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'Hostile' is quite a leap and makes more assumptions than are worth addressing. You claim hostility, but it sounds like you might mean underrepresentation?

Regardless, it's for the same reasons that the NFL and NBA are 'hostile' to Asians, Indians, and any other underrepresented group: they're not. It's just a function of what people are culturally exposed to growing up and what we're conditioned to see.

It's silly to think a community that openly accepts whites, Asians, and Indians is hostile to blacks because we're a wee bit darker. Go to a black neighborhood and ask how many startups failed or people who gave up programming because they felt the community was hostile to them. It even sounds silly, right?

I'm black and the only reason I'm involved in the tech community is because my mom started working at AT&T 40+ years ago as a punch card operator and worked her way up. If she hadn't brought her work computer home when I was a kid in the 90's I probably wouldn't have fallen in love with computers. She also set aside the money to buy me a computer on a 5-year Sears layaway plan or something crazy like that (BTW who buys a computer at Sears?! This guy). She could barely afford it, but it was important to her because she knew what it meant. And she only knew it because she unintentionally ended up in the tech world.

Culture, exposure, and financial ability are the primary factors in my experience.

Might there be some discrimination? Sure. Everybody encounters discrimination at some point, some more than others, but such is life. What's sad is when people expect discrimination so they tend to 'see' it everywhere.

I've actually never heard a woman or another black person complain about discrimination in this community and I've never seen it myself. I've also never thought about it until now, which is a good sign, but maybe I'm just lucky. YMMV.

1 comments

Thanks for your response. In reference to your addressing the word "hostile" check this recent comment I made to try and clarify the use of that word:

https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=6879195

That comment only addresses women though - but hostile was more-so a trigger word than what I actually meant. I'm trying to address societal disadvantages faced by certain groups - these are not consciously hostile but they are structurally hostile.

Your mother was obviously not only intelligent but also had a lot of grit and determination that many do not have, a trait which is essential for success in any scenario - and it's clear that you did benefit from that. Most people do not have this level of skill or innate drive to succeed. many don't have the parental guidance which you had to follow that path. I'm simply asking, how can the hacker scene adjust to not only help non-white non-male groups, but to stop driving them away in increasing numbers?

"but such is life."

Yes, but it can change!

> "I'm simply asking, how can the hacker scene adjust to not only help non-white non-male groups, but to stop driving them away in increasing numbers?"

How is the community driving them away? I feel like I touched on this in my original response, but I still don't see how the underrepresentation equates to being driven away. "Driving away" implies some level of hostility, which you claim only to mean "societal disadvantages." It seems in attempt to sensationalize, you end up confusing the issue because by talking about two disparate things as if they were the same.

I'm actually very surprised how accepting this community is. Not only am I black, but I came from a military background with no tech working experience, just hobby experience. Additionally, I spent two years between Iraq and Afghanistan on small teams, something this audience isn't exactly keen on. If there was anyone who would face "hostility" or be "driven away" it'd be me. I'm amazed at how welcoming the community has been. I remember after going to my first conference I told my wife (also a Marine) that I finally felt like I belonged somewhere. By the way, my wife came to the same conference with me and loved it as well. She's still a Marine, flies F/A-18's, and talked with the guys at dinner about the future of aviation, drones, etc. She thought the community was awesome despite barely being able to use her smartphone.

Sure the community may be overly critical at times, but sometimes that's the price you pay for being around bright people who value intellect. I see it as something that makes me better. Additionally, it'd be hard to find a community with bigger hearts and a greater ability (resources and skills) to make things and make things happen.

No matter who you are, if you do good work you'll fit in with this community in my experience.

P.S. By the way, I do appreciate your thoughts and I think your heart is in the right place. I just think there are more effective ways to discuss the issue. Labeling under representation as hostility seems more likely to drive a wedge between sides than improve the situation.

How did any of us get into tech? It's more about exposure and accessibility than anything, not handouts. Let's focus on that.