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0 pointsadjkant5y ago0 comments

I think it's helpful here to examine the conception of a racist. Most racists don't identify as such and have a racist agenda they consciously act on. In these cases, it's baked in through various experiences into the subconscious, and rationalized away in many ways. Maybe it's eugenics, maybe it's media bias, maybe it's simply a personal preference, and they think they don't let it affect their decisions.

> it's the most multicultural tech scene I ever witnessed

Coinbase's own (unrefuted) numbers show they are far worse than other tech companies. Where is your conception based off of?

> one of the core tenets of crypto is precisely eliminating discrimination

As this thread as made clear if you go to the bottom of the comments, stated principles and actual beliefs/actions often don't match in tech. Closeted republicans in tech compared to the leaning of corporate action is a great example of that. In some ways, Coinbase said the quiet part out loud with their apolitical stance. When that happened, tons of people flocked to applaud them, both on HN and in the VC industry. All of this perfectly aligns with finding racism within said company, and the tech industry as a whole.

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leppr5y ago

> Coinbase's own (unrefuted) numbers show they are far worse than other tech companies. Where is your conception based off of?

They are (were?) at 3% vs 6% average, on small absolute numbers. Not great but certainly within margin of forgiveness.

My conception is based on the scene as a whole, which is extremely international. Look at the public personalities in crypto vs. the wider VC tech scene. It's possible Coinbase is a pocket of prejudice, but it would be an exception.

> stated principles and actual beliefs/actions often don't match in tech.

I agree, but this isn't just a principle here, the mechanics of crypto themselves prevent racial, gender, socioeconomic bias. You can't say one thing and do the other when the code is open source and is the main UI. That's the difference with things like big-tech's empty "privacy pledges" for instance, here the bad thing is made actually structurally inconvenient.

adjkantOP5y ago

> which is extremely international

Racism against Africans can be found internationally, but in this case we are talking specifically African-Americans. Being international does not mean diverse in this specific way, it just means diverse in terms of nationality. For a good example, as the article and many have highlighted, asian representation is not an issue at Coinbase. Racism isn't generalized but specific to races and cultures. A person can be prejudice to just one category or many categories.

> the mechanics of crypto themselves prevent racial, gender, socioeconomic bias

mechanics and community are not one in the same, and crypto is still plenty susceptible to discrimination for any transactions that begin off-network (most all, humans are social creatures). While the mechanics help a small edge case or two, I don't really see any meaningful difference. What's the real material racism that crypto stops that other forms of payment or speculative trading fall victim to?

leppr5y ago

You may be right on the first point, I won't speculate. I just wanted to point out that it's unlikely to be something endemic to the space.

> What's the real material racism that crypto stops that other forms of payment or speculative trading fall victim to?

Access to financial services like loans for instance. No human or even AI model to judge you based on external factors.

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xenihn5y ago

>All of this perfectly aligns with finding racism within said company, and the tech industry as a whole.

I don't understanding why you're stopping at the tech industry when it's a problem in every other industry too. I'd go so far as to say it's a problem that permeates every industry in the entire world.

adjkantOP5y ago

All of this is within the context of the "apolitical" statement by Coinbase and those who engaged with the post, which was by and large only the tech industry. I'm not looking to go on a full analysis of "racism in the world" in HN comments today lols

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0 pointsadjkant5y ago0 comments

> it's the most multicultural tech scene I ever witnessed

Coinbase's own (unrefuted) numbers show they are far worse than other tech companies. Where is your conception based off of?

> one of the core tenets of crypto is precisely eliminating discrimination

0 comments

leppr5y ago

> Coinbase's own (unrefuted) numbers show they are far worse than other tech companies. Where is your conception based off of?

They are (were?) at 3% vs 6% average, on small absolute numbers. Not great but certainly within margin of forgiveness.

> stated principles and actual beliefs/actions often don't match in tech.

adjkantOP5y ago

> which is extremely international

> the mechanics of crypto themselves prevent racial, gender, socioeconomic bias

leppr5y ago

You may be right on the first point, I won't speculate. I just wanted to point out that it's unlikely to be something endemic to the space.

> What's the real material racism that crypto stops that other forms of payment or speculative trading fall victim to?

Access to financial services like loans for instance. No human or even AI model to judge you based on external factors.

1 more reply

xenihn5y ago

>All of this perfectly aligns with finding racism within said company, and the tech industry as a whole.

adjkantOP5y ago

j / k navigate · click thread line to collapse