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His HN response is pretty baffling to read. Saying he's "no longer the struggling kid from Jordan" who now needs to "be kind and model better behavior" is oddly

by holman 5y ago

His HN response is pretty baffling to read. Saying he's "no longer the struggling kid from Jordan" who now needs to "be kind and model better behavior" is oddly focused on him, but it also kind of points to... people from Jordan are incapable of being kind? The whole approach he took here is just very poorly thought out.

patcon 5y ago
Haven't been following this except for reading the post yesterday, but these words strike me as kinda vulnerable for him to admit (in the good way), and I want to applaud it. It seems like he's admitting that his environment shaped him, and his hustle mindset and "me against the unfair world" might not always be appropriate. * shrug * Though yes, he seems to have some personality flaws. I hope he's working on them, but also don't think he should get a pass just for admitting them.
- darkhorse13 5y ago
  Please. We all have struggles in life, all of us. Nothing can justify bad behavior, and straight up bullying. I do believe anyone can change though, so here's hoping that he does so for the better.
  - tuscanevenings 5y ago
    The opportunity to demonstrate that he could change was in the follow up call. I had considered ceasing my company's use of Replit after the original HN post; the supposed olive branch message that was really to elicit underdog sympathy, the phone call and his behaviour on Twitter was the nail in the coffin.
- lobocinza 5y ago
  Looks like victimism to me.
istorical 5y ago
To me your interpretation seems to miss the point RE: struggling kid from Jordan. I think the point the founder was probably getting at was to recognize that he is no longer in a underdog / position of no power / have no resources (aka struggling kid from Jordan) but is now in a position of power and needs to reset his mindset and no longer have the 'do anything to win' mentality that it often takes to get out of poverty / fight as David against Goliath, etc. Not sure why you would think he is implying anything about people from Jordan not being kind rather than just state you don't get what he's trying to get at.
Trufa 5y ago
That's honestly the worse possible interpretation. He's obviously focusing on what he feels he did wrong and what he thinks is the reason. The main point is that he apologized and undid his mistake, what else do you want? Also he's obviously not saying that people from Jordan can't be kind, he's saying that his upbringing may have had something to do with it which is completely possible. I really don't know what else do you expect, I find your comment unnecessarily negative for an apology that came with a redeeming action.
peripitea 5y ago
Jordan is a poor country. He's just illustrating how he's used to being the underdog.
myth_drannon 5y ago
I disagree. Past traumas shape us and how we see and respond to the world around us.
- prepend 5y ago
  While certainly true that past traumas shape us, not all are relevant to every statement. Also, growing up in Jordan isn’t necessarily a trauma. This is something that’s true, but not really relevant. Note that we did not reference all of our past traumas these two comments. Not because our traumas didn’t shape us, but because it’s not practical to describe our traumas in every thing we say, all the time.
prepend 5y ago
I interpreted this comment from the CEO as part of the common, and I think not very productive, practice of describing whatever negative or potentially negative trait as part of the intro to a statement. To describe what particular hardships are specific to me, even if not relevant (eg, “As a left handed, childhood beating survivor, true fan of the Last Jedi, I think tabs are better than spaces…”) I just kind of ignore it and assume it’s a natural rhetorical technique, sometimes unconscious, to just say something that’s perceived positively. I suppose technically it’s “appeal to irrelevant authority.”
Sammi 5y ago
It's an attempt to paint an image of himself as the victim that you should feel sorry for. I feel manipulated when reading it.

by holman 5y ago

patcon 5y ago

Haven't been following this except for reading the post yesterday, but these words strike me as kinda vulnerable for him to admit (in the good way), and I want to applaud it. It seems like he's admitting that his environment shaped him, and his hustle mindset and "me against the unfair world" might not always be appropriate. * shrug * Though yes, he seems to have some personality flaws. I hope he's working on them, but also don't think he should get a pass just for admitting them.

darkhorse13 5y ago
Please. We all have struggles in life, all of us. Nothing can justify bad behavior, and straight up bullying. I do believe anyone can change though, so here's hoping that he does so for the better.
- tuscanevenings 5y ago
  The opportunity to demonstrate that he could change was in the follow up call. I had considered ceasing my company's use of Replit after the original HN post; the supposed olive branch message that was really to elicit underdog sympathy, the phone call and his behaviour on Twitter was the nail in the coffin.
lobocinza 5y ago
Looks like victimism to me.

istorical 5y ago

To me your interpretation seems to miss the point RE: struggling kid from Jordan. I think the point the founder was probably getting at was to recognize that he is no longer in a underdog / position of no power / have no resources (aka struggling kid from Jordan) but is now in a position of power and needs to reset his mindset and no longer have the 'do anything to win' mentality that it often takes to get out of poverty / fight as David against Goliath, etc. Not sure why you would think he is implying anything about people from Jordan not being kind rather than just state you don't get what he's trying to get at.

Trufa 5y ago

That's honestly the worse possible interpretation. He's obviously focusing on what he feels he did wrong and what he thinks is the reason. The main point is that he apologized and undid his mistake, what else do you want? Also he's obviously not saying that people from Jordan can't be kind, he's saying that his upbringing may have had something to do with it which is completely possible. I really don't know what else do you expect, I find your comment unnecessarily negative for an apology that came with a redeeming action.

peripitea 5y ago

Jordan is a poor country. He's just illustrating how he's used to being the underdog.

myth_drannon 5y ago

I disagree. Past traumas shape us and how we see and respond to the world around us.

prepend 5y ago
While certainly true that past traumas shape us, not all are relevant to every statement. Also, growing up in Jordan isn’t necessarily a trauma. This is something that’s true, but not really relevant. Note that we did not reference all of our past traumas these two comments. Not because our traumas didn’t shape us, but because it’s not practical to describe our traumas in every thing we say, all the time.

prepend 5y ago

I interpreted this comment from the CEO as part of the common, and I think not very productive, practice of describing whatever negative or potentially negative trait as part of the intro to a statement. To describe what particular hardships are specific to me, even if not relevant (eg, “As a left handed, childhood beating survivor, true fan of the Last Jedi, I think tabs are better than spaces…”) I just kind of ignore it and assume it’s a natural rhetorical technique, sometimes unconscious, to just say something that’s perceived positively. I suppose technically it’s “appeal to irrelevant authority.”

Sammi 5y ago

It's an attempt to paint an image of himself as the victim that you should feel sorry for. I feel manipulated when reading it.