(08-10-2017, 07:27 AM)flsprtsgod Wrote:

(08-10-2017, 06:34 AM)The Real Marty Wrote: I think the guy was making some completely valid points, such as, why does "diversity" not include ideological diversity, and maybe lack of diversity is not simply a result of discrimination.   Anyone who reads his so-called "manifesto" can see that it is NOT "anti-diversity."   He is simply trying to raise some possible other reasons why women are under-represented in technology.  

It seems like every day I read articles about how women are better than men at this or that, but when anyone wants to say men might be better than women at anything, they get attacked.

So often it seems like people try to make up for the lack of a level playing field in the past by tilting the playing field completely in the other direction.   They try to make up for past discrimination with more discrimination.  Such practices are very destructive to our unity as a society, because now we have created a whole new set of victims and a whole new set of grievances.

They dont want equality, they want revenge. Revenge for something that didn't happen to them agaist people who didn't do it.

I agree with both.

And it's interesting that you say they want revenge for something that didn't happen to them against people who didn't do it. 

I'm currently reading a book called, Assimilate Or Go Home, by a woman who was a preacher's daughter and felt called at an early age to be a missionary to a third world country. She always felt an affinity toward refugees because she and her family were moving every few years when her dad was asked to be the pastor to a different church and she always felt somewhat homeless. 

I can totally identify with that. What I can't identify with is her feeling the injustice of what was done to the refugees who were sent here to the US to resettle and have a new life. She goes on and on as if she suffered the same injustices. And I mean she REALLY feels this way. She deliberately lives in low income housing so she can better identify with the Somali Bantu refugees who live in those housings (which is great if that's what you want to do) and IMHO feel sorry for herself for growing up white and privileged. Her definition of privileged seems to be that of one who grows up in a country where everything from law enforcement to the political system is geared to favor white folks. And maybe that is the current definition of privilege or what a lot of folks call white privilege, I don't know. But she seems to hate herself for being white and having grown up in this country instead of being thankful for having the opportunities here that her Somali neighbors never had. The same opportunities that allowed her to be compassionate toward and educated in such a way that she is able to teach these refugees what it's like to live in America when they've never even seen a light switch in their entire lives. It's like she wants to have been them with all the trauma and isolation that comes with it. 

I know there are people who feel a responsibility toward others who are less fortunate. I know there are folks who make it their mission in life to seek justice for those who are mistreated. I didn't really know there are people in this country like her- people who feel such a sense of..... I don't even know the word to use. But your description of the folks who want revenge made me think of this woman. I'm 70% into the book and I am only still reading it because I can't not finish a book. But her constant whining about how she feels so crappy for "being born white and having all the advantages" she had has not made it an easy read. 

Most of my own life has been about survival. Mentally and physically. The last 6 years are the most stable my life has been in my 45 years of life. You don't hear me [BLEEP] and moaning about how bad my life was and how unfair it was that I was mistreated by people who were supposed to protect me or how I was so depressed I tried to kill myself, etc. Yes, I've mentioned things in the context of conversation, but I don't complain about it like I'm owed something. [BLEEP] happens and you suck it up and drive on. If you ever have the opportunity you take what you've learned and help others who encounter similar things, which is something I do. 

I would say most of the folks who work at Google have a mindset more like hers than mine. The persecuted mindset, that is. Or maybe something in between- hopefully. I guess I shouldn't ever apply to work there. I wouldn't last very long at all.

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