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Employees of kixeye accused of racist remarks fired

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Re: Employees of kixeye accused of racist remarks fired

#51

Post by indy »

barking wrote: post #41
indy wrote: post #28

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Wow. Wouldn't call myself sheltered or racist but I am a British Asian who has experienced racism at work.

I was once accused of being prejudiced by a british asian after we fell out over some business. Prior to that this person had boasted to me about how despite their family having lived in Trinidad for generations there was 'not one drop of mixed blood' in their family

I brought up my race to show sergiotapia that I too was in a minority, not to imply that somehow being a british asian made me more trustworthy.

Re: Employees of kixeye accused of racist remarks fired

#52

Post by psykotic »

mynameishere wrote: post #9

Everyone is trying his best to be PC, but the real takeaway is that you have to be careful not to hire some ultra-sensitive pantywaist thug who publicly cries "racist" at every shitty joke, giving your company weeks of terrible PR to clean up. “Hey he’s dressed like Run DMC, does he know how to rap?” Oh, the poor darling. Let's ruin a bunch of people's livelihoods over this apparently wicked comment.

> Everyone is trying his best to be PC, but the real takeaway is that you have to be careful not to hire some ultra-sensitive pantywaist thug who publicly cries "racist" at every shitty joke, giving your company weeks of terrible PR to clean up.

I'll give you the benefit of the doubt and assume that you aren't trolling but just being obtuse.

This wasn't a one-off misunderstanding. It was a series of unambiguous incidents, all in a single month.

This has nothing to do with political correctness. I'm sure the casual conversations among me and my coworkers would be extremely offensive to some people. When you know someone well enough to know their boundaries, you can step beyond the norms of decency without risking offense. This is so self-evident that even the most socially awkward programmers know it instinctively. Can you misread someone and offend them gravely as a result? Yes, we've all done that. But if you're the least bit considerate, it's a one-time incident and ends there.

Re: Employees of kixeye accused of racist remarks fired

#53

Post by snogglethorpe »

roguecoder wrote: post #38
barking wrote: post #24

Earlier quoted context omitted.

He sounds angry and a bit OTT to me. Inferring that someone is a racist (as you're doing) is extremely serious. Your remark comes across as a bit creepy actually

First, no one inferred that he was racist, they said what he had said sounded racist. Second, why do you think it's "extremely serious" to consider something someone said racist? I consider racism itself extremely serious, but there's no consequence for expressing racism in a quasi-anonymous comment environment. There's not even any consequence for being called a racist. I am utterly confused as to how saying that ra…

> there's no consequence for expressing racism in a quasi-anonymous comment environment

Welllll, you never really know though.

It seems prudent to not underestimate the googling skills of future (potential) employers...

Re: Employees of kixeye accused of racist remarks fired

#54

Post by barking »

axlelonghorn wrote: post #45
barking wrote: post #24

Earlier quoted context omitted.

He sounds angry and a bit OTT to me. Inferring that someone is a racist (as you're doing) is extremely serious. Your remark comes across as a bit creepy actually

He said, "you sound racist", not "you are racist". http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=b...

There aren't any biological tests for racism that I know of. What got the guys fired were remarks they made that 'sounded racist'. If I said to you that you 'sound German', it's likely that I'm inferring that I think you're a German. If I say to you that you 'sound racist', it's likely that I'm inferring that I think you're a racist.

Re: Employees of kixeye accused of racist remarks fired

#55

Post by flyinglizard »

drivebyacct2 wrote: post #50
flyinglizard wrote: post #42

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I did not like it either. I thought it was laid with racist overtones and stereotypes. I also thought that it is peculiar that someone would choose to introduce themselves as a "poor black queer" instead of bringing forth their personality or skills or ideas. Newsflash: if you are interesting or do cool stuff I don't give a fuck about your skin tone or sexual preference.

... That was rather the point. >if you are interesting or do cool stuff I don't give a fuck about your skin tone And I'm guessing you're white and straight and thus have not spent the amount of timing thinking about others as I and other people have. We're not worried about you. We're worried about people like these employees who DO give "a fuck" about skin tone or sexual preference. It's funny that you condemn him f…

To me it sounded like someone with a rooted "versus" mentality that defines themselves using their externality and sexual preference because, well, its just easier.

You are not wrong about me, but I have plenty of gay friends in the workplace, and being talented they don't define themselves through their orientation.

Re: Employees of kixeye accused of racist remarks fired

#56

Post by un1xl0ser »

It is quite clear that this was not an inclusive working environment. Some of the comments on their own are not overtly racist, but it is certainly walking thin line.

I've had a situation that was sort of similar where a co-worker made a comment on my clothing being too uhm, urban. Jeans, oversized hoodie (hood up), and shit kicker boots. I was sick, and it was freezing out walked into a meeting and it was announced that Eminem just walked into the meeting. My reply was (paraphrased) that "Is that the only white rapper you know, I don't look anything like Eminem". I guess I was looking for something like Sage Francis or Necro, but I digress. I felt singled out for the way that I dress. Now I guess that anyone can debate here if what I said or the initial comment was racist, but I would say that it wasn't, just ignorant and stupid. That said, if that comment was slanted ever so slightly to the fact that I have some Jewish heritage, it would trigger a soft spot and would have REALLY irked me. Had some issues with that early in life.

So considering the more over-the-top racist comments, and initial reaction of management when confronted, this whole situation is really awful and should not happen. Instead of debating if this is really racism, we should probably just try to limit and control it's effect on our lives. It exists, it's all around us and you don't have to look very far, even in tech companies.

Re: Employees of kixeye accused of racist remarks fired

#57

Post by aaronbrethorst »

psykotic wrote: post #52
mynameishere wrote: post #9

Everyone is trying his best to be PC, but the real takeaway is that you have to be careful not to hire some ultra-sensitive pantywaist thug who publicly cries "racist" at every shitty joke, giving your company weeks of terrible PR to clean up. “Hey he’s dressed like Run DMC, does he know how to rap?” Oh, the poor darling. Let's ruin a bunch of people's livelihoods over this apparently wicked comment.

> Everyone is trying his best to be PC, but the real takeaway is that you have to be careful not to hire some ultra-sensitive pantywaist thug who publicly cries "racist" at every shitty joke, giving your company weeks of terrible PR to clean up. I'll give you the benefit of the doubt and assume that you aren't trolling but just being obtuse. This wasn't a one-off misunderstanding. It was a series of unambiguous incid…

Whoops, I accidentally downvoted you. Sorry about that :-\

Re: Employees of kixeye accused of racist remarks fired

#58

Post by barking »

anu_gupta wrote: post #48
barking wrote: post #41

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I was once accused of being prejudiced by a british asian after we fell out over some business. Prior to that this person had boasted to me about how despite their family having lived in Trinidad for generations there was 'not one drop of mixed blood' in their family

@barking. So what? Honestly, so what? Are you trying to say that even by the standards of other prejudiced people you come across as prejudiced? Or perhaps you're implying that one act of prejudice by someone from a "minority" means that it's open season on all minorities?

Maybe people are more likely to perceive the behaviour of others towards them as racist, if they are racist themselves? That perhaps the accuser should be looked at as critically as the accused.

Re: Employees of kixeye accused of racist remarks fired

#59

Post by chaostheory »

w1ntermute wrote: post #2

This was a very disturbing incident, and I can only hope that it was an isolated incident and not indicative of a larger trend in the startup industry. The demographics are skewed enough as it is when it comes to this industry.

I don't feel that this is a recurring issue in the startup industry. However based on my past work experience, this is definitely not an isolated incident for the video game industry. The only difference between different companies is how they handle it when it arises.

I do remember when working at one of the big three video game publishers:

1) HR and managers would repeatedly educate both new workers and existing employees on both racial discrimination and sexual harassment on a semi-quarterly basis.

2) HR would give anonymous surveys regarding workplace environment every quarter.

Regarding the last item, at my last stint at a gaming company; a co-worker reported a case of racial discrimination and it was handled promptly and professionally. There was no time for anyone to blog about the subject. I'm going to agree with other people, HR wasn't doing their job effectively.

Re: Employees of kixeye accused of racist remarks fired

#60

Post by waterlesscloud »

chaostheory wrote: post #59
w1ntermute wrote: post #2

This was a very disturbing incident, and I can only hope that it was an isolated incident and not indicative of a larger trend in the startup industry. The demographics are skewed enough as it is when it comes to this industry.

I don't feel that this is a recurring issue in the startup industry. However based on my past work experience, this is definitely not an isolated incident for the video game industry. The only difference between different companies is how they handle it when it arises. I do remember when working at one of the big three video game publishers: 1) HR and managers would repeatedly educate both new workers and existing em…

I wonder how much of that is due to the racist, sexist, and anti-gay speech that's endemic to online gaming? Do people take that as setting the tone for the industry?

Actually, when I think about it, it seems to me that I see less such speech in online games than I did even just a couple of years ago. Maybe I'm just playing different games from that crowd now.

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