is no inclination to work together, only standing around and yelling at each other. Enough people seem to think that's a good thing because several of her circle started Gittip accounts and they are cleaning house. I have no idea what to make of that.
My only recourse thus far has been to keep distance and remember the companies that foster this animosity by employing those folks and publicly supporting their ideals. Then I think twice about ever working there. Basho and Joyent come to mind. On the flip side, I'd be privileged to work at SendGrid, who publicly took a stand against such behavior.
2013 for me: the US government is now an advanced persistent threat against my infrastructure and there is also an advanced persistent threat developing against my career, lest I not suppress independent thought.
And that is what pisses me off about this kind of nonsense. If it was just idiots being idiots I wouldn't care, but this shit actually affects people. My wife doesn't to go to conferences or involve herself in the programming world outside of directly doing her job any more because she feels like everyone is afraid to talk near her much less to her, for fear of losing their job over something they said.
Name one person who has said this.
The industry is "too white, too male".
White men don't understand the implications or the need for diversity.
White men are dinosaurs, they need to adapt to the new world.
There's a ton of dog-whistle racism and sexism against white men. Unfortunately, that's the 'acceptable' kind of racism and sexism, because many white men are in positions of power and authority (and therefore 'white men' are considered acceptable to criticize as a group - and even those who lack power are lumped in with the tiny elite at the top).
The criticisms that are levied, without proof, against white men in the tech industry, would be treated as evidence of terrible racism and/or sexism if they were levied at other groups.
Unlike other groups white men are just expected to smile and nod and agree with the 'feminists' or 'anti-racists' ... arguing back is taken as proof of guilt.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y4LkrQCyIz8
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=derzWWYf3-w
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dF1NUposXVQ
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TG4f9zR5yzY
On the other hand, informing VCs or other gatekeepers about the desire for diversity in the profession, and holding the thought leaders to a high standard, does make sense.
Keep up the good work.
Last year I donated more than your annual contribution to Shanley's Gittip on causes for hunger and urban outreach, too. Since 2010 I have done a 50/50 split between my own 401(k) and hand-selected charities, and my 401(k) contribution is currently 3%. You can do the math. So, you can't hurt my feelings by tossing your big bad salary at another salaried worker in the industry in SF instead of, you know, helping people that need it.
Finally, between you and Michael Church I just can't use Scala any more for fear of remembering that you exist.
Say hey to the folks we both know for me when you see them.
Enjoy your self defeating efforts.
Both are known for pulling facts out of their ass that are either unsupported or contradicted by evidence.
Ready for this? Me too. If you notice, I didn't use that word at all in my comment, because I take issue with only the method of delivery, not the message.
I think I partially know how it feels to be gay, because I didn't choose my situation yet there is an extremely vocal group that wants me to believe I am doing something wrong.
I humbly submit that you have no idea how it feels to be gay, and that the best way to find out is to actually talk to us. aphyr@aphyr.com.
It was a bad example, which is why I included partially, and I apologize for my poor thought there. I was only identifying with having no choice in a situation and then having vocal groups attempt to vilify that situation.
I am certainly not claiming that I experience any hardship that gay folks do beyond that one. Please don't assume I'm in a bubble, either; I married into a Mormon family and experienced that intolerance firsthand as I fought against it.
E-mailed as requested.
The irony is of course, they are themselves the most privileged around: white, educated tech employees in Silicon Valley.
You don't need to ally yourself with every gay person to not be a homophobe, and you don't need to ally yourself with every woman to not be a sexist.
The people who want "allies" tend to be surrounded by unquestioning fans and tend to get their panties in a bunch when faced with actual criticism, deserved or not. If you believe that any criticism you receive happens because you are gay or because you are a woman, then "allies" are the only people who won't upset your delicate sensibilities.
It's really hard to read that and not think of this: http://www.theatlantic.com/sexes/archive/2012/11/vote-no-on-...
Okay, so the PlayHaven guy got fired. Adria had death threats made against her, was the subject of a beheading picture, had her home address and phone number publicized, her employer was DDOSed, and she was ultimately fired, like the PlayHaven guy.
That's misogyny in action. That's what needs to end.
On one side, it's a few people using their real names and identities to be harshly and specifically critical on Twitter. On the other side, it's an avalanche of anonymous death threats. I know which one bothers me more.
Neither one is acceptable. The mob action is obviously worse, but both punishments were wrong.
What should have happened (wishful thinking I know) is that AR could have told the guys to knock it off, or gone to staff without tweeting a picture to make a complaint if she was not comfortable with a one-on-one disagreement.
In that case the very competent PyCon staff would have mediated the complaint, and no one would have heard about it beyond a small circle of a few dozen people.
Jumping to the worst possible conclusion / interpretation of someone's words seems to be a hallmark of this style of 'activism'. Which leads to especially aggressive debates and misunderstandings, especially when people are on Twitter and constrained to <140 characters.
I was also ready to just accept it as SJWs wanting help in a group from someone who calls them on their bullshit. Probably a little of column A, little of column B.
Public conversations also enable power dynamics.
They just enable power dynamics of a different sort - mobbing, pile-ons, and other forms of collective shaming.
If you would like to know what racism is and why criticism of a dominant group on the basis of race isn't in, here's one take: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dw_mRaIHb-M
But you'd have to listen to get it, and you'd definitely have to give up your bullshit self-serving circular "logic".
...is indicative of the fact that mentioned people have tweeted a link to it, bringing a predominantly sympathetic crowd to attempt to kick my ass in the comments. Including you. I can read Twitter, you know.
I can't understand the rest of your comment. Can you rephrase your disagreement and point out what you take issue with? It would also help if you didn't refer to my opinion as bullshit, or at least provide some specificity on what you find to be bullshit about what I've said.
459usd/week*52weeks/year = 23k/year - taxes = ~10k
They will be rich soon.
https://twitter.com/coda/status/417500281291550721
Regardless, my point was those Gittip accounts do well versus other Gittip accounts, which by and large represent people who contribute a lot of free software to the community.
No, more like misogynist-racist-capitalist hunters. We HN types are trying to profit. At best grabbing so much money with uninspiring "tech" that some will assume their rightful place as benevolent plutocrats playing SimEarth.
> Shanley never misses a chance to go after Sarah Lacy
Anyone can see for themselves that Sarah Lacy is happy to dish out more than she gets, even using a gender slur against women just trying to talk (scroll down to the video): (http://www.lemondrop.com/2010/09/28/techcrunch-women-in-tech...)
> That's the modus operandae of these people: all it takes is one mistake
And evidence accumulated over time. And HN posters like you making wild accusations without one single cite to back up your claims... which turn out flimsy when you actually research it.
> It's not my fault I'm a white male
But it's your fault that you act this way. When someone mentions how Shanley gets threats of murder, you downplay. Your hurt feelings are far more important to you. At least you "get that anonymous death threats are an issue". (https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=6983085)
Like the kind that attacked Kathy Sierra and her children. Because she dared speak her mind. (http://www.theverge.com/2013/9/12/4693710/the-end-of-kindnes...)
Yeah, people like you make the world a better place.
And which way is that? I just shared an opinion. Am I not supposed to have opinions? Are there correct opinions?
> When someone mentions how Shanley gets threats of murder, you downplay.
Careful with that "you" there, pal. I have never done, and would never, ever do this. Jesse Noller will remember when I e-mailed him to offer him support when he was receiving death threats over the PyCon affair. Being stalked and threatened by the Internet is no laughing matter and I wouldn't wish such a thing on anyone. In 2005-2006, a younger me was fairly involved in 4chan (your guess is as good as mine) and I know firsthand the depths of anonymity. I'd hold the same opinion of someone and react to that person the same way if they threatened to kill either Shanley Kane, myself, or any member of my family.
So, you had a pretty good point going there and then did exactly what you are accusing me of doing, painting a caricature of me which is easy for you to whack on.