Earlier quoted context omitted.
You only covered the "like them" aspect, what about the "fit a pattern that appeals to them" part? Chinese and Indians fall into "model minority" stereotypes, which have their own set of evils (you are X so you must be good at Y is it's own kind of dehumanization). So someone making a gut call might have underlying prejudices for Asians and against blacks. In other words, when is the last time a white person has cros…
In that case, why do Indians/Chinese "fit a pattern that appeals to them" and Blacks do not? I focused on "like them" because that's a lower entropy theory than "fit a pattern" - it's a claim that VC's thought process is x -> cultural_distance(self, x). "Fit a pattern" is basically just an assertion that VC's have a table of values in their mind, { "asian" : +1, "white" : 0, "black" : -1 } without explaining either w…
> In that case, why do Indians/Chinese "fit a pattern that appeals to them" and Blacks do not?
Because the stereotype of "acting black" is so pervasive and negative.
The black hipster who knows Python and doesn't wear a dew-rag probably needn't worry. Essentially he may be black but he doesn't "act black".
Also, if he's one guy in the startup that's ok -- it fits the pattern. If the whole startup is black, maybe you wonder if they're ghetto. Doesn't fit the pattern because you haven't seen it before.
The bro who shows up with a noticeable accent and stereotypical behaviours is at a disadvantage.
Successful blacks become invisible because they don't "act black" because the old stereotype is that you can't be really black and successful (except in sports, or entertainment).
Someone once said to me: "So these guys were real niggers, you know, not like you -- I mean trash."
On the one hand, I was offended. On the other hand, I knew what he meant.