3 ms·

>> If you’re reading this, you’re probably a red-blooded American programmer .... Err right. I'm black, Nigerian and have an interest + background in crypto...

• tptacek 13y ago
  Your blood is still red, though, right?
  • RasJones 13y ago
    last time i checked...anyway my gentle way of suggesting to the author to reword that line...aside that looks great.
• SCdF 13y ago
  Eh, you have to let that stuff slide imo: the Internet presumes you are American. It used to annoy me, but since a large amount of the English-speaking internet is American I've learnt to ignore it. It's only really frustrating when you go down the rabbit hole of some product pitch only to find it doesn't apply to the particular chunk of dirt-above-water you happen to sleep on.
  • marshray 13y ago
    I don't think tptacek actually presumes everyone is American, he is simply using a figure of speech which is local to America. As an American, my impression is that the phrase "good red-blooded American" derives from the Cold War, or possibly earlier. For example, during the anti-communist movement of the 1950's, the term would be used judgmentally to distinguish from those who might be "pinko commies". C.f. "better dead than red". Since the communist threat has obviously subsided, today I would interpret Ptacek's use of the term "like any red-blooded American" as both calling to mind a shared experience which many of us have had (growing up in America, reading Schneier's Applied Cryptography), as well as reminding us of the risk of failing to think beyond it.