Hacker News Board Hacker News, browsed like a classic message board
Live data from Hacker News

Racism at a gaming company

qu33riousity.tumblr.com

Post reply on HN
Print view View original

261–270 of 468 posts

Re: Racism at a gaming company

#261

Post by saraid216 »

iy56 wrote: post #249
saraid216 wrote: post #212

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Apart from the comment about the pendant, any one of the comments listed above would be a firing offense here. You know, it occurs to me that it's kinda sad that "firing offense" is the highest degree of punishment we have available to inflict. It's our proxy for social exile, but it's not actually social exile. That doesn't seem enough, but jailing and fining don't seem to fit either.

What would you suggest instead? That an employer can tar and feather workers for violating company policy?

I haven't the faintest idea. I can certainly recognize and accept that we just don't have a better response. But it was a thought and I judged it worth putting out there for other people to consider too.

Re: Racism at a gaming company

#262

Post by shardling »

jlgreco wrote: post #244
shardling wrote: post #191

Earlier quoted context omitted.

>which is blatantly racist and makes his complete argument null and void, because the comments he makes in this post are no better than the crap he heard at his job. Oh hey, it's the rare explicitly stated ad hominem attack.

I don't think this is an example of an ad hominem fallacy. Rather it seem to be tu quoue fallacy (attempting to discredit by asserting hypocrisy. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tu_quoque ) Technically I suppose that is a form of an ad hominem fallacy, but describing it as that seems off to me. (Not that that's any better.)

Even the wikipedia article mentions that this is a type of ad hominem. But thanks for teaching me an even more specific term! :)

Re: Racism at a gaming company

#263

Post by tptacek »

[deleted] wrote: post #258
tptacek wrote: post #246

Earlier quoted context omitted.

None of those people are dressed like they live in W'burg, like the author of this post is. The similarities literally appear to be "hats, denim, black people", and nothing else.

[deleted]

You made a dumb joke. You should consider that that joke is only funny to people who are comfortable in their surroundings and among their peers; to the lone latino or black person in the office, they come across much differently. It is a form of privilege to be able to chuckle as you toss around which rap group someone looks like they belong to; when that privilege is flexed so that it alienates coworkers, it is abusive.

Re: Racism at a gaming company

#264

Post by oinksoft »

tptacek wrote: post #259
JPKab wrote: post #165

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Brilliant analysis. I am one of the readers who had deep concern for the truthfulness of these observations. If they are true, then he got screwed, royally, and should sue. Except for the pendant comment. That's just a case of taking yourself too seriously. Yet another nail in the coffin of his credibility.

The things you think sap his credibility add to his credibility for me; if he was making things up, it would have been easy for him to leave his own politics and sensitivities out of the post to make it more painful for his ex-employer. To me, it reads like he's just venting to his peers. We're the ones making a big deal out of it.

People who want to discredit somebody will use any convenient tactic. A decade ago, I bet you'd hear users citing the author's substance abuse problems and resulting instability because he admits to lighting up after work.

Re: Racism at a gaming company

#265

Post by sown »

JPKab wrote: post #121
king_jester wrote: post #50

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This is the equivalent of saying the author of this post is a reverse racist. When was the last time a white person was killed for being white? When was the last time someone came up to a white person and said they should be grateful that their ancestors were slaves? When was the last time the government systematically dismantled the white community in order to enforce racist class oppression? Repeat after me: WHITE…

Take a walk through half of Baltimore, friend, and you will discover that you will get the shit kicked out of you for being white. Murdered? Hopefully not, but I can assure you that, while the old, racist, static power structures of the USA are oppressive towards non-whites, power is not a static thing. It shifts depending on where you are. When you are taking said walk in Baltimore, and become surrounded by people w…

He was wrong a couple of sentences but I think what OP is getting at is that the government has not and will not engage in a systematic apparatus of prejudice like Jim Crow laws, the radio-active half life of which stay with us for a long time.

So what about the rest of what he said?

> It's obvious by your stupid statement

There's no need for name calling. It's the lowest form of debate.

Re: Racism at a gaming company

#266

Post by swang »

tptacek wrote: post #137

Decoder ring for nerds who are unable to read past words like "neoliberal colonizer" without racing to the nearest TEXTAREA: * A black coworker is singled out by another (non-black) coworker with "watch out for that guy, he’s trouble, he talks a lot of shit" * Referring to a latino coworker, that same coworker suggests jokes: "Like ‘you’re a mexican whore’ or like ‘your mother’s a Mexican whore?" * The black coworker…

> * A black coworker is singled out by another (non-black) coworker with "watch out for that guy, he’s trouble, he talks a lot of shit"

I think you read that wrong. The black coworker (Mike) said that in reference to Steve not the other way around.

Given that, do you think the black coworker should be fired for saying that about Steve? Is it okay for the Mike to say that about Steve but not the other way around, regardless of how true it is?

Also, I am not sure why I have to include this disclaimer but I am not condoning any of the racism observed in the article.

Re: Racism at a gaming company

#267

Post by bryanl »

JPKab wrote: post #121
king_jester wrote: post #50

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This is the equivalent of saying the author of this post is a reverse racist. When was the last time a white person was killed for being white? When was the last time someone came up to a white person and said they should be grateful that their ancestors were slaves? When was the last time the government systematically dismantled the white community in order to enforce racist class oppression? Repeat after me: WHITE…

Take a walk through half of Baltimore, friend, and you will discover that you will get the shit kicked out of you for being white. Murdered? Hopefully not, but I can assure you that, while the old, racist, static power structures of the USA are oppressive towards non-whites, power is not a static thing. It shifts depending on where you are. When you are taking said walk in Baltimore, and become surrounded by people w…

I've taken walks through Baltimore. Unfortunately an oppressed people will lash out at those who they think are oppressing them. You could have never performed any ill acts to those black men who beat you, but to them, you represent the reason why they think they can't get ahead. It's not right, but it is a reality.

Also, please don't support your views with the, "I have black friends" excuse. It doesn't help your cause.

Re: Racism at a gaming company

#268

Post by saraid216 »

k-mcgrady wrote: post #240
saraid216 wrote: post #212

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Apart from the comment about the pendant, any one of the comments listed above would be a firing offense here. You know, it occurs to me that it's kinda sad that "firing offense" is the highest degree of punishment we have available to inflict. It's our proxy for social exile, but it's not actually social exile. That doesn't seem enough, but jailing and fining don't seem to fit either.

This is something I find interesting. AFAIK in the US because of free speech nobody can really do anything in law regarding racism. In the UK in the last few years there have been several high profile cases of racial abuse on Twitter and the racists have gotten jail time (one example at the bottom of the article linked below). Protecting free speech is important. However most people probably agree there should be a l…

Well, lines have been drawn. "Fighting words", "obscenity", "clear and present danger", "libel", and so on. There are a lot of checks on speech, some of which people feel go too far. And it's the purpose of the courts to set precedent and handle fuzziness.

Gaiman has talked about this quite well: http://journal.neilgaiman.com/2008/12/why-defend-freedom-of-... The quotable is "The Law is a blunt instrument. It's not a scalpel. It's a club. If there is something you consider indefensible, and there is something you consider defensible, and the same laws can take them both out, you are going to find yourself defending the indefensible."

Re: Racism at a gaming company

#269

Post by [deleted] »

chojeen wrote: post #184
rmc wrote: post #105

Earlier quoted context omitted.

There are several definitions of racist talk, one is essentially "making references to someone's race and implying everyone in that group is the same (in some attribute)". Lots of people like this definition because it's nice and simple and it means black people in the USA can be racist to white people if they say things like "Dumbwhite". There's another definition, which is talk that's designed to maintain & reinfor…

> So no, it's more racist to say "dumbblack" than "dumbwhite" That's like saying that steak is food, but ramen isn't. Clearly, steak is considered a higher-quality food, but that doesn't negate the fact that ramen is food as well. Due to the historical mistreatment of black people in America, it is more socially unacceptable to say something like "dumbblack"; however, "dumbwhite" is no less accurately described by 'a…

[deleted]

Re: Racism at a gaming company

#270

Post by jeffreybaird »

001sky wrote: post #231
tptacek wrote: post #137

Decoder ring for nerds who are unable to read past words like "neoliberal colonizer" without racing to the nearest TEXTAREA: * A black coworker is singled out by another (non-black) coworker with "watch out for that guy, he’s trouble, he talks a lot of shit" * Referring to a latino coworker, that same coworker suggests jokes: "Like ‘you’re a mexican whore’ or like ‘your mother’s a Mexican whore?" * The black coworker…

Relevant> via google image search: http://allthingsd.com/20120530/kixeyes-games-on-facebook-are...

Here is there website http://www.kixeye.com/
Post reply on HN