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Adria Richards: ‘I’m staying safe’

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71–80 of 134 posts

Re: Adria Richards: ‘I’m staying safe’

#71
post #5

The irrational venom and utter cowardice of those who attacked this woman and her supporters, including here on HN, shouldn't be surprising, but somehow it still is. Tech? I would have thought better of arguably among the most "rational" humans. Yet another lesson in how close to the surface very primitive emotions lie. And tech remains a cesspool of mysogyny.

I lost any potential sympathy for her when it turned out that she is an avowed racist [1].

She said, "Black people CANNOT be racist. Racism is a position of the oppressor who has power."

The same premise that would lead to that position, would require someone to think the same thing about sexism and gender issues.

This context sheds some light on things beyond the faux pas aspect of publicly shaming someone on Twitter, via an unauthorized picture, which already is unacceptable for someone who is a professional communicator.

Now, if you want to say that this is "irrational venom" and "utter cowardice" and not "rational" and based on "very primitive emotions" and "mysogynistic", fine, but that itself is just an emotional spew that doesn't look at the facts of the case that I have pointed out.

Of course, there _are_ lots of trolls, but not everyone who thinks her behavior was disgusting should be lumped in with them.

[1] https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=5419868

Re: Adria Richards: ‘I’m staying safe’

#72

Earlier quoted context omitted.

She was kind of a douche. You don't get a pass for being a douche just because you're female (or anything else). If that's irrational, venomous, and cowardly I'll wear those labels proudly.

you will cast your lot in with the dudes threatening rape and death?

He's not casting his lot in with those dudes. The guy who he is responding to, is. Which is a gross injustice.

Re: Adria Richards: ‘I’m staying safe’

#75
I find it a little obnoxious how she'd rather remain silent and hide than confess any guilt about the shit storm she started. She's even favoriting tweets that support her position. I wouldn't be surprised if a month from now she writes another long anti-man blog trying to make the case for how much of a "victim" she was. She hasn't learned anything.

Re: Adria Richards: ‘I’m staying safe’

#76
post #34

Sorry, but I don't think the conference organizers overreacted. They did exactly what they were supposed to do under the CoC - they received a complaint, and addressed it discreetly. If they hadn't taken it seriously, and just said 'cool it', then they'd be guilty of not taking their own CoC seriously. And they didn't kick the guy out, or anything like that - it was basically a verbal warning, but done formally so th…

I also don't think Adria overreacted. It was a microaggression. Jokes like that foster the uncomfortable boys club environment that is so inherent to tech. Were the jokes explicitly sexist? No, but in an industry that has more than just a bad track record, stuff like that is not okay. Context matters.

> Jokes like that foster the uncomfortable boys club environment

Maybe they make Adria uncomfortable. Maybe they make you uncomfortable. They don't make all women uncomfortable, and you should stop pretending you speak on behalf of women everywhere. Arguing that some humor should be saved for when women aren't around seems like the antithesis of equality. If anything it explains why a "boy club" would ever exist. To speak freely without fear of persecution.

Re: Adria Richards: ‘I’m staying safe’

#78
post #18

I hate the idea that she's getting death threats and insults because of her gender. That's wrong. It's not because of her gender. It's because she's a notable figure on the internet. I challenge the reader to find any notable figure online who has held a controversial position and not been the target of death threats. That is an Internet anonymity problem, not a gender problem! Women are not the only targets of anony…

John Scalzi rebuts this pretty well I think: http://whatever.scalzi.com/2011/08/31/the-sort-of-crap-i-don...

What's so great about his rebuttal? I read that whole thing and it's all anecdotal and seemingly exaggerated. Plus it's based on a single person. It rebuts something but it's definitely not the OP's point.

Re: Adria Richards: ‘I’m staying safe’

#79
post #43
post #16

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Tech? On the internet, with Anonymity/Age Ranges/Trolling, why should we expect anything else? Taking everything said on the internet to heart is a very, very bad idea, especially with anything this incendiary. Every time something like this happens people act surprised. Hello, have you ever been on the internet before? I'm not defending it, just saying that it should be treated for what it is - background noise.

The problem is that simply saying that we should treat it as background noise is functionally indistinguishable from defending it. Bad behavior should be called out and discouraged.

Problem is, how do you discourage legions of anonymous 4chan users who have learned from experience that they can take action without any repercussion?

Re: Adria Richards: ‘I’m staying safe’

#80
post #64
post #34

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I also don't think Adria overreacted. It was a microaggression. Jokes like that foster the uncomfortable boys club environment that is so inherent to tech. Were the jokes explicitly sexist? No, but in an industry that has more than just a bad track record, stuff like that is not okay. Context matters.

Really? You can't make a dongle joke in public because of... what? Are women so fragile and weak that they are offended by a mildly sexual joke? Who's the sexist again?

>Who's the sexist again?

most of the time, the person asking that sort of question

Nice misrepresentation of what I said, by the way. It's not about the joke, it's about what's behind it. Women are frequently objectified in jokes, and the Technology industry hasn't exactly been the most welcoming to women. When you make a sexual joke in front of a woman in this context, she might feel inclined to think about what's behind that joke. And you will feel that no matter the intention, the tech industry is not one that has proven itself to be mature enough to be given the benefit of the doubt.

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