4 ms·
This escalated quickly. But I would actually somewhat side with the commenters saying that it is odd to explicitly mention the race in the article. I get that i
by danbruc 10y ago
This escalated quickly. But I would actually somewhat side with the commenters saying that it is odd to explicitly mention the race in the article. I get that it is Black History Month in the US and in that context it seems appropriate but I would question whether having a Black History Month is a good idea in the first place.
It is not obvious to me that explicitly pointing out a distinction is the best way to get rid of said distinction, be it black or white, male or female, gay or straight. It is a historical accident that one of the groups in each case was at a disadvantage in the past and that this continuous on to today with the gap narrowing slower than one may want.
So I understand that it seems warranted to give the disadvantaged group special attention to close the gap as fast as possible. But does this necessarily require pointing out the distinction in the way this article or Black History Month does? Sure, any program targeting a specific group can not totally avoid making use of the addressed distinction, but would it not be better to keep this as inconspicuous as possible?
- maxerickson 10y agoThere are not many efforts to get rid of distinctions. People mostly work to get rid of unfair discrimination that is based on an arbitrary distinction.
- danbruc 10y agoThat is of cause what I was referring to, you would certainly not attempt to get rid of different skin colors, sexes or sexual orientations to achieve equal treatment for all.
- Nomentatus 10y agoWhy mention his race 'cause there's no such thing as unconscious bias and Valley funding and hires are as diverse as society is and... ah... oops, no, wait...
- danbruc 10y agoThis did not really add something to what I said, I did not deny the existence of the problem. You have to argue why mentioning the race is helpful, why it helps to reduces biases. Why does it not do the opposite, why does mentioning the race not reinforce its importance?
- Nomentatus 10y agoI think I did mention that bias was unconscious; we all know brains are association machines, therefore associating more colors with computing achievements is obviously a good thing. If you know of a perverse effect, I'd be glad to hear of it.
- tomp 10y agoNo, Valley hiring is about as diverse as Valley job applicants (= CS graduates) are... at least regarding to sex, I'm assuming it's similar for race as well. So I'd say you're focusing on the wrong problem.