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Small town Iowa is probably not very well represented on most internet forums, so the commenter was happy to see that it was being referenced... That's all. Not

Small town Iowa is probably not very well represented on most internet forums, so the commenter was happy to see that it was being referenced... That's all. Not sure where your negativity is coming from

lobf 9y ago
White middle class suburbanites aren't well represented on internet forums? Don't mean to be negative, it's just insane how insular and specific this community is and how little recognition that is given here.
- weberc2 9y ago
  Cedar Falls isn't a suburb. 2 hours to Des Moines, 3 to Minneapolis, 5 to Chicago.
  - lobf 9y ago
    I take it to mean any place that isn't urban but also isn't rural.
    - weberc2 9y ago
      It's pretty close to rural. 40K citizens and corn fields a mile or so from campus. Not sure what your overarching point is though--what's wrong with remarking on the improbability of a submission from a tiny university in Iowa?
      - lobf 9y ago
        I grew up in a town of 6k and we were the big one in 20 miles. 40k is suburban IMO. Edit- and I was ridiculing the idea that the mention of a wealthy, homogenous suburb indicates how inclusive this community is. Pretty much every story here deals with things from a young, white, wealthy perspective.
        weberc2 9y ago
        To be clear, no one argued that "posts from Iowa" == "inclusive"; you're arguing against a straw man. But more importantly, it seems your beef with HN is based on the assumption that everyone from a town of 40k or more has the same experiences. This is such a distorted idea of "diversity" when you consider that it includes people from major metropolitan areas, silicon valley, red states, blue states, and all over Europe (and yes, all of those groups are well-represented on HN). The fact that you're here from a town of 6K and I'm here from a town of 2K is testament to the OP's point, and it contradicts yours.
- RingwormOne 9y ago
  I'd imagine life experience for people living in small town Iowa is very different from that of people living in major urban centers on the coasts. You're assuming that if someone is white and not rich or below the poverty line that their life experience is equivalent to that of other white not rich/not poor people. That's a false assumption. Diversity should be celebrated regardless of whether it's within or between different races. The OP was just celebrating a bit of diversity that they noticed and was relevant to them. They were not diminishing other forms of diversity that you may be more concerned with for whatever reason.
  - lobf 9y ago
    The idea that you're calling middle class suburban experience "diversity..." woo boy.
    - RingwormOne 9y ago
      Again, small town Iowa is very different from elsewhere in the country. It's not what you would expect on a site focused on tech where most probably hail from coastal urban or suburban enclaves. Of course if you refuse to believe anyone who is white could contribute to diversity of a community, well then I guess you're just racist.
      - lobf 9y ago
        >Again, small town Iowa is very different from elsewhere in the country. It's not what you would expect on a site focused on tech where most probably hail from coastal urban or suburban enclaves. He lives outside of a town of 40k, it's not particularly small. For reference I grew up in a town of 6k- I'm not trying to play small-town olympics here but he's hardly from the boonies. The University of Iowa is there... >Of course if you refuse to believe anyone who is white could contribute to diversity of a community, well then I guess you're just racist. Heh, what a way to frame my words... who would think that? Nobody would, which is why strawmen are useless rhetorical tools. My point is that on a website dominated by suburban, white, middle class software developers, a reference to suburban Iowa is not diverse. It's insane to think that a reference to that community shows how inclusive HN is. It's extremely exclusive.

lobf 9y ago

White middle class suburbanites aren't well represented on internet forums? Don't mean to be negative, it's just insane how insular and specific this community is and how little recognition that is given here.

weberc2 9y ago
Cedar Falls isn't a suburb. 2 hours to Des Moines, 3 to Minneapolis, 5 to Chicago.
- lobf 9y ago
  I take it to mean any place that isn't urban but also isn't rural.
  - weberc2 9y ago
    It's pretty close to rural. 40K citizens and corn fields a mile or so from campus. Not sure what your overarching point is though--what's wrong with remarking on the improbability of a submission from a tiny university in Iowa?
    - lobf 9y ago
      I grew up in a town of 6k and we were the big one in 20 miles. 40k is suburban IMO. Edit- and I was ridiculing the idea that the mention of a wealthy, homogenous suburb indicates how inclusive this community is. Pretty much every story here deals with things from a young, white, wealthy perspective.
      - weberc2 9y ago
        To be clear, no one argued that "posts from Iowa" == "inclusive"; you're arguing against a straw man. But more importantly, it seems your beef with HN is based on the assumption that everyone from a town of 40k or more has the same experiences. This is such a distorted idea of "diversity" when you consider that it includes people from major metropolitan areas, silicon valley, red states, blue states, and all over Europe (and yes, all of those groups are well-represented on HN). The fact that you're here from a town of 6K and I'm here from a town of 2K is testament to the OP's point, and it contradicts yours.
RingwormOne 9y ago
I'd imagine life experience for people living in small town Iowa is very different from that of people living in major urban centers on the coasts. You're assuming that if someone is white and not rich or below the poverty line that their life experience is equivalent to that of other white not rich/not poor people. That's a false assumption. Diversity should be celebrated regardless of whether it's within or between different races. The OP was just celebrating a bit of diversity that they noticed and was relevant to them. They were not diminishing other forms of diversity that you may be more concerned with for whatever reason.
- lobf 9y ago
  The idea that you're calling middle class suburban experience "diversity..." woo boy.
  - RingwormOne 9y ago
    Again, small town Iowa is very different from elsewhere in the country. It's not what you would expect on a site focused on tech where most probably hail from coastal urban or suburban enclaves. Of course if you refuse to believe anyone who is white could contribute to diversity of a community, well then I guess you're just racist.
    - lobf 9y ago
      >Again, small town Iowa is very different from elsewhere in the country. It's not what you would expect on a site focused on tech where most probably hail from coastal urban or suburban enclaves. He lives outside of a town of 40k, it's not particularly small. For reference I grew up in a town of 6k- I'm not trying to play small-town olympics here but he's hardly from the boonies. The University of Iowa is there... >Of course if you refuse to believe anyone who is white could contribute to diversity of a community, well then I guess you're just racist. Heh, what a way to frame my words... who would think that? Nobody would, which is why strawmen are useless rhetorical tools. My point is that on a website dominated by suburban, white, middle class software developers, a reference to suburban Iowa is not diverse. It's insane to think that a reference to that community shows how inclusive HN is. It's extremely exclusive.