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Racism at a gaming company

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Re: Racism at a gaming company

#221

Post by MartinCron »

humean wrote: post #175
cstross wrote: post #3

"We don’t even tolerate people brining up concerns of racism here." Translation: "we don't want to admit that we have a toxic, racist corporate culture so we're going to blame the messenger." The emphasis here is on racism, but there's a ton of casual sexism -- and I'd be surprised if ageism wasn't present, too. This is, at best, a company where HR have taken their eye off the ball. More likely, there are serious ins…

From the OP: Also, at some point after this conversation took place, one of the women looked at my prized necklace and said “Hey, that looks like a calculator, is that a calculator?” I said “um no, it’s a necklace, it’s African, from Nairobi.” And she replies “Oh, huh…..well, it looks like a calculator.” Dumbwhite------ If this is an accurate recollection, the author is a seriously disturbed person who should not be…

And that's not even to mention that this kind of office culture is actually illegal in our great nation, land of the free and home of the brave

Are you sarcastically implying that this kind of office culture should be legal in a civilized society?

Re: Racism at a gaming company

#222

Post by bonzoesc »

humean wrote: post #179
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…

Suppose, instead of just thinking, "Dumbwhite---," the OP had actually said out loud , "Dumbwhite---." Would that be a firing offense, too? I'm sure it would be - I'm just asking to make sure.

In the office, probably. On a pseudonymous personal blog for somebody without any management duties, probably not.

Re: Racism at a gaming company

#223

Post by anigbrowl »

methoddk wrote: post #196
saraid216 wrote: post #170

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> He frequently used the extremely general term, "Dumbwhite motherfucker.", which is blatantly racist Agreed. > makes his complete argument null and void No, actually it doesn't. That's really not how logic works. This is an audience problem. This post was pretty clearly not meant to be an intellectual tour de force; it was a rant, and a step away from frothing at the mouth. The author doesn't claim to be perfect, no…

Except it really does. I fully support a good rant to get something off the chest. The OP is so intensely focused on the race of his attackers, that it is debilitating to the rest of his problem. It makes him look just as bad as his attackers for stooping to the race level.

'Oh yes it does' is a powerful assertion, but doesn't really constitute an argument.

Re: Racism at a gaming company

#224

Post by anigbrowl »

w1ntermute wrote: post #213
anigbrowl wrote: post #180

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Statistically, you would expect more crime against white people since there are so many more of them. What matters is the probability that a person of a given ethnicity is likely to be a victim of8 violence at the hands of someone else, not the absolute number of such instances. Suppose in a population of 100, there are 20 blue and 80 green people. Suppose that 10 blue people are the victim of green crime in a given…

> Statistically, you would expect more crime against white people since there are so many more of them. Actually, the crime rate among blacks is much higher even after normalizing for population.

Maybe you should read the rest of my comment, which addressed exactly that issue.

Re: Racism at a gaming company

#225

Post by humean »

nollidge wrote: post #210
humean wrote: post #175

Earlier quoted context omitted.

From the OP: Also, at some point after this conversation took place, one of the women looked at my prized necklace and said “Hey, that looks like a calculator, is that a calculator?” I said “um no, it’s a necklace, it’s African, from Nairobi.” And she replies “Oh, huh…..well, it looks like a calculator.” Dumbwhite------ If this is an accurate recollection, the author is a seriously disturbed person who should not be…

> If this is an accurate recollection, the author is a seriously disturbed person So you're saying that an overly defensive reaction to someone misunderstanding a fashion object means he's likely to shoot the place up? That a guy gets systematically discriminated against at the workplace, and you're worried he's too angry about it? And that he might get violent about it because one single other person one time did? A…

Numerous of his comments reek of pure dehumanizing hate. He sounds exactly like Omar Thornton. Or Colin Ferguson. It actually wouldn't be difficult to suggest further examples.

Furthermore, right below us on the thread, and also above us in a more allusive context, are comments encouraging him to react in an "incandescent," murderous rage.

Re: Racism at a gaming company

#226

Post by humean »

nollidge wrote: post #220
humean wrote: post #194

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I would guess that the woman who stepped on the pendant land-mine had thought the pendant was some kind of Kenyan abacus. Or something. And phrased it very badly, because she sensed subconsciously that she was about to get her head bitten off for being a racist. Naturally, she gets her head bitten off for being a racist...

Yo, based on the copious number of comments you've made addressing this I know you're super concerned about that single anecdote from within a larger context, but she didn't get her head bitten off, unless for some weird reason you're reading him as actually saying "Dumbwhite" out loud at her, despite it not being in quotes.

She just got her head bitten off on the public Internet. Some HR dude is probably looking for her right now.

Re: Racism at a gaming company

#227

Post by shardling »

intended wrote: post #98
columbo wrote: post #44

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> WHO CARES? It unnecessarily adds doubt to the claims being made. If your narrator has an agenda it becomes difficult to trust that narrator.

And right there is the classic holding pattern. 40 minutes into posting too, not bad. The pattern is: Apply standard of neutrality to poster, and find poster wanting - hence remain skeptical to keep an open mind. "there could be a misunderstanding." The promulgator and supporters are always people who are at best well meaning, but generally oblivious to privilege or its manifestations. This will be pointed out, and t…

My personal theory on why this particular POV always attracts folk is as follows:

• We see a stranger (call them the victim) on the internet making strong, negative claims against a set of people who are also strangers.

• We often only have the victim's word to judge these claims by.

• Therefore, there will often be debate about these words (which we can talk about with certainty) instead of the claims made (which we only know about second-hand.)

Starting from this perspective seems to lead to really, really degenerate conversation. It tends to be worst when talking about rape or sexual harassment charges.

(There's sometimes an additional weird layer where commenters think the original victim shouldn't make claims they can't prove to third parties, regardless of the truth of those claims.)

Re: Racism at a gaming company

#228

Post by humean »

saraid216 wrote: post #219
humean wrote: post #175

Earlier quoted context omitted.

From the OP: Also, at some point after this conversation took place, one of the women looked at my prized necklace and said “Hey, that looks like a calculator, is that a calculator?” I said “um no, it’s a necklace, it’s African, from Nairobi.” And she replies “Oh, huh…..well, it looks like a calculator.” Dumbwhite------ If this is an accurate recollection, the author is a seriously disturbed person who should not be…

I like how this fixates on the smallest offense and considers it representative and most relevant for armchair psychological analysis.

Reverse the races and look at how you'd judge a black equivalent. This one "smallest offense" would color your perception of the person permanently.

Re: Racism at a gaming company

#229

Post by Tichy »

MartinCron wrote: post #202
bilbo0s wrote: post #176

Earlier quoted context omitted.

wtf? I think this company is not such a great place to work... if you are black. Having mentioned that... uh... MURDER??? We should try to keep in mind that this company really may be no worse than the average SF company full of people accustomed to getting their own way. Oftentimes, people just don't know they are being offensive. It is not malice, so much as the obliviousness that accompanies any privilege. These p…

I totally agree that nobody deserves to die. I do not actually endorse murder, or any form of violent response to oppression. As I stated earlier, I was being hyperbolic. I had a strong emotional response to the article and I made a joke about it. I did not mean to debase the quality of the conversation here and I regret the callous way I expressed what I said.

It's OK to make that kind of joke because nobody was murdered /sarcasm

Re: Racism at a gaming company

#230

Post by thebigshane »

humean wrote: post #217
thebigshane wrote: post #188

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Well, then props to him for knowing how to keep his private feelings and thoughts out of the workplace.

At least by his own recollection. Anyone who is harboring that kind of hostility, whatever the cause, is going to exude pretty strange vibes in person. What's disturbing to me is not that an obviously talented young person like the OP has these kinds of issues. He'll almost certainly grow out of them. It's that so many older, wiser people, who obviously don't have personal problems of their own, seem intent on encour…

Is your motivation to discredit him? If so, why? If not, why is your criticism relevant?
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