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It absolutely is politicized and I find this to minimize his accomplishments.

eganist 6y ago
Can you help me understand why you believe that highlighting privilege arising from one's innate characteristics is political?
- smeeth 6y ago
  Not OP but I’d be curious to hear why you think it isn’t. As best I can tell the distinguishing characteristic between people who believe in the existence of white/male privilege and those who do not is political affiliation.
  - eganist 6y ago
    > As best I can tell the distinguishing characteristic between people who believe in the existence of white/male privilege and those who do not is political affiliation. The people who are not white, not cis-male, or not straight are the people who have encountered consistent barriers as a result of these negations. These are all immutable parameters, not political affiliations. No one chooses to be white (or not). No one chooses to be male (or not). No one chooses to be straight (or not). Women? Barriers. Trans? Barriers. Black? Barriers. Middle Eastern? Even though we're classified as white by tax code? Barriers. Gay? Barriers. Jewish? Muslim? Even Catholic? (Considering the mental trauma that often arises with rapid disillusionment from religion, this is largely considered immutable) Barriers. Hispanic? Asian? Aboriginal? Native American? Barriers. I get that it's uncomfortable to hackernews because we like to think that every startup operates in a meritocratic manner, but that's been consistently proven false just with the sheer volume of white straight cis-men managing and leading companies in the US, Australia, the EU, wherever you look. tl;dr: it's not political because the people who understand that it's an issue overwhelmingly tend to be the victims, and the people who don't understand that it's an issue mostly tend not to be victims, and the victims tend to be victimized because of immutable traits rather than ideologies.
bdibs 6y ago
I don't like this new trend where some people believe certain facts are political. A fact is a fact, no matter which "side" you're on.
- zarathustreal 6y ago
  A parroted opinion, presented without evidence and rigorous scientific research, on the other hand, can very well be just a political statement. Especially the kind of opinion that is given in a context completely unrelated and to an audience of people that never asked to hear it. Regardless of whether being white is a statistical indicator of likeliness to have something meaningful to say, we need to first establish that the consequences of such a thing are negative in the first place. “White privilege” does not exclude others from the same “privilege” - it’s entirely possible for any other attribute-based demographic to accumulate a statistic average as well.
  - deleted 6y ago
    [deleted]
- aliante 6y ago
  It is hardly factual that he was only allowed into conferences for being white.
  - aahhahahaaa 6y ago
    Do you think it's factual that it's easier to blend in if you look like everyone else?
    - aliante 6y ago
      That is factual. That would be relevant if conference entry were being managed by snipers searching crowds.
      - aahhahahaaa 6y ago

Can you help me understand why you believe that highlighting privilege arising from one's innate characteristics is political?

smeeth 6y ago
Not OP but I’d be curious to hear why you think it isn’t. As best I can tell the distinguishing characteristic between people who believe in the existence of white/male privilege and those who do not is political affiliation.
- eganist 6y ago
  > As best I can tell the distinguishing characteristic between people who believe in the existence of white/male privilege and those who do not is political affiliation. The people who are not white, not cis-male, or not straight are the people who have encountered consistent barriers as a result of these negations. These are all immutable parameters, not political affiliations. No one chooses to be white (or not). No one chooses to be male (or not). No one chooses to be straight (or not). Women? Barriers. Trans? Barriers. Black? Barriers. Middle Eastern? Even though we're classified as white by tax code? Barriers. Gay? Barriers. Jewish? Muslim? Even Catholic? (Considering the mental trauma that often arises with rapid disillusionment from religion, this is largely considered immutable) Barriers. Hispanic? Asian? Aboriginal? Native American? Barriers. I get that it's uncomfortable to hackernews because we like to think that every startup operates in a meritocratic manner, but that's been consistently proven false just with the sheer volume of white straight cis-men managing and leading companies in the US, Australia, the EU, wherever you look. tl;dr: it's not political because the people who understand that it's an issue overwhelmingly tend to be the victims, and the people who don't understand that it's an issue mostly tend not to be victims, and the victims tend to be victimized because of immutable traits rather than ideologies.

bdibs 6y ago

I don't like this new trend where some people believe certain facts are political. A fact is a fact, no matter which "side" you're on.

zarathustreal 6y ago
A parroted opinion, presented without evidence and rigorous scientific research, on the other hand, can very well be just a political statement. Especially the kind of opinion that is given in a context completely unrelated and to an audience of people that never asked to hear it. Regardless of whether being white is a statistical indicator of likeliness to have something meaningful to say, we need to first establish that the consequences of such a thing are negative in the first place. “White privilege” does not exclude others from the same “privilege” - it’s entirely possible for any other attribute-based demographic to accumulate a statistic average as well.
- deleted 6y ago
  [deleted]
aliante 6y ago
It is hardly factual that he was only allowed into conferences for being white.
- aahhahahaaa 6y ago
  Do you think it's factual that it's easier to blend in if you look like everyone else?
  - aliante 6y ago
    That is factual. That would be relevant if conference entry were being managed by snipers searching crowds.
    - aahhahahaaa 6y ago