Virtually every tech conference operating today is a vehicle for progressive ideology. But since virtually everyone is a progressive, attendees hardly notice, l

Virtually every tech conference operating today is a vehicle for progressive ideology. But since virtually everyone is a progressive, attendees hardly notice, like a fish not noticing water. Consider, for example, this egregious talk, which can reasonably be summarized as "the liberal arts have done a good job at decreasing the relative proportion of white men, and we in technology should learn from their example": http://railsconf.com/program#prop_842 http://railsconf.com/program#prop_842 Or take a look at this one: http://selfconference.org/sessions#session_33 http://selfconference.org/sessions#session_33 When "tech" conferences include talks like "Empathy & Gender Diversity: AMA," I'm afraid the pattern is clear. We in tech are going to have to make a decision about whether we want this process to continue. It's already rather badly violating some cherished liberal principles, such as the policy of offering need-based scholarships to worthy recipients, but only to members of favored underrepresented groups. In other words, poor white and Asian men are out of luck. This policy is being pursued by organizations such as the Y Combinator–backed Recurse Center [1] and by the Strange Loop conference itself [2]. Perhaps we need a fork: in addition to the current events, with their trigger warnings and diversity agendas, maybe we need events that say, "This event is open to anyone. We are all adults here, so if you hear something that upsets you, leave the room or take it in stride. And this is a tech event, so please leave your politics at the door." [1]: https://www.recurse.com/diversity https://www.recurse.com/diversity [2]: http://www.thestrangeloop.com/opportunity.html http://www.thestrangeloop.com/opportunity.html