Comment by natch
11 years ago
I'm not feeling oppressed. The problem isn't me feeling oppressed, it's other people feeling oppressed.
Poor choice of language can set up an exclusionary environment.
To you, this may be funny.
To me, your accusation of humorlessness reminds me of people who engage in sexually harassing "jokes" in the workplace, and then try to get away with it by using "humor" as an excuse.
You aren't the one who gets to decide when other people feel uncomfortable.
Your attitude and remarks are creating a hostile and uncomfortable environment for me. I demand that you stop immediately.
From the Wikipedia link in your profile I see you invented Google's "Don't Be Evil' motto.
At least now I finally understand how they manage to still hold on to that.
As long as you redefine evil to exclude things you don't feel other people should be hurt by you're all clear!
Evil is teaching people to view themselves as weak victims at every available opportunity.
7 replies →
>Your attitude and remarks are creating a hostile and uncomfortable environment for me. I demand that you stop immediately.
I don't understand the point you are making. If your remarks were making me feel uncomfortable wouldn't you expect me to say so? Why not?
Such a tone-deaf retort is typical of those who fail to see the problem. Again the issue isn't about your or my level of comfort; the issue is the environment we set up for young people considering their opportunities in life.
> I'm not feeling oppressed. The problem isn't me feeling oppressed, it's other people feeling oppressed.... You aren't the one who gets to decide when other people feel uncomfortable.
But.. you.. are?
Do you realize how patronizing it is when white males get preemptively upset over something instead of letting women and minorities speak for themselves?
The funny thing is women and minorities are rarely offended by these sort of things but the White males of HN seem to think everyone else is a damsel in distress in dire need of their protection.
> You aren't the one who gets to decide when other people feel uncomfortable.
> it's other people feeling oppressed
Seems a bit hypocritical doesn't it? You are sort of correct. The only person who gets to decide if "he/she" (notice the political correctness?) is offended is "himself/herself." Just as you cannot tell someone he/she is offended, you cannot tell anyone he/she is being offensive. The only person who can label someone as offensive is the person who is offended by the words.
Stop getting offended over pointless shit. Nothing can be offensive without offensive intent. 99% of the time, the problem lies with the person getting offended, not the person doing the offending. Nobody has an obligation to feel like they are walking on glass when he/she opens his/her mouth.
I wonder how many female programmers actually feel oppressed by this?
I doubt many do. The ones who would feel oppressed probably just avoid the field. Which is not an optimal outcome, in case that wasn't obvious.
We should compile in a Wiki (or something similar) everything that might make someone uncomfortable.
That way, we can look up and make sure this thing never happens. Then, with any luck, a strawperson (not strawman) will never feel like that for something on the internet again.
Why would this hypothetically offended person not by offended by "man"? They would not use it(as offended as they are), therefore they'd never learn it meant "manual", just as they wouldn't learn that "bro" is short for "brochure"....right?
You aren't the one who gets to decide when other people feel uncomfortable.
... because that's your job, I suppose?
You sure felt uncomfortable all over the comments page. Yuck bra.
> Poor choice of language can set up an exclusionary environment.
Do you have any examples of this assertion to help understand what you are getting at and how it relates to this?