12 ms·

Ceol. I am Black. I am African. I live in Orange County (3% Black - At best). I am 32. I started to learn how to code at 28. I am still not comfortable walking

Ceol. I am Black. I am African. I live in Orange County (3% Black - At best). I am 32. I started to learn how to code at 28. I am still not comfortable walking in a room where everybody is White. I feel like a fraud sometimes, when I tell people I know how to code (in PHP). None of the above stopped me from slinging that code for several hours today. I understand what being a minority is, but quite frankly most of the time that shit is in our head. If you don't care, then no one will. Somebody having an advantage does not mean you have a disadvantage, this is not a zero sum game. I am writing code for a product for women (Hint: Alexander Wang, diane von furstenberg, Tory Burch, Marc Jacobs kinda stuff). Just because women knows these brands more than I (in general) does not mean I should sit back. It's hard, I get it, but what other choice do we have but roll up our sleeves and make our own mark and tell them "You see, mine count too," instead of "Make it easy for me to get in." But I'll admit, I am very naive, and that has cost me greatly. At any rate, apologies.

ceol 13y ago
Being black is certainly not the same as being a woman, and just because you didn't experience enough discrimination to push you away doesn't mean others don't. If anything, that feeling of being uncomfortable should make you more sympathetic, but instead, you're stuck in this bootstraps mentality that anyone who couldn't follow through just didn't apply themselves enough or something. > Somebody having an advantage does not mean you have a disadvantage, this is not a zero sum game. Err, yeah it does. That's exactly what it means. If someone has an advantage over you, you are at a disadvantage. That's what the word "disadvantage" means. > Just because women knows these brands more than I (in general) does not mean I should sit back. No one is saying you should. That actually has nothing to do with this. No one is asking for work to be segregated; in fact, they're asking for the exact opposite. > "You see, mine count too," instead of "Make it easy for me to get in." Why not both? Why not, "Stop treating me like shit and count mine." This isn't either-or.
- rokhayakebe 13y ago
  You know, Ceol, maybe you are right.
dragonwriter 13y ago
> Somebody having an advantage does not mean you have a disadvantage Since the kind of advantage/disadvantage we are talking is relative, not absolute, yes, it does.

ceol 13y ago

Being black is certainly not the same as being a woman, and just because you didn't experience enough discrimination to push you away doesn't mean others don't. If anything, that feeling of being uncomfortable should make you more sympathetic, but instead, you're stuck in this bootstraps mentality that anyone who couldn't follow through just didn't apply themselves enough or something. > Somebody having an advantage does not mean you have a disadvantage, this is not a zero sum game. Err, yeah it does. That's exactly what it means. If someone has an advantage over you, you are at a disadvantage. That's what the word "disadvantage" means. > Just because women knows these brands more than I (in general) does not mean I should sit back. No one is saying you should. That actually has nothing to do with this. No one is asking for work to be segregated; in fact, they're asking for the exact opposite. > "You see, mine count too," instead of "Make it easy for me to get in." Why not both? Why not, "Stop treating me like shit and count mine." This isn't either-or.

rokhayakebe 13y ago
You know, Ceol, maybe you are right.

dragonwriter 13y ago

> Somebody having an advantage does not mean you have a disadvantage Since the kind of advantage/disadvantage we are talking is relative, not absolute, yes, it does.