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For black CEOs in Silicon Valley, humiliation is a part of doing business

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Re: For black CEOs in Silicon Valley, humiliation is a part of doing business

#291

Post by dgb23 »

ibudiallo wrote: post #140

I usually choose to believe in "the honest mistake". It happens, two people walk in, one of them is the CEO, you assume it is the one on the right. And then when you realize it is a mistake, you apologize. We are only human. But when it happens over and over and over, you can't help but feel frustrated. You realize that people natural instinct is to think you are the subordinate. One second your are on stage at Techc…

> You wouldn't believe how lonely it is. In my team of 150 people, we were two black people.

This is a huge part of the problem isn't it?

I believe these painful interactions would be much less common if tech culture were more diverse in the first place.

Women share a similar fate. Whenever I hear some of these stories I cringe. Some of them are surprising/shocking even.

But this seems important. Hearing those stories including the ones you mentioned. Not necessarily to point fingers (although sometimes we should) but rather to fight this common, widespread ignorance.

Re: For black CEOs in Silicon Valley, humiliation is a part of doing business

#292

Post by triceratops »

cmdshiftf4 wrote: post #261
triceratops wrote: post #226

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> it sounds like the goal is a dismantling of police and courts which form the backbone of a civil rule of law society. It's not. The goal is to demand equal protections under the law for all, eliminate racial bias in policing, judging and sentencing, and make police themselves follow the law. Don't be misled by the "defund police" mantra. It's just a way to divert resources to community engagement programs and/or ge…

>It doesn't literally mean "shut down the police department and courts". This doublespeak, which reminds me of the whole "Kill All Men" issue, which itself was quickly followed by a rush to say "Noo you stupid man, we don't mean kill all men, just some men", makes my skin crawl. Let's take a quick look at the dictionary : Defund: verb prevent from continuing to receive funds. If you are failing to use the language co…

If it helps, I think "kill all men" is reprehensible and illegal. "Defund police" even taken literally, is neither of those things, so you're drawing a false equivalence.

If you eliminate funding for an existing police department, firing all of the employees, and divide all of its functions, including dealing with violent criminals, and performing investigations, up among other departments (both existing and new), isn't "defund" accurate? That's the most extreme position on the spectrum along which police reform plans lie. "Defund police" is a pithy catchphrase, an opening position for negotiations. I don't think the language is what needs "correcting". It's important to educate oneself on the issues instead of assuming the worst about anyone you disagree with.

Re: For black CEOs in Silicon Valley, humiliation is a part of doing business

#293

Post by natalyarostova »

GaryNumanVevo wrote: post #57
hn_throwaway_99 wrote: post #21

I thought this was a great article. One of the most interesting things to me was how the embarrassment/defensiveness of the white people involved was one of the biggest blocks to the black CEOs in their advancement, e.g. the VCs who "just wanted to get the hell out of there" after mistaking a white subordinate for the CEO. I've recently been reading/watching some videos and writings by Robin Diangelo on systemic raci…

I'm skeptical about Robin Diangelo, I read her book a few months ago, and it only seems to be an advertisement for her services as an anti-racist instructor. Her entire argument frames race relations within the context of the workplace which is problematic because her approach is coercive, not educational. It's more a guide on "how not to get fired for being racist" than anything. There are much better books for foun…

Yeah. Pick up a book by James Baldwin, or read an essay by Frederick Douglas. Read anything by black authors on the experience of their lives.

I believe strongly these are more valuable than non-black corporate anti-racist consultants...

Re: For black CEOs in Silicon Valley, humiliation is a part of doing business

#294

Post by free_rms »

manfredo wrote: post #284
free_rms wrote: post #276

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Camden NJ rebuilt their police department overnight a few years back. Cancelled the union contract, fired everyone and started over. Rehired some of the same cops I believe as part of the new structure. Murders are down 50% from then, it's still not a nice town or anything but it's not the worst town in America anymore.

The police department wasn't dismantled. Camden's police department very much still exists: https://camdencountypd.org/ Restaffing he police is a vastly different measure than dismantling the police or abolishing the police, which is what many activists are pushing for. Furthemore, the idea that this was an instance of dismantling the police to reduce police abuses doesn't seem to hold up to scrutiny [1]: > With the…

I was just saying that there are reasonable ideas under the "defund" umbrella.

When several city depts don't seem to feel like they have to take orders from elected government, drastic measures start looking more reasonable.

Re: For black CEOs in Silicon Valley, humiliation is a part of doing business

#295

Post by DenisM »

golf1052 wrote: post #178
Grustaf wrote: post #113

Earlier quoted context omitted.

No normal parent has said anything even remotely like that in the last 30 years. Why is it so terrible to accept that men and women on average have different interests? Everyone knows that testosterone makes young men orders of magnitude more violent, why is it inconceivable that they could also be 4 times more interested in more mechanic play? It’s been observed even in almost newborn chimpanzees for Gods sake.

I think it's frustrating that people make claims to ideas that they are vaguely aware about. The vagueness can lead to repeating incorrect claims which I think is harmful, especially when discussing sensitive topics. > Everyone knows that testosterone makes young men orders of magnitude more violent You're using hyperbole but yes it's commonly understood that there's a link between testosterone and aggression, howeve…

So you agree that gender has direct (hormonal) influence on toy selection?

Specifically to quote your post: "toy preferences reflect hormonally influenced behavioral and..."

Re: For black CEOs in Silicon Valley, humiliation is a part of doing business

#296

Post by mASLww »

cameronbrown wrote: post #290
mlpgx wrote: post #44

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The problem is that everyone has his own personal experiences. In my surroundings I've seen black women get funding where white men did not. I've seen minorities preferred in hiring. The world has changed drastically in the last five years. It is white men who feel silenced in the tech industry, by HR, the press, CEOs and activists. So the article can be true of course, but it aligns less and less with what we see in…

Post a strawpoll, see the data, otherwise nobody will believe you.

I don't see any riots for Assange, so the black lobby seems to be more powerful.

Re: For black CEOs in Silicon Valley, humiliation is a part of doing business

#297

Post by fzeroracer »

1121redblackgo wrote: post #215
nouveaux wrote: post #209

Earlier quoted context omitted.

If a publicly traded company is not doing well, the CEO gets canned and no one bats an eye. If one department is not doing well, it's very common to just fire a bunch of people or get rid of the department completely. The idea of "dismantling of police" does not mean we do not offer protection. It just means that the current organization "police" is not providing the services it's customers want. Years of "tweaking"…

New way same as the old way presumably. This is a baby with the bathwater situation. It can be fixed no need to scrap it.

With what, exactly? You can pass more laws, but laws don't matter if the police don't obey them anyways. You can enforce things like bodycams, but then the police cover up the cams or conveniently turn them off.

At what point will you be convinced that you need to start over? Because removing corruption is like removing an invasive species: you don't solve it by taking a half-assed attempt with trimming and call it a day.

Re: For black CEOs in Silicon Valley, humiliation is a part of doing business

#298

Post by TeaDrunk »

wolco wrote: post #274
esperent wrote: post #100

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It's pretty harmful if you're a woman who likes driving and you keep getting excluded from driving related groups and discussions because the men in these groups assume your interest is not genuine.

It is tough teenage boys who want to babysit for extra cash. They always seem lose the job to a younger girl.

They can both be harmful and valid

Re: For black CEOs in Silicon Valley, humiliation is a part of doing business

#299

Post by Auracle »

agar wrote: post #277
twybriny wrote: post #220

Earlier quoted context omitted.

One of the things that confuses me quite a bit is the focus on laws that expired or have been abrogated 50-60-70-150 years ago and make it as if everything wrong with contemporary American society is caused directly by such laws and nothing else. * GI Bill: adopted in 1944, expired in 1956. * Social Security: adopted in 1935, unclear what the impacts were at the time. Unclear what the impacts are today. * Redlining:…

I can't weigh in from personal experience, but I look at it like a marathon. One set of runners face a first half of the race with mud, crushed glass, vertical climbs, and other obstacles, while other racers had a nice tailwind and extra drink stations. Regardless of the obstacles faced in the second half (which are still more numerous than the competition's), can't you understand why runners would still look back at…

You could also argue that the large majority of black people still alive came in to the race halfway through as well. At some point it just becomes an excuse. Constantly blaming other people is a good way to never have any self improvement.

Re: For black CEOs in Silicon Valley, humiliation is a part of doing business

#300

Post by new2628 »

agar wrote: post #277
twybriny wrote: post #220

Earlier quoted context omitted.

One of the things that confuses me quite a bit is the focus on laws that expired or have been abrogated 50-60-70-150 years ago and make it as if everything wrong with contemporary American society is caused directly by such laws and nothing else. * GI Bill: adopted in 1944, expired in 1956. * Social Security: adopted in 1935, unclear what the impacts were at the time. Unclear what the impacts are today. * Redlining:…

I can't weigh in from personal experience, but I look at it like a marathon. One set of runners face a first half of the race with mud, crushed glass, vertical climbs, and other obstacles, while other racers had a nice tailwind and extra drink stations. Regardless of the obstacles faced in the second half (which are still more numerous than the competition's), can't you understand why runners would still look back at…

This analogy would work if it weren't for the immigrants who arrive with no connections and resources, and successfully make it through hardships within one or two generations.

A more apt analogy may be a marathon where there are bystanders who latch on to half of the runners and keep telling them, "you cannot make it, you need us to help you, the race is unfair".

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