3 ms·

I've worked at places where I ended up realizing I was hired mainly because I'm black. Not that I'm not a good engineer, mind you, but some of these places just

I've worked at places where I ended up realizing I was hired mainly because I'm black. Not that I'm not a good engineer, mind you, but some of these places just wanted a "token black guy" or they actually had quotas as part of some social responsibility/inclusiveness BS. You know what? I absolutely hated those places and didn't last long there. I definitely don't want to be excluded because of how I look, but I don't want to be hired or treated differently because of it either. I'm much happier at my current employer where there is no such BS and black people are a very small minority, which is absolutely fine since we are also a very small minority of CS students where I live. Also on the topic of education - don't create quotas or special programs for people with a certain appearance or ethnic background. Instead, create programs for the disadvantaged.

john_moscow 6y ago
You need to speak up more about this, man. If a White person publicly advocates for what you just mentioned, they will be labeled racist, canceled and will have hard time finding a job for the rest of their life. As a Black, you have a much higher chance to be heard, and maybe even seen as a role model by other Blacks who would otherwise consider themselves victims. That's the only realistic way to solve the problem.
- stepsrabbit 6y ago
  For context I'm European but I did live in the US (TX) for 5 years. I need to go get some sleep, but very briefly: I would say that the focus on race is a real problem over there - there's discrimination, hate, taboo topics and excessive PC, affirmative action, it's a political talking point, you have to identify as one of a few races in all kinds of forms (which is ridiculous - is a Portuguese person white or hispanic? What if they are black or mixed?)... The list goes on. Minorities are generally of a lower socioeconomic status than the majority. People of a lower socioeconomic status are less likely to get a proper education (particularly in the US where university is super expensive). People without an education don't get white collar jobs, and thus have more trouble moving up the societal ladder. Therefore, there's less role models. I think you see where I'm getting at - it's a vicious cycle and I think ensuring everyone has access to proper education should be one of your top priorities. Real racism is also a problem there, of course. But I fear that quotas will not help with that and just compound the problem instead. Maybe I'll blog about this stuff one day.

john_moscow 6y ago

You need to speak up more about this, man. If a White person publicly advocates for what you just mentioned, they will be labeled racist, canceled and will have hard time finding a job for the rest of their life. As a Black, you have a much higher chance to be heard, and maybe even seen as a role model by other Blacks who would otherwise consider themselves victims. That's the only realistic way to solve the problem.

stepsrabbit 6y ago
For context I'm European but I did live in the US (TX) for 5 years. I need to go get some sleep, but very briefly: I would say that the focus on race is a real problem over there - there's discrimination, hate, taboo topics and excessive PC, affirmative action, it's a political talking point, you have to identify as one of a few races in all kinds of forms (which is ridiculous - is a Portuguese person white or hispanic? What if they are black or mixed?)... The list goes on. Minorities are generally of a lower socioeconomic status than the majority. People of a lower socioeconomic status are less likely to get a proper education (particularly in the US where university is super expensive). People without an education don't get white collar jobs, and thus have more trouble moving up the societal ladder. Therefore, there's less role models. I think you see where I'm getting at - it's a vicious cycle and I think ensuring everyone has access to proper education should be one of your top priorities. Real racism is also a problem there, of course. But I fear that quotas will not help with that and just compound the problem instead. Maybe I'll blog about this stuff one day.