I hear you. The thing is, he said “made have” and “could,” etc, but he also made suggestions that were based on those same ‘tentative’ statements.
It’s hard to believe he wasn’t saying he is definitely ‘right’ especially in his footnotes — which as Caleb Ramsby rightly pointed out were not citations, but more of his opinion. It was interesting and curious how the author framed up what he wrote — in the beginning — listed several ‘political biases’ and admitted — rightly — that neither left or right is 100% correct, but then he wrote everything else in his piece from the perspective of his ‘right leaning bias’ as if he IS 100% correct.
It is interesting, because he was trying hard not to be biased in the piece, but all his biases showed up and informed every assertion he made anyway. I’m not offended by it because in the first place, I think seeing that he tried and acknowledging that is important; and in the second place, nothing he said was intended to be mean.
Its just that the focus around the why or the intent of the gap indicates rationalizing. Humans do that when they feel threatened. He clearly felt threatened by the changes in his environment and I think meeting that kind of fear with anger and frustration only feeds and fuels it.
Google validated his assumptions and his fear when they fired him. Unfortunately. That is not the way to handle something like this. The outrage drums up the drama and we cannot come to any kind of agreement or compromise when we meet fear with anger and ousting.
I don’t agree with the author. I think his assumptions are biased and very simplistic generalizations. I also think its wasteful of the mind to keep justifying why a problem is a problem instead of focusing on solutions. He did that because he feels blamed for the problem. He feels blamed because he is engaged in a mindset of scarcity and finite opportunity — if someone else gains, I must be losing — mentality. That’s unhealthy and harmful for him.
Also, I think Internet culture is so much not about how we look on the outside, but more about what we can do with our brains. He is coming from that place. I wish it hadn’t given rise to such silly assumptions about women and our capacity for tech, but I understand why it did.
I think people are tired of getting beat up for belief systems they did not choose willingly. This perspective was given to him. My biggest issue with it is his taking liberty to state his belief system is factual without any input from women at all. And even if he had input, he should speak for himself and about himself instead of making these sweeping generalizations.
Something happens with girls when we are young that turns us away from STEM even when we have the natural ability and interest in it. That is not his fault. Our stories are not one-demential. How we were turned away and what made us turn back are numerous, unique and varied. My story has literal NOTHING to do with nature and way more to do with my expectations being managed and a father who wanted to protect me from disappointment — using his biases injected by his parents about gender roles and expectations.
All of which continued to be beat into me at school and other places. I can speak to this because it is my story. People are offended by the author’s piece because he thought he could speak for them and used generalization to argue against providing assistance to people like me who are eager to learn and willing to put in the effort to acquire the knowledge.
I am not offended, but just like the author of the OP here on Medium, I want to get coffee with this guy. I want to meet his fear with understanding and I see his manifesto as an open door, an opportunity to behave differently then what he expects. Firing him only confirmed his beliefs. Sadly.
I agree with Caleb. The try to remain neutral was present, but he was defending keeping things as they are and ultimately was arguing to put a stop to programs intended to assist minorities.
His rationalization for putting a stop to those programs is his fear that they mean less opportunity for people who look like him, and that since the gap isn’t his fault, less opportunity isn’t fair. There’s a healthier, less codependent and more grown up way to look at these things.
Now he won’t ever be challenged and accept the opportunity to grow into a healthier mindset, because he was effectively silenced. I think that is sad for everyone.
