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100 Days as a Black Man in Silicon Valley

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Re: 100 Days as a Black Man in Silicon Valley

#21

Post by douche »

draugadrotten wrote: post #5
collyw wrote: post #4

Interestingly I see a lot of comments saying we need more women in tech, but none saying we need more black people in tech. I have worked with a number of women, and only ever seen one consultant come in who was black. Are we more racist than sexist? (I see plenty of Indians however, maybe a disproportionate amount compared to the general population?). I am based in Europe, and I do think there is less of a cultural…

> Interestingly I see a lot of comments saying we need more women in tech, but none saying we need more black people in tech. Let's assume California needs more black people in tech. Does China need more white people in tech?

The better analogy would be saying that China needs more Manchus, or Hakkas, or Uyghurs in tech.

Re: 100 Days as a Black Man in Silicon Valley

#23

Post by digitalzombie »

collyw wrote: post #4

Interestingly I see a lot of comments saying we need more women in tech, but none saying we need more black people in tech. I have worked with a number of women, and only ever seen one consultant come in who was black. Are we more racist than sexist? (I see plenty of Indians however, maybe a disproportionate amount compared to the general population?). I am based in Europe, and I do think there is less of a cultural…

There's no proof that women are systematically targeted to be ousted from the tech field. I haven't seen any research papers with any clear evidence of this other than that there are more boys than girls in a particular field.

I'm sure there are other occupation with the same thing. There are too many Fillipino in Nurse career I don't see any body saying to diversify it. There are tons of Vietnamese in nails, my uncle and mother included. I don't see people saying that there should be other race within such jobs. You can argue that it's not a great jobs but what about nursing?

We can encourage more women and minority within a field which is fine. But to make it seems like a problem is a problem. Because of this people such as women will use this as an excuse. Look at the CEO of Reddit, she used this and sexism as an excuse.

So before we jump the gun and say such thing such as racist and sexist, we should carefully find the cause and not jump the gun. We do not know if this is intentional or an unintentional the consequences of culture.

I mean hell there's a lot of Asian going to university and a lot of less other color such as Black. Is it because Asian are racist against other races? No, it's culture and the Pew report for Asian Americans have backed this up. That Asian American parent believe an education is important.

Re: 100 Days as a Black Man in Silicon Valley

#24

Post by jane_is_here »

mindcrime wrote: post #3

The comment about bias against going to school in the South really resonates. I mean, in one sense it's hilarious to think that there are people who don't realize that schools like UNC-CH, Georgia Tech, Clemson, NCSU, Campbell, Wake Forest, South Carolina, Georgia, Virginia, Virginia Tech, William & Mary, etc. are great schools. But in another sense it's very, very sad. And I almost find it weirder to hear that about…

Apart from William & Mary I have never heard anything about any of those schools. As for William & Mary I think that I have heard that it is an above average liberal arts college. I could google it and the rest of the list, but that is honestly my level of knowledge of them.

Are they considered to be something special in the Southern states ?

Re: 100 Days as a Black Man in Silicon Valley

#25

Post by punkbit »

yardie wrote: post #19
punkbit wrote: post #6

Earlier quoted context omitted.

We don't need more women, black, latino, white, red, green people in tech, we need talented people, regardless of how they look like. We need less bullshit, people who produce sane code and go home early to work on what matters about us, our communities, our families, our education! I'm full stack dev living in London, I'm black, huge afro, piercings, english is not my first language, skateboarder, into punk music, e…

Yes, we do need more black people in tech. And you get more black people in tech by having black people in tech. Going out to recruit, mentor, and support black tech candidates and workers. Seriously, the latest black YC candidate was a prison messaging service. More power to them but for a lot of blacks in the US the 2 paths that earn the most publicity are sports and criminal activity. Even when I was a teenager an…

What about letting kids choose what they want to do with their lives ? I used to be a music producer and learned everything by myself. I grown up in a white neighbourhood. I was the only emcee around, producing Hip-hop music, influenced by the Beastie Boys. I started coding really young. When I got the internet, I learned a lot about Hip-Hop, I was passionate. My first website was related about my passions, sharing my passion about football, skateboarding, drawing, etc. I wouldn't code if I didn't had a passion. What's the point of coding if it's not useful, if doesn't solve a problem ? You need a point! Let's do fun stuff, stop forcing kids with your mentoring bullshit and who cares if the kid is white and his mentor is Persian, or if he's idol is Bob Marley! There's better ways to work on our communities, families, etc.

Your `you get more black ppl in tech by having black people in tech` sounded exactly like one of those Xzibit memes: a joke!

Re: 100 Days as a Black Man in Silicon Valley

#26

Post by punkbit »

tormeh wrote: post #10
punkbit wrote: post #6

Earlier quoted context omitted.

We don't need more women, black, latino, white, red, green people in tech, we need talented people, regardless of how they look like. We need less bullshit, people who produce sane code and go home early to work on what matters about us, our communities, our families, our education! I'm full stack dev living in London, I'm black, huge afro, piercings, english is not my first language, skateboarder, into punk music, e…

What is your first language?

My first language is Portuguese.

Re: 100 Days as a Black Man in Silicon Valley

#27

Post by [deleted] »

punkbit wrote: post #25
yardie wrote: post #19

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Yes, we do need more black people in tech. And you get more black people in tech by having black people in tech. Going out to recruit, mentor, and support black tech candidates and workers. Seriously, the latest black YC candidate was a prison messaging service. More power to them but for a lot of blacks in the US the 2 paths that earn the most publicity are sports and criminal activity. Even when I was a teenager an…

What about letting kids choose what they want to do with their lives ? I used to be a music producer and learned everything by myself. I grown up in a white neighbourhood. I was the only emcee around, producing Hip-hop music, influenced by the Beastie Boys. I started coding really young. When I got the internet, I learned a lot about Hip-Hop, I was passionate. My first website was related about my passions, sharing m…

[deleted]

Re: 100 Days as a Black Man in Silicon Valley

#28

Post by seivan »

punkbit wrote: post #6
collyw wrote: post #4

Interestingly I see a lot of comments saying we need more women in tech, but none saying we need more black people in tech. I have worked with a number of women, and only ever seen one consultant come in who was black. Are we more racist than sexist? (I see plenty of Indians however, maybe a disproportionate amount compared to the general population?). I am based in Europe, and I do think there is less of a cultural…

We don't need more women, black, latino, white, red, green people in tech, we need talented people, regardless of how they look like. We need less bullshit, people who produce sane code and go home early to work on what matters about us, our communities, our families, our education! I'm full stack dev living in London, I'm black, huge afro, piercings, english is not my first language, skateboarder, into punk music, e…

Basically what you're saying is that you're against identity politics. I am happy to see other people with these values.

I live in Ground Zero of identity politics, so I don't get to see people with your opinions often.

Thank you!

Re: 100 Days as a Black Man in Silicon Valley

#29

Post by jrs99 »

mindcrime wrote: post #3

The comment about bias against going to school in the South really resonates. I mean, in one sense it's hilarious to think that there are people who don't realize that schools like UNC-CH, Georgia Tech, Clemson, NCSU, Campbell, Wake Forest, South Carolina, Georgia, Virginia, Virginia Tech, William & Mary, etc. are great schools. But in another sense it's very, very sad. And I almost find it weirder to hear that about…

he says people ARE aware that UNC-CH is a good college. but that "few realize the University of Georgia is a Top 30 law school and Top 5 for my master’s program."

That sounds pretty understandable to me. I don't feel like there's anything wrong with that.

Re: 100 Days as a Black Man in Silicon Valley

#30

Post by mgkimsal »

mindcrime wrote: post #3

The comment about bias against going to school in the South really resonates. I mean, in one sense it's hilarious to think that there are people who don't realize that schools like UNC-CH, Georgia Tech, Clemson, NCSU, Campbell, Wake Forest, South Carolina, Georgia, Virginia, Virginia Tech, William & Mary, etc. are great schools. But in another sense it's very, very sad. And I almost find it weirder to hear that about…

The sad part of this is that the only time most people hear about any school is related to sports. Almost all schools get judged by the wider population first based on their sports records. In most cases, it's often about the only thing most people know about most schools. Even with most schools that are "good" or "great", most people couldn't tell you why, but they can tell you about some football pass person X made in 2002 which saved the game!
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