8 ms·

Jesus, now I have to feel guilty about being white, bering a male, and being a developer? Someone stop me!

by rfnslyr 13y ago

pietro 13y ago
Stop feeling guilty! It's stupid and wrong.
ronaldx 13y ago
You have personal responsibility for your actions as a developer. If you are using your skills in a way which primarily benefits the super-rich and is a net negative to society, you should take this opportunity to reflect on that: yes.
- rfnslyr 13y ago
  I work on mobile applications at an investment bank so the rich can fiddle with their money from their diamond plated iPhones. Does that buy me a ticket to hell?
  - deleted 13y ago
    [deleted]
- reitzensteinm 13y ago
  Why even mention the super rich in that sentence? Building a personal app for Bill Gates shouldn't make you feel guilty. Being a net negative drain on society through your profession should make you feel guilty regardless of circumstance.
  - ronaldx 13y ago
    A fair point, thanks.
- wavefunction 13y ago
  The important thing to note is that we are all apparently working to benefit the super-rich. In fact, your options to the contrary are pretty limited.
  - ronaldx 13y ago
    I note this, but don't find that it absolves you of personal responsibility.
  - dantheman 13y ago
    We are benefiting everyone. Technology improves the quality of life for everyone, the benefits may be concentrated right now but over time they'll be dispersed. We are freeing labor from tasks, the problem is that we are in a transition period where their new tasks are not well understood. Overall software eating the world will make everyone significantly richer. Also, as always wealth is not a zero sum game. Just because someone has 100X the wealth you do, does not mean that they stole from you, or that you are poorer. In fact your standard of living has probably increased.
    - hcarvalhoalves 13y ago
      > Also, as always wealth is not a zero sum game. Just because someone has 100X the wealth you do, does not mean that they stole from you, or that you are poorer. While this makes us sleep well at night, please consider that the top richest are often connected to: - Externalizing costs to countries with corrupt/authoritarian governments - Tax evasion - Companies backed by strong governments' tax money (theft by the state), later privatized for pennies because the government is broke and/or corrupt - Banking, which never follow free-market rules - Oil and mining companies, which aren't taxed proportional to the intrinsic environmental and social impacts While wealth doesn't comes from theft, wealth concentration requires a dose of unethical behavior and not observing some people's fundamental rights. When you're at that level of capital it's an entire different game.
      - dantheman 13y ago
        Then the problem is not wealth inequality it's government intervention and government corruption. So we should stop talking about wealth and start talking about corruption.
RivieraKid 13y ago
No, why?
LaGrange 13y ago
You are not expected to feel „white guilt”. You are expected to acknowledge the privilege you have, to avoid its abuse, and to avoid perpetuating that state (though of course keeping awareness of the costs and benefits of such actions - nobody benefits if you just burn all your money and remove other privileges by bodily harm, for example).
- rfnslyr 13y ago
  How do I find out what "privilege" I have? Do I have to work harder to actively offset this imaginary benefit society has somehow determined that I've been born with? I'm sick and tired of this privilege bullshit. I didn't get to where I am now because of being a white male.
  - macimumloam 13y ago
    It's not imaginary at all though. Do you truly believe that there is no benefit in everyday life gained by being a white, straight, middle-class+, male? Is there not a benefit to going to a school that can afford up to date books? To not have being open about you sexuality be a real risk to your career and health? Is there no benefit to not having racial slurs yelled at you? To not have many people in society assume that you know less because of your sex? Pretending that privilege doesn't exist because you haven't been on the wrong side does no good to yourself or society.
    - rfnslyr 13y ago
      No, I truly believe there is no such thing, it's something made up by the entitled. Why is it that I work alongside many tiny asian women and indian women that can barely speak a word of English and are in their 30's? You are assuming I go to a nice school and I'm from a nice middle class family that can support all my stuff. I'm not. I dropped out because I had no money and I was born in eastern european ghetto filth. Not have my sexuality be a real risk to my career and health? What do you know about my life, my career, my health, or anything, for you to lay baseless "privilege" assumptions? Being white isn't a ticket to kingdom come and anybody who believes so has to do some deep self reflection. I've been on the wrong side, the very very wrong side. What the fuck do you know about going to prison? Where was my white privilege when my teeth were being ground into the asphalt by 5 guys bigger than me? What do you know about not having SHIT to eat for days at a time? Not seeing your parents for weeks at a time to just bring food to the table? What do you know about spending 5 years travelling through many different countries just to escape a communist regime, to leave your family behind, to have nothing? "Privilege" is something created by the people that are already born into an upper class world and spend their days speculating upon the lives of the less fortunate which in turn sprouted this movement. Do not fucking sit here and spout this poisonous bullshit, because it doesn't exist in the extremes of life, only in the made up comfortable society you've been brought up in, maybe. You don't know shit about me.
jgalt212 13y ago
For the state of your fragile self-worth, I recommend staying far away from the Lifetime movie channel.
sremani 13y ago
How many White Male Developers are on the world's 85 richest people ? You are diverting this issue towards race - I am not white - and I do not look up to people because they are White. There are attributes I care about - but every once in a while a dude comes and complains about race. I too felt others were mistreating me for my race - but when I changed my mindset - I did not see people mistreating me, so I guess its the VIBE not the race.

Jesus, now I have to feel guilty about being white, bering a male, and being a developer? Someone stop me!

by rfnslyr 13y ago

Jesus, now I have to feel guilty about being white, bering a male, and being a developer? Someone stop me!

pietro 13y ago

Stop feeling guilty! It's stupid and wrong.

ronaldx 13y ago

You have personal responsibility for your actions as a developer. If you are using your skills in a way which primarily benefits the super-rich and is a net negative to society, you should take this opportunity to reflect on that: yes.

rfnslyr 13y ago
I work on mobile applications at an investment bank so the rich can fiddle with their money from their diamond plated iPhones. Does that buy me a ticket to hell?
- deleted 13y ago
  [deleted]
reitzensteinm 13y ago
Why even mention the super rich in that sentence? Building a personal app for Bill Gates shouldn't make you feel guilty. Being a net negative drain on society through your profession should make you feel guilty regardless of circumstance.
- ronaldx 13y ago
  A fair point, thanks.
wavefunction 13y ago
The important thing to note is that we are all apparently working to benefit the super-rich. In fact, your options to the contrary are pretty limited.
- ronaldx 13y ago
  I note this, but don't find that it absolves you of personal responsibility.
- dantheman 13y ago
  We are benefiting everyone. Technology improves the quality of life for everyone, the benefits may be concentrated right now but over time they'll be dispersed. We are freeing labor from tasks, the problem is that we are in a transition period where their new tasks are not well understood. Overall software eating the world will make everyone significantly richer. Also, as always wealth is not a zero sum game. Just because someone has 100X the wealth you do, does not mean that they stole from you, or that you are poorer. In fact your standard of living has probably increased.
  - hcarvalhoalves 13y ago
    > Also, as always wealth is not a zero sum game. Just because someone has 100X the wealth you do, does not mean that they stole from you, or that you are poorer. While this makes us sleep well at night, please consider that the top richest are often connected to: - Externalizing costs to countries with corrupt/authoritarian governments - Tax evasion - Companies backed by strong governments' tax money (theft by the state), later privatized for pennies because the government is broke and/or corrupt - Banking, which never follow free-market rules - Oil and mining companies, which aren't taxed proportional to the intrinsic environmental and social impacts While wealth doesn't comes from theft, wealth concentration requires a dose of unethical behavior and not observing some people's fundamental rights. When you're at that level of capital it's an entire different game.
    - dantheman 13y ago
      Then the problem is not wealth inequality it's government intervention and government corruption. So we should stop talking about wealth and start talking about corruption.

RivieraKid 13y ago

No, why?

LaGrange 13y ago

You are not expected to feel „white guilt”. You are expected to acknowledge the privilege you have, to avoid its abuse, and to avoid perpetuating that state (though of course keeping awareness of the costs and benefits of such actions - nobody benefits if you just burn all your money and remove other privileges by bodily harm, for example).

rfnslyr 13y ago
How do I find out what "privilege" I have? Do I have to work harder to actively offset this imaginary benefit society has somehow determined that I've been born with? I'm sick and tired of this privilege bullshit. I didn't get to where I am now because of being a white male.
- macimumloam 13y ago
  It's not imaginary at all though. Do you truly believe that there is no benefit in everyday life gained by being a white, straight, middle-class+, male? Is there not a benefit to going to a school that can afford up to date books? To not have being open about you sexuality be a real risk to your career and health? Is there no benefit to not having racial slurs yelled at you? To not have many people in society assume that you know less because of your sex? Pretending that privilege doesn't exist because you haven't been on the wrong side does no good to yourself or society.
  - rfnslyr 13y ago
    No, I truly believe there is no such thing, it's something made up by the entitled. Why is it that I work alongside many tiny asian women and indian women that can barely speak a word of English and are in their 30's? You are assuming I go to a nice school and I'm from a nice middle class family that can support all my stuff. I'm not. I dropped out because I had no money and I was born in eastern european ghetto filth. Not have my sexuality be a real risk to my career and health? What do you know about my life, my career, my health, or anything, for you to lay baseless "privilege" assumptions? Being white isn't a ticket to kingdom come and anybody who believes so has to do some deep self reflection. I've been on the wrong side, the very very wrong side. What the fuck do you know about going to prison? Where was my white privilege when my teeth were being ground into the asphalt by 5 guys bigger than me? What do you know about not having SHIT to eat for days at a time? Not seeing your parents for weeks at a time to just bring food to the table? What do you know about spending 5 years travelling through many different countries just to escape a communist regime, to leave your family behind, to have nothing? "Privilege" is something created by the people that are already born into an upper class world and spend their days speculating upon the lives of the less fortunate which in turn sprouted this movement. Do not fucking sit here and spout this poisonous bullshit, because it doesn't exist in the extremes of life, only in the made up comfortable society you've been brought up in, maybe. You don't know shit about me.

jgalt212 13y ago

For the state of your fragile self-worth, I recommend staying far away from the Lifetime movie channel.

sremani 13y ago

How many White Male Developers are on the world's 85 richest people ? You are diverting this issue towards race - I am not white - and I do not look up to people because they are White. There are attributes I care about - but every once in a while a dude comes and complains about race. I too felt others were mistreating me for my race - but when I changed my mindset - I did not see people mistreating me, so I guess its the VIBE not the race.