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I’m an Ex-Google Woman Tech Leader and I’m Sick of Our Approach to Diversity

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791 points 317070 | 6 comments | 14 Aug 17 16:11 UTC | HN request time: 0.661s | source | bottom
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mberning ◴[14 Aug 17 17:17 UTC] No.15010420[source]▶
A truly revolutionary idea in this era of authoritarian social justice causes.
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virgil_disgr4ce ◴[14 Aug 17 17:34 UTC] No.15010590[source]▶
In what way are social justice causes authoritarian?
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reitanqild ◴[14 Aug 17 17:39 UTC] No.15010645[source]▶
Not in itself. I'll even sometimes step up myself and at some point managed to get my boss to hire the girl who cleaned our offices since she was qualified only hadn't been considered since she was Polish.

The insistence on punishment (firing, public shaming) for minor offences (wrongthink) withouth due process is worrying though.

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1. Frondo ◴[14 Aug 17 17:47 UTC] No.15010725[source]▶
I'm going to push back on the critique of shaming. It's literally the only consequence groups without any (economic/political) power have. It bears no force of law. It creates no consequence directly except for a little discomfort on the part of the recipient.

Tell historically disadvantaged communities--the ones with decades or centuries of societal biases working against them--they can't shame people they think are behaving shamefully, and what do you leave them with?

The critique of shaming just seems like another way to prop up a status quo that isn't a very good one for a lot of people.

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2. virgil_disgr4ce ◴[14 Aug 17 17:52 UTC] No.15010767[source]▶
Well put—thank you.
3. reitanqild ◴[14 Aug 17 17:56 UTC] No.15010818[source]▶
It's literally the only consequence groups without any (economic/political) power have.

To me it seems it is more used by resourceful people.

4. philwelch ◴[14 Aug 17 17:59 UTC] No.15010873[source]▶
Shaming people is an exercise of political power. If a group truly lacks political power, they're not capable of effectively shaming anyone.
5. msla ◴[14 Aug 17 19:30 UTC] No.15011946[source]▶
Shaming by some groups is a badge of honor: If I'm hated by a certain unpopular political group, that's a real point in my favor in some regions. It's credibility you can't buy. And it doesn't matter if the group which hates me is powerful, as long as they're hated in turn by the people I want credibility with.

The only way shaming hurts me is if the group doing the shaming is powerful among people I care about. Thus shaming is an expression of power, and a use of social force which must come from groups which have power.

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6. Powerofmene ◴[15 Aug 17 16:08 UTC] No.15019466[source]▶
This goes back to that old adage "the enemy of my enemy is my friend."