Seriously. Speak up. We as a community have a tendency to be passive-aggressive, talking in hushed tones about how X acted that night, or how we really wish that Y would stop making racist comments on team outings. In the words of a wise man, "Shut up and say something."
"Speak up" isn't abstract, it's concrete: if you hear someone say something inappropriate, tell them. That's it. Simple as that.
Here's the thing: whenever I'm called names it makes me want to be/continue being those things just because if pisses the person off. It hurts their fragile little feelings that someone has the audacity of not having the exact same opinion as them and they can't digest it. And while they've having a shouting fit or breaking down I'm continuing with my life, now perhaps a little happier that I've pissed another person off just by being me.
Hey, article writer! I'm never visiting neither your blog or this popular (for some reason) "medium.com" domain, nor am I going to stop being myself. Being me has gotten me to where I am and being you has only resulted in you having constant fits that there are people who aren't genetically alike to yourself. You go ahead and break down and I'll just laugh at you while continuing to call you a fat, nigger-loving, liberal, man-hating feminazi.
Actually you had a lot of help.
I'm tired of these rants. I'll gladly listen to you describing your experiences, but I don't accept your worldview, and I will not agree to describe myself as “misogynistic” or “racist” (not to mention “asshole”), just because I don't agree with you.
It's not that our current system is perfect, or that it can't be improved. But for every person that feels oppressed like the OP, there's a hundred that don't have to starve to death, ten others who can live and fulfill their dreams, five others who…
It's good to reflect on the fact that our human minds are predisposed towards prejudice and selfishness. Calling people nasty names because of those inborn traits is just silly.
I've seen a bunch of these now and frankly I don't see the point. Maybe we should all become Zen Bhuddist monks and subsist off happy thoughts alone lest we accidentally step on an ant and take a life?
I don't know exactly what needs to be done to fix these problems, but I know rants like this do absolutely nothing. You want to see what might make a difference, look at something like this: http://www.hackingplay.com/carnegie-mellon-study-on-gender-a...
On a related note I don't necessarily even agree with the basic premise of the argument. I'm not entirely convinced that the tech sector is sexist/racist/whatever anymore than the rest of society is. Rather I think the lower representation if women in tech is a symptom of the wider cultural problem and not something that can be laid solely at the feet of the tech industry.
>Sorry bro.
>Yes, I have slut-shamed, body-policed, name-called, bad-joked, appropriated, derailed, co-opted, silenced, objectified, stereotyped, trivialized, slurred, punished, isolated, insulted, benefited, and stayed silent with the worst of them.
I'm missing the overarching sarcasm, right? Surely the author cannot be blind to her own contradictions. This must be bait.
> Don’t show up in other people’s spaces and communities without invitation demanding to receive their time and attention.
This is particularly shitty, because they take systemic problems, like racism, sexism, environmentalism, and make them into personal responsibilities. See here:
http://jacobinmag.com/2013/07/revolutionizing-ethics/
No matter how much you atone, systemic sexism will prevail. If you want to change that, CHANGE THE SYSTEM. Introspection is good, but on its own, is just masterbation.
> It’s your job to educate yourself. You know how to fucking Google and find things on the internet and on your Kindle and your iPad and all those other things, so do it. Don’t ask marginalized and oppressed people to do your homework for you.
Surely lowering the friction and leading those who are interested in learning more via some recommendations is a good idea?
Often times people who write this kind of screed are writing more for themselves than for others, even if they don't know it.
Clearly there are other people who are curious who this woman is - her personal site appears to be completely hammered right now - but I don't think this distraction is particularly important except for the people here who are seeking distraction for distraction's sake.
