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They will probably favor them in the beginning but I think a lot of that comes from the SF bay area echo chamber. Getting exposure to different cultures will p
by bcheung 6y ago
They will probably favor them in the beginning but I think a lot of that comes from the SF bay area echo chamber. Getting exposure to different cultures will probably average things out more politically leading to greater acceptance and diversity of thought.
- JohnCohorn 6y agoMany of those people and companies are coming to Austin. Austin is already awash with leftist values and California transplants. The people moving here can probably stay in an echo chamber here as well.
- ProfessorLayton 6y agoIt is worth noting that the Bay Area is impressively diverse already, especially when considering how remarkably not-diverse cities were not that long ago. Cities like San Leandro went from 99.3% white in the 60s to having no racial majority today. I'd argue that one should step out of their tech bubble and experience the awesome cultures that already exist within the Bay.
- bordercases 6y agoIt's diversity of the uninteresting sort. Ethnic diversity doesn't imply ideological diversity.
- ProfessorLayton 6y agoThe Bay Area is home to a lot of immigrants from all over the world, as well as first generation American citizens whom were raised by their immigrant parents. Is the implication here that they all have the same ideologies?
- bordercases 6y agoThey all moved to the Bay Area didn't they? And they left behind people that didn't. Given that they don't spend much time segregating themselves into Chinatowns and Little Italies one should expect some preference for the culture of the Bay Area to explain the selectivity and staying power, when other locations are just as prosperous (New York, Texas, Boston). An analogy from my own experience: in my youth I was raised in a third world country, but within a community of international expats who worked for the local NGO. They came from countries as diverse as America, Germany, India, China, and what is now South Sudan. What could this ethnic smorgasbord possibly have in common? Answer: a belief in, and commitment to, international cooperation in science. This ideology is what drove the composition of the community.
- bradlys 6y ago> Given that they don't spend much time segregating themselves into Chinatowns and Little Italies one should expect some preference for the culture of the Bay Area to explain the selectivity and staying power, when other locations are just as prosperous (New York, Texas, Boston). Honest question, have you ever lived in the Bay Area? It’s an extremely segregated region. It frequently dictates where people live because there is a huge cultural clash. It isn’t little neighborhoods that segregate - it’s entire cities... Anyway, I don’t think there is much diversity in thought here. There’s plenty of controversy nonsense. I had to see the ladies with signs out in front of the planned parenthood everyday when I still commuted. QAnon rallies are a thing. So forth and so on. It’s not some leftist paradise. I’d say the thing it lacks is leftism. It’s got a radical amount of neoliberal capitalism on all sides because so many people here are obsessed with money, prestige, and power. Kinda gets old. Ain’t no one looking for a more traditional means of happiness, lol.
- ProfessorLayton 6y ago>They all moved to the Bay Area didn't they? And they left behind people that didn't. No, they didn't. Some moved here by choice, others had no choice but to move where opportunities are, and many were born here as a consequence of their parents being here. The latter point is of particular note. It is not at all uncommon for first-generation Americans to be torn between their parent's ideologies, values, and culture, and those of the rest of the population. The result is a unique perspective, or put another way, "diversity of thought" regarding many issues. Anyway, I appreciate the conversation.
- bordercases 6y agoMy own household is multiethnic and I can tell you that a clash of perspectives and beliefs is not always productive. Rarely did the differences in both sides of my family translate into some kind of enlightened synthesis of values. At worst it fostered tensions over what culture was superior. At best they just naturalized in one direction save the ethnic food. Your mileage may vary by culture: my grandmother and mother didn't get along but the former still was an otaku. So in the academic sense sure you can say this is a good thing but now you're scapegoating the emotional integrity of families or the people within them for these conflicts. As far as the "diversity of thought" these experiences taught me... I resolve these conflicts by trying to seek concepts that are not tied to any culture or dissolve cultural distinctions, and draw power from that. That's a form of convergence, not divergence. I know some other multiethnic kids that just pick and choose whether they are e.g. German or Chinese when they are either both or neither.
- bcheung 6y agoEthnically maybe. But in terms of diversity of opinions and tolerance of those opinions it's actually much worse that other places in the country I have been.
- jonathanyc 6y agoHey! If you have a moment: I’m a Christian and a gun owner who is not a fan of the Democratic Party. I live in SF and was born in the East Bay. Would you mind sharing some concrete examples of what you mean by CA being more intolerant than other places? I keep hearing about this but have never really experienced it myself.
- bordercases 6y agoAre you openly any of these things? Do you espouse your Christianity or commitment to proactive self-defense publicly or professionally? What sort of company do you work for and do you self-select for a certain kind of person in your friendships?
- jonathanyc 6y agoBefore I answer, could you please give concrete examples of what you mean by intolerance? I’m genuinely curious and trying to be open minded, I hope I’m not coming across as confrontational. At my last job I was open about my Christianity. I haven’t really had a chance to do that at my current job because of COVID. At my current job though I do talk about the fact that I own a gun in the context of recreation, and at my last job I defended the second amendment in a lunch conversation, but I haven’t really run into an opportunity to espouse a commitment to proactive self defense in a work context… I do talk about self defense with friends though, some of whom strongly oppose the second amendment. My current friends are to my knowledge entirely not Christian.
- bordercases 6y agoThe reason why I'm surprised is because a lot of what counts for political commentary within Silicon Valley circles has emphasized stances in cultural issues which seem opposed to either the Christian attitude or second amendment rights or other views that get broadly tagged as "conservative" or "unkind". It's definitely possible to be tasteful and silent when sitting on a Zoom call as people voice strong views in support of XYZ, but it's another thing to wonder if your working relationships are at risk if you voice the opposite, and the majority of media sponsored by SV money sets up the discourse to make that view look foolish which triplicates the amount of work you need to do to defend it. At the same time it's possible that this is just an issue of a vocal minority of companies controlling the majority of impressions. Since you seem to have had more positive experiences (which I wouldn't expect), I should let you have the floor. (Last question, if you don't mind: what denomination?)
- microtherion 6y agoFor comparison, here's what a Texas echo chamber not too far from Austin looked like when Apple tried to spread their gay cooties there 25 years ago: https://www.nwitimes.com/uncategorized/texas-town-snubs-apple-project-over-gay-policy/article_40bc9e86-9d0e-53a6-b928-803a9e604455.html https://www.nwitimes.com/uncategorized/texas-town-snubs-appl...