On Being a Black Man - <AUTHOR> https://blog.devcolor.org/on-being-a-black-man-42ecb7946fe0#.fe75utkuy <comment><USER5> Great essay. Some of it made me smile only because it reminded me of the slights I faced as an Asian in the Midwest, such as being mistaken for the one other Asian in town, or having to come up with an opinion about the Vietnam war even though it happen far before I was born. But these to me were mostly harmless things that I learned to tolerate, though I completely understand why other Asians absolutely hate such slights. But being treated like an Oriental oddity is, as far as I can imagine, is much different than being seen as an aggressor.

Being attacked or harassed for racial (or any reason) is always unpleasant, but I've always found it easy to rationalize such experiences as outliers, as in, "Well, some people are just ignorant assholes". So I've found the things that happen at an everyday level to be far more deeply unsettling. I've been in a few countries where Asians are rare (yes, rarer than in Iowa) and while I hadn't been physically attacked, the experience of people just staring at me, everywhere, while I'm going for a walk or waiting in line at the grocery, was so unpleasant that I just found myself just not going out at all very much. Not as a conscious decision, but from a reluctance that built up subconsciously, and something that I only realized after I returned to the States.

It's not that egregious acts of harassment don't happen to minorities today. But when I think of why so few [insert minority group here] are in [insert role/geography here], I believe it's because of the undramatic but accumulated things that the OP mentions, all of which may sound like whining to people who, while genuinely disapproving of overt attacks, don't realize that lesser slights can be enough to create a dampening effects.

<comment><USER6> > the experience of people just staring at me, everywhere, while I'm going for > a walk or waiting in line at the grocery, was so unpleasant that I just > found myself just not going out at all very much.

I've been in places where white people are very rare and I low-key enjoyed the attention. I find being ignored more disturbing. YMMV of course ¯\\_(ツ)_/¯

<comment><USER7> > I've been in places where white people are very rare and I low-key enjoyed > the attention. I find being ignored more disturbing. YMMV of course > ¯\\_(ツ)_/¯

Except this is America, where black people aren't very rare. And the attention the author is talking about, more often than not, is negative.

When you were out and about in these places with, were you afraid of being stopped by the police?

<comment><USER8> _Except this is America, where black people aren 't very rare._

That depends where in America. There are plenty of place (some large cities - SF I'm looking at you) where black people are pretty rare. Or at least rare in the areas people frequent.

The funny part is I talk to the folks I know from the South and they have a TON more interactions with blacks than anyone from the Northeast or West Coast do.

<comment><USER9> I grew up in the town where James Meredith went to school. In that part of the country, about a fifty-fifty split is normal most places that aren't major cities - I can't guess why, but those tend to be as heavily polarized in the Old South as anywhere else. Outside the cities, and probably for the most part inside them as well, nobody of any skin color really seems to want to start trouble over it.

(We had a lot of that kind of trouble in the 1960s, maybe you know, and the strong impression I formed growing up is that while the results aren't perfectly satisfactory to anyone, the compromises are sufficiently so to everyone, and nobody finds the state of things upsetting enough to want to go beyond within-the-system incrementalism.)

Beyond that, and not to get at you personally, but nobody where I'm from thinks about "[having] interactions with blacks". That's a chilly, sociological way of looking at things, and it's hard to be chilly and sociological about people with whom you've spent your life cheek by jowl. It's just not the natural frame of mind.

On the other hand, since moving away from home and to a city whose black population is twice the size of its white, I've discovered the remarkable experience of being hectored on the subject of racial harmony by white people who choose, for reasons on which it would be invidious of me to speculate, to live where there are almost no black people at all.

I've never known a black person from anywhere to assume that, because I'm from Mississippi, I must be racist. I've known plenty of white people from places like New York and California to do exactly that. I don't really know what conclusion, if any, to draw from this, but I sure do find it curious.

<comment><USER8> This lines up exactly what I've heard from Southern friends.

Like you said, I've heard that despite the reputation and history of the South, there is a lot more racial integration in day to day life than most parts of America.

And yes, it irks me to no end to hear whites from big coastal cities (who rarely ever interact with blacks) shit all over the South (most of them who have never been there).

<comment><USER10> I've lived mostly in Memphis, TN metro area in West Tennessee and Northern Mississippi dealing with _lots_ of people. I corroborate that most of us don't care about your race in the least. More about treating people with respect and doing one's job well. Biases are usually residual ones operating unconsciously or barely there outside of straight racists. More likely to show up in negative situations where a person mentally assesses another to understand how it happens & assign blame to something.

As another comment said, though, the sides feel so strongly about that topic of race that bringing it up can have negative consequences in a big way for simplest opinion. They're more likely here to get irritated and dismiss you as an idiot than anything. Maybe shout counter-points at you. Both sides. You have to be in the black ghettos or deep, white, rural areas before it gets dangerous. Still more likely to intimidate you into leaving than hurt you but you take chances there.

Things only heated up recently with the BLM protests. They shut down the main Interstate and airport in Memphis recently. Pissed everyone off in a city with lots of white and black fans of 2nd Amendment. Anxiety & tension is high but no violence I think. A testament in itself, yeah? Hopefully the crap is over soon so race relations & traffic conditions go back to normal. Except I-240 where the speed is about the same. :)

</comment></comment></comment></comment></comment></comment></comment><comment><USER11> In the list of things he's gotten used to that make him uncomfortable:

> Being asked things like, "So, what's it like being a black guy in Silicon > Valley?"

In all fairness, the whole premise of the piece is that the answer is worth hearing.

<comment><USER12> But people quickly grow tired of needing to be the token spokesperson for their group, and needing to explain the frustrations again and again (without actually perhaps seeing them changing).

No one ever asks me (a white guy) what it's like to be a white programmer.

One of my friends is a pretty famous guitarist, who happens to be a woman. For the longest time, the first interview question was "What's it like to be a famous female musician?", to which her response eventually became, "It's a lot like being a male musician, except you get this question every interview". Thankfully, the better interviewers have now caught onto this and don't ask such.

So yea, it's good for people to learn about the difficulties/differences in being X in Y, but it's also tiring to explain those frequently, especially if people aren't asking you other things that you might find fun.

<comment><USER13> I have a long beard. Nearly every conversation with a new person involves some question about it; often "how long did I take?".

I don't get mad at people for behaving predictably, I expect it.

<comment><USER14> You did have a choice to grow the beard though. Race is something that does not involve that luxury.

<comment><USER13> Take your analogy and apply it in the other direction; pretend for a second that people were able to choose their race.

Are you suggesting that having the option to make that choice is somehow a way out? It's merely symptomatic and utter blasphemy.

<comment><USER14> I see your point. I think it wasn't the best counter.

You made me realize that its actually certain things that we as a society decide as sacrosanct and not grounds for prejudice. So it can be with race, which involves no choice, but also religion, which does involve choice. Or political affiliation, which also does involve choice.

<comment><USER15> The only thing that really matters is people's ability to make decisions. Their religious and political views can very easily reflect a failure to make good decisions, and that has a real social cost. Race is nothing like that. Neither is most physical disability, sexual orientation, nor suitably passive statements about political matters or religious affiliation. That's why those things are protected.

</comment></comment></comment></comment></comment></comment></comment><comment><USER16> I'm glad to have read this. There's one point I want to address:

 _It's equally crazy how much more comfortable I feel around other Black people, or in other countries. I took a trip to Cuba for 2 weeks, and everyone there actually thought I was Cuban — which was surprising, but kind of awesome at the same time. I've never felt so accepted in my life._

I'm American and Jewish, though hardly religious. Judaism is a part of my identity, though not readily apparent unless I tell someone. I've been to Israel three times. I feel more comfortable there as a Jew, while at the same time less comfortable as a non-Israeli. It's a hard feeling to explain.

I wonder if this feeling of fitting-in is just a fact of life when you're a minority.

Please don't get me wrong: I'm not at all saying that being Jewish in America is the same as being Black in America. I'm just saying, in some ways, I feel that the Jewish part of my identity gives me some insight into what it's like to be a minority.

To add some levity to my comment: I'm surprised to learn that anyone could _hate_ watermelon. It's just not a strong enough flavor to be that offensive. Funnily enough, I used to not like it so much myself, but I kept giving it a try and now I think that cold watermelon on a hot summer day is hard to beat for a refreshing snack. I'm not sure why I ever disliked it. (I've similarly taught myself to like bananas, olives, and various other foods I used to dislike.)

<comment><USER17> Regarding watermelon, here's a tip from a Greek: Have it with some feta cheese. There's nothing better.

<comment><USER18> In Israel, it is very customary to do so. So I wonder if the top commenter had encountered this while visiting :)

<comment><USER16> I ate so much Israeli salad that it was coming out my ears, but no watermelon while I was there. I really love the Israeli breakfast.

</comment></comment></comment></comment><comment><USER19> I have had the same self reflection wondering what I was saying or doing when someone is intimidated (for lack of a more polite phrase) by the color of my skin. A woman I currently work with is startled Everytime she sees me and rushes away and I found myself making excuses for her. Trying to reason about why she should obviously be afraid of a 5'10, 170lbs, 23 year old who talks like he's a valley girl...

I wonder whether this is a generational thing or if xenophobia is simply inherent in us as a people.

<comment><USER20> I tend to believe it's more inherent than generational. It's been around all throughout the course of history in some form or another. My armchair rationalization is that humans are social creatures and form these groups (where outsiders are to be feared) and skin color is one of the easiest "group identifiers" to latch onto :/

I don't think it's something inherent that we can't (as a species) consciously overcome. I have never heard of such justification before now, and I think having it written out emphasizes really well how ridiculous these xenophobic reactions are.

<comment><USER21> Different cultures have different reactions to other humans that are outside of the group. Some take aggressive stances, others practice a more welcoming approach.

The Sentinelese people react violently to outsiders, but many (maybe even most) first contacts of Europeans with various natives was peaceful on the part of the locals.

There's enough variation even in just the modern world that I'd feel comfortable saying that aggressive responses to strangers/outsiders is not inherent but a feature of some cultures.

Why it's in some cultures and not others is probably a very complex topic worth investigation.

<comment><USER22> "Different cultures have different reactions to other humans that are outside of the group."

Compare speaking rudimentary French in France to speaking rudimentary Spanish in Colombia.

</comment></comment></comment></comment><comment><USER23> Great piece.

One thing I find interesting is, as white guy, I've had very similar experiences when living in the US south. I would often be the only white guy in a store or on the street in certain areas - and felt like I didn't belong or fit in, and was treated differently. I got used to it over time, but it was still there.

I don't at all equate my experience to how difficult it can be in the US to be a black person - MOST of the places I go that aren't in certain parts of the south are mostly white (I think the US is something like 70% white?) - it's horrible the prejudices non-white, and especially black, can encounter in the US.

I DO wonder if, whenever an area is mostly one race, that if someone is not of that race encounters the same kind of thing.

<comment><USER24> I had a similar experience in Beijing some years ago, where I was treated as "the rich white guy" or "movie star" (but surprisingly not in Shanghai). It was annoying because I was a poor grad student at the time and the expectation to open my wallet for everything was frustrating.

It's nowhere near what the author of this story has had to live with on a normal basis though, so racial biases do manifest all over the place, but in different ways with different levels of prejudice.

</comment></comment><comment><USER25> It seems to me that many (but not all) of the experiences he describes here are things that most of us go through. He can attribute them to his skin color, but really, most people are outsiders in one way or another, and sometimes feel awkward about how well we fit in with various groups. So I'm inclined to attribute some of his concerns to being just the normal (if unfortunate) human condition.

Even as a middle-aged guy, I sometimes feel that the seat next to me is the one people are avoiding. And I've _definitely_ seen moms grab their little girl and march away when I smile at them (the little girl, that is; and then my smile melts from sorrow at the world we live in).

I've been guilty of accidentally referring to one gay guy at work by the name of another gay guy (and it was pointed out to me later by a third person). But the thing is, they both held the same position at different times, and _that_ confusion over their roles was the actual cause of my mistake. Surely it's not necessarily their sexual preference (or skin color in the case of the article) that's serving as an alternate identifier.

I feel awkward when people talk about sports (I'm just not interested and so have no knowledge) or popular culture like TV (I don't even have cable TV).

Now, it's not right to sweep all of his concerns under the carpet. I'm sure that some of it really is racial in nature. But I'm equally sure that some of it is just normal. And because it's not possible for us to live the experience of the other, I can't actually see what it's like to be him, and he can't see the awkwardness that I and others experience.

I'm sad that we're in a position where racial bias seems a reasonable default explanation for such things. But I'm also sad that people also continue to make accusations of racism, because it also hurts to be on the receiving end. I'd have to admit for myself that I sometimes have impure _thoughts_ , but I honestly do my best to make my _actions_ correct.

At the end of the day, I think the only way to get past this is for _everyone_ to be color blind. We need to guard against acting out of bias. But on the other side, those people potentially on the receiving end need to get past it, too. It's not fair. But unless we let it be water under the bridge, the bad feelings will keep passing back and forth like a pingpong ball.

<comment><USER7> What you've written is pretty much nothing like what the author is talking about.

> I feel awkward when people talk about sports

You don't like talking about sports, but it's a topic of conversation, because by and large many people in the US like sports. That is different than assuming you must be an athlete because of the color of your skin (racism).

> Even as a middle-aged guy, I sometimes feel that the seat next to me is the > one people are avoiding.

For whatever reason, sometimes people don't take the empty seat next to you. That reason isn't because the color of your skin.

> And I've definitely seen moms grab their little girl and march away when I > smile at them

Yes, this is something all men should be aware of. Don't act creepy to little kids. Parents typically do not spirit away their kids when adults simply smile at their children. Something other than your smile is causing that parent.

> I'm sad that we're in a position where racial bias seems a reasonable > default explanation for such things.

At the risk of telling you how to feel, how about feeling sad that people are actually victims of racism.

> At the end of the day, I think the only way to get past this is for everyone > to be color blind. We need to guard against acting out of bias.

I disagree with the first part, but agree with the second.

A persons skin color is part of their identity, and we should recognize that, but not use that as a way to group, categorize, or otherwise use as the basis for how we behave towards that individual. We should also be aware that it's human nature to feel defensive against those that are different from us, and to not give into that behavior.

<comment><USER18> > Don't act creepy to little kids.

I am amazed at how a man smiling at a child is presumed to be creepy. I mean, we are biologically programmed to like kids (at least the sight of them, sound may be a different matter :), a phrase "cute kid" is as cliche as it can get. And still, if a man smiles to a child, he must be a creep. Strike that, he _is_ a creep, it's definite and sealed. And, of course, it's his fault - <USER2> all, he should know that as a man he can't do such perverted things as smile at the sight of a cute kid.

Is that unique US thing? I've never seen so much paranoia about kids and males as in the US in other countries. It feels really weird to me.

> At the risk of telling you how to feel, how about feeling sad that people > are actually victims of racism.

One can do both. Both feel sad at people who are victim of real racism, and people who are victims of everything being reduced to racism.

<comment><USER26> > I've never seen so much paranoia about kids and males as in the US in other > countries.

The US is, I believe (its been a while since I've seen stats on the perception and reality, this was definitely true last I did see them) in a multi-decade long media-driven misperception of a rising tide of crimes involving stranger (especially male stranger) abduction and violence against children, while the actual incidence of such crimes has been declining for decades. So, yeah, its probably a uniquely (or at least, especially) American thing.

</comment></comment></comment></comment><comment><USER27> Great piece, I used to think there was no more discrimination in my generation. I grew up with black, Indonesian and white people in my class (they former two were minorities though). I never though anything of it, didn't even realize there was a difference until we were taught about neo- nazis. I guess kids now do realize the difference with the whole black-pete discussion in my country [0]. Honestly, when I see a black person I try to be extra nice to compensate somehow for all this shit. But that is so stupid as well, I wish I (and everybody) would just not see it. I feel your pain, lets hope the following generations will experience less and less of this nonsense.

[0] [https://www.google.nl/search?q=black+pete+netherlands&ie=utf...](https://www.google.nl/search?q=black+pete+netherlands&ie=utf-8&oe=utf-8&client=firefox-b&gfe_rd=cr&ei=s7SGV7axIYrH8AeF1JaIBA)

</comment><comment><USER28> > Being told by cab drivers that they're the first Black person they've ever > had a positive encounter with

Now, is that really a case of racial discrimination? Maybe, for some reason, black people are more likely to give cab drivers a hard time? Even if it not related to skin color directly, such as which neighborhood one is at.

> Feeling out of place when I can't identify with certain pop culture > references or cultural norms (like being able to swim, liking baseball, > listening to rock/country or playing golf), because I grew up differently

I think this is key. Why is it that you have to grow up differently if you are a black person? Would it be (in the US), because there's still segregation, in terms of territory? You can find neighborhoods that are almost entirely "black", next to "white" neighborhoods. What gives? I've never really understood why that is. Why is hip-hop associated with black people, but not rock? What about swimming?

The rest of the list is even more depressing. As a white guy, I have never experienced that.

<comment><USER29> > Maybe, for some reason, black people are more likely to give cab drivers a > hard time? Even if it not related to skin color directly, such as which > neighborhood one is at.

You're getting really close to sounding racist, and some would say you already are.

Why would there be a reason black people would give cab drivers a harder time than other skin colors? There isn't any good reason.

As for neighborhood differences, that's a problem of racism (segregation) too.

<comment><USER30> > Why would there be a reason black people would give cab drivers a harder > time than other skin colors? There isn't any good reason.

This is clearly happening, based on the anecdote of cab drivers avoiding picking up black people as well as telling the OP he is the first black person who they had a positive experience with. Some stereotypes are based in reality, and it isn't racist to acknowledge this.

<comment><USER31> Might it be related to: [https://www.google.com/#q=black+tipping](https://www.google.com/#q=black+tipping)

<comment><USER32> Your slew of Google searches included this article:

[http://scholarship.sha.cornell.edu/chrpubs/88/](http://scholarship.sha.cornell.edu/chrpubs/88/)

<comment><USER30> That has to be one of the worst abstracts I've ever read. I have no idea whether or not black people tip less having read the abstract.

</comment></comment></comment></comment></comment></comment><comment><USER33> > Feeling out of place when I can't identify with certain pop culture > references or cultural norms (like being able to swim, liking baseball, > listening to rock/country or playing golf), because I grew up differently.

For swimming, the norm in America is to _think_ you know how to swim. 80% claim they can swim, but only 56% can demonstrate the five core skills that the Red Cross considers to be basic skills. The skills are (1) step or jump into water that is over your head, (2) return to the surface and float or treat water for one minute, (3) turn around in a full circle and find an exit, (4) swim 25 yards to the exit, and (5) climb out of the water [1].

The author, though, is from Jamaica. I would have guessed that swimming would be much more common there, since it is an island nation. However, to my surprise, a bit of Googling reveals that apparently Jamaicans are no more inclined toward swimming than are those who live nowhere near large bodies of water.

[1] [http://www.redcross.org/news/press-release/Red-Cross- Launche...](http://www.redcross.org/news/press-release/Red-Cross-Launches- Campaign-to-Cut-Drowning-in-Half-in-50-Cities)

<comment><USER34> I think you're misunderstanding him. What he meant was the cultural norm (or more accurately imo: "the stereotype") in America around black people is that they can't swim, don't like baseball, don't listen to rock/country or play golf.

<comment><USER35> This got me curious and a cursory search seems to hint that blacks are proportionately represented (as per the percentage of the US population that identifies as such) in baseball, and _disproportionally_ represented in sports like basketball.

For baseball: > 60% of the players in the league are White, while 28.53% are Hispanic. That leaves roughly 12% available for Black and Asian players[1]

For basketball: > NBA in 2015 was composed of 74.4 percent black players, 23.3 percent white players, 1.8 percent Latino players, and 0.2 percent Asian players.

In that exactly as many black people play baseball professionally as you'd expect, just looking at population numbers.

[1] [http://www.besttickets.com/blog/mlb-players- census/](http://www.besttickets.com/blog/mlb-players-census/)

[2] [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Race_and_ethnicity_in_the_NBA](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Race_and_ethnicity_in_the_NBA)

<comment><USER34> Interesting. So it seems that enjoying baseball is a form of mild insanity that is distributed evenly across all races ;)

</comment></comment></comment></comment><comment><USER36> So true story:

WG: "So, when did you get your green card?"

Me: "hmmm, I am American"

WG: "Really? From where?"

Me: "[city in California]"

WG: "So, but when did your family move to the US?"

Me: "hmmm, I have no idea. I think the first ones came here in early 1800s"

WG: "THAT CAN'T BE!"

Me: "So, when did you get YOUR green card." (at his point I am just trying to play with him)

WG: "No, I am an American born and raised in [California city]"

Me: "But when did YOUR FAMILY move here?"

WG: "Well, my grandma was from [european country]?"

Me: "Well, I think if that is a definition, I am more AMERICAN than you!"

WG: Awkwardly walks away

<comment><USER37> Yeah, it's amusing that the conquerors who incompetently called the people here "Indians" are somehow native to America. It's a bit like those people running around in "cowboy" clothing in what's now called Texas, aping the Mexicans they stole the land from.

<comment><USER36> You are bringing up something completely unrelated. I am talking about race, you are talking about some historical event that happened more than 170 years ago. It was a war, and America won.

Texas is America.

<comment><USER37> > Texas is America.

No, Texas is _in_ America, it is not America. (America was taken from the... so-called "Indians"... and Texas is something of a microcosm of that.) Furthermore, your earlier post was literally predicated on "some historical event that happened more than 170 years ago": in the "early 1800s". Finally, it is clear I discussed race.

</comment></comment></comment></comment><comment><USER38> I don't know who's "right", but here's a recent counterpoint by another black technologist:

 _So no, despite the prevailing atmosphere of hysteria, I'm not afraid of being killed by the police. Quite the contrary: sadly, the data shows I'm much more likely to be victimized by a fellow black man than by a white police officer. So may the police remain sharp, aggressive, and strike fear into criminals so the good people don't become victims._

[http://thefederalist.com/2016/07/11/if-you-dont-want- police-...](http://thefederalist.com/2016/07/11/if-you-dont-want-police-to- shoot-you-dont-resist-arrest/)

<comment><USER39> So these victims of the system, as he says himself, just deserve to be shot in the street? Failed experiments of welfare that should just be swept up with the rest of the trash? I understand you're just providing the counterpoint to this article, but its like it touches on some of the right points but too many of the wrong ones for me. A very cold, judgmental view of the members of your community (assuming you're American, I am not) that are the most vulnerable and offered the least opportunities.

He says it himself in the article, that it's a problem that runs much deeper than "Don't resist arrest", and then immediately tries to solve it by saying "Don't resist arrest", dumping the problem on the victim and expecting them to figure it out on their own.

Sorry if that came across strongly, like I said I'm just an outsider looking in; I appreciate the discussion :)

</comment></comment><comment><USER40> As a large framed 6'2" male I got a lot of negative reactions when I was very fit with short hair. Back in collage I ended up growing very long hair to move from the thug stereotype to Fabio. Which was kind of amusing, but also a good way to move things in a positive direction. Except that one cab driver who hated people with long hair because the hippy movement killed off his local barber shop.

So, yes people will judge you. But, you can also distract people by giving them something else to focus on which is under your control. While I am not suggesting you walk around in clown shoes, but if you did that's going to be the first thing on everyone's lips.

</comment><comment><USER30> > Being told by cab drivers that they're the first Black person they've ever > had a positive encounter with

This was the most surprising to me in his list of things he has grown accustomed to.

<comment><USER41> This is the quote that stood out to me most too. It's quite appalling to me that this is "normal" for the guy. I can't help but feel like our perception of others has been molded too much by things we see instead of the things we have done.

</comment></comment><comment><USER42> It's interesting to see that the author strongly dislikes the question "So, what's it like being a black guy in Silicon Valley?" since I could easily see it being a gesture of wanting to engage from someone who doesn't know how to otherwise engage.

You regularly see white people "embarrass" themselves by engaging on this topic in the "wrong" way, even if they have the right intentions, without a clear idea of what to do (e.g. Howard Schulz, Macklemore, etc.) ("White People. Don't talk about racism." "White People. You have to lead the conversation on race.") Given such limited upside and very significant downsides, it's no surprise that the vast majority of white people refuse to engage on the issue, even if they actually do want to contribute positively.

I myself follow this rule religiously -- I run a small startup in Silicon Valley, with male and female engineers, all white, Asian, and one Latino. But I'd rather chew on broken glass than ever discuss any "controversial" topic, such as diversity, racism, Black Lives Matter, Donald Trump, immigration, etc. etc. -- I just will not discuss it in any context and in any forum, because there's nothing to gain and too much to lose.

</comment><comment><USER43> I just have a complex about being a good enough front end engineer. Otherwise I dont mind if people refer to me as the black guy and I love watermelon. I get people mixed up all the time so Im not offended if someone mistakes me for another black guy.

<comment><USER19> I never understood this stereotype. Yes, my entire family and I love fried chicken, who the hell doesn't??? I wonder how different things would be if the stereotype was pizza, cake, or some other universally loved foodstuffs.

<comment><USER44> Probably not so much with things like chicken legs and wings _per se_ , but 'soul food' (or at least certain offerings) have their roots going back to sharecropping and late slavery (probably even throughout the entirety of the American slave trade) where certain scraps of meat and animal deemed "unfit/unsavory" for the plantation family to eat were given to the slaves to feast on and were eventually integrated as part of the culinary tradition of Black Americans.

I would imagine, without going too far down the research rabbit hole (because this is a close topic to me being both black and a lover of food history in general) that the whole "fried chicken and watermelon" thing are likely poorly understood branches coming from that evolutionary tract.

<comment><USER19> I totally agree and have read supporting evidence backing your entire first paragraph. But I've never seen that evidence suggest chicken and watermelon fell into the chitterlings and ham hock category.

<comment><USER44> Yeah that's why I say I think it's just a misunderstood thing coming from that tract; meaning over time casual associations of certain food groups now considered "staples" of soul food became less and less understood and discussed along with other aspects of that era of time to the point where foods that were never there to begin with got tossed in, no one checked it and everyone else ran with it.

Take Huey P. Newton for example, I've had plenty of frank, honest and open discussions with individuals who want to tell me everything they know about Huey P. Newton and his "radical-ness" and his "anger" and his "passion" as a Black Panther because of whatever oral tradition they've had passed down to them informing their viewpoint of the man-but it never goes very far beyond surface-level descriptions, and rarer still his philosophies or doctoral essays. Substitute Newton with James Baldwin, Clarence Thomas, MLK, heck even Dr. Cornel West.

I think the same unfortunate blurring of the culinary traditions of Black Americana has happened re: Fried Chicken and Watermelon-thin, surface-level oral traditions passed down time and time again until we got where we are now "Fried chicken, watermelon and purple koolaid" are for good or ill tied into every conversation of "black foods".

<comment><USER19> Thanks for clarifying. I can see exactly what you're talking about when I hear people talk about how Malcolm X needed to die because he wanted to kill all whites as if he wasn't excommunicated for preaching peace and unity after his pilgrimage.

</comment></comment></comment></comment></comment></comment><comment><USER45> I have social anxiety, and I have to admit that one of the triggers my anxiety is teenage and young adult black men.

I feel for this guy and I realize that I'm part of the cause of his problem, but I don't know what I can do about it.

<comment><USER46> I always thought the most lasting remedy for xenophobia would be to simply have more to do with the group in question on a regular basis. At that point the brain, hardwired to fear the unknown no matter how much your rational bits protest that it's being unreasonable, has time to readjust your gut reaction. Then you'll _instinctively_ (rather than rationally) treat each of "them" as individuals with an irrelevant common trait rather than just a specimen of a homogeneous group linked to negative statistics and over-reported incidents.

Of course, if your particular lifestyle doesn't result in you getting to know anyone in the specific group naturally, it's probably impossible to fix that gut reaction. Humans are very much slaves to their instincts.

</comment></comment><comment><USER47> Everyone just has to stop caring, honestly. About race. If you are racist...well, that's an instant loss obviously. If you are deathly afraid to be racist and want to be politically correct (read: hyper race-conscious), you are unwittingly reenforcing separation and division and boundaries. I truly believe that overthinking it is what keeps us from getting over it.

</comment><comment><USER48> One note:

Four of the things he has grown accustomed to experiencing are feelings. (e.g. Feeling relieved when people don't verbally address the fact that I'm Black Feeling out of place when I can't identify with certain pop culture references or cultural norms (like being able to swim, liking baseball, listening to rock/country or playing golf), because I grew up differently Feeling like I have something to prove because I'm Black Feeling like I was chosen for certain photo/video opportunities at work and during other activities to feign diversity and acceptance)

We cannot be responsible for how other people feel. Feeling alienated and out of place is something that's common for all people.

Once you have an inner locus of control, things flow more naturally. If you think of your feelings as subject to the whims of the external world, then you are always going to be in a world of hurt, no matter what color you are. You can always find a reason to feel bad about yourself.

<comment><USER26> > We cannot be responsible for how other people feel.

I don't recall him asking anyone else to be responsible for how he feels. (And each of those describes an event that he has _also_ become used to -- in one case implicitly by opposition to the one triggering the feeling. In some cases those actions are ones for which someone else might reasonably be responsible -- though, again, he's describing his experience, not saying anyone should be responsible for those experiences.)

</comment></comment><comment><USER49> > At a certain point in my life, I realized that I had no positive role models > (let alone ones I could relate to), so I > set out to become a positive role > model for my siblings.

This is the best part I took from this. I don't believe I have many positive role models in my life that align to my goals.

</comment><comment><USER50> Great article. My experience as a software engineer in Brazil is very similar.

<comment><USER51> Hi mate. I'm Brazilian as well (deve as well), but white as it gets. I always wanted to hear from a black person about their experiences in general (not only in IT industry). I never asked for 2 reasons: 1 - very few black colleagues, 2 - afraid of sounding condescending or that the guy may not want to talk about it.

It's very sad to see how few "majority" people are able to observe the obstacles faced by any minority and, in the case of Brazil and UK (where I live now), black people.

I was very nice to read about the author's experiences and how he felt about it because it gives me a bit of insight on this matter. At least now I know I was right about not asking "how is it to be a black guy at..." hahaha

</comment></comment><comment><USER29> I'm really glad to see this on the top page of HN.

<comment><USER52> I'm really happy to see a bunch of positive and supportive comments as well; anything about identity can be a bit of a minefield on this site sometimes.

Even most of the the not-so-good comments are well-intentioned, even if ignorant.

</comment></comment><comment><USER53> I'm sorry but black people are responsible for an inordinately larger proportion of criminal activity than those of other skin color. Being "wary" of a black person you see on the street (probably not dressed in a suit but perhaps in gangster like clothes) will make anyone feel uncomfortable. This is human nature and essential to survival. This is not racism.

<comment><USER54> What are gangster-like clothes? A hoodie? Is it only gangster-like clothing if its worn by a black person?

What are the odds that any particular black person is a gangster? What are the odds that any particular white person is a gangster? How is near-zero different from near-zero?

<comment><USER53> You're over complicating this. You know exact what I'm talking about or else you live under a rock.

</comment></comment></comment><comment><USER55> I would love to say that Italy is not a racist country. But it is. Still, your words convey a deeper gap and racial segregation in the US.

I feel sorry you had borne all these wounds to your social identity, but I'm sure one day we will tackle the very roots of inequality and bigotry.

</comment><comment><USER56> I do not think anything in the essay is surprising. There can be no doubt that in absence of other information, everybody uses whatever is immediately discernible, such as race, age, gender, attire, height, athleticism, beauty, etc, to modulate behavior. A sane individual will improve the accuracy of the initial rough assessment as more information becomes available. What else could anyone be reasonably expected to do? Ignore whatever they learned about the world and treat every individual exactly the same regardless of their outside characteristics as if these outside characteristics gave absolutely no clue about what kind of behavior is appropriate ? That seems impossibly stupid.

</comment><comment><USER57> I was never good at knowing someone's perspective prior to having experienced it. The common pattern throughout my life has been once I have experienced it, I'll tend to feel much more empathy than I would prior to someone in that situation. The problem is in this case, I'm white well mostly at least in the cultural sense I look it so its not going to be something where I will ever be able to properly empathize. I'm all for justice and equality etc. regardless so more of that please.

</comment><comment><USER58> Another great essay on the same topic from someone who works in VC in Silicon Valley:

[https://medium.com/@Mandela/my-white-boss-talked-about- race-...](https://medium.com/@Mandela/my-white-boss-talked-about-race-in- america-and-this-is-what-happened-fe10f1a00726#.ttvqs4gd4)

</comment><comment><USER59> > The ones in bold are the ones that have affected me the most.

I was surprised that some of the things in the list that I would have though to be the most innocuous turned out to be the ones that actually affected him the most. I guess this goes to show that its the little but pervasive things that hurt the most.

</comment><comment><USER60> When applying for US jobs I am always a bit startled by the questions that ask me to categorize myself by race. I know this is meant to protect against bias in hiring but you are forced to categorize yourself with each application. It makes it hard to just be people applying for a job.

</comment><comment><USER61> The dynmaic in los angeles is quite different. For one thing white people in the industry are the minority. Hollywood is heavily white but outside of hollywood jobs im always a minority to an asian majority.

</comment><comment><USER62> This was a huge surprise, and it was in bold:

"Feeling out of place when I can't identify with certain pop culture references or cultural norms (like being able to swim, liking baseball, listening to rock/country or playing golf), because I grew up differently."

I know many people of all kinds that don't know how to swim, that don't like basketball or listen to country or play golf. In fact, I would say a minority of the people I know do all these things and I'm not even sure most people I know do most of these things.

I can't draw a larger conclusion at the moment (I am sure the larger HN community has many ideas), but I don't think you should feel awkward about this.

p.s. I didn't know who LeBron James was in 2009.

<comment><USER63> [https://xkcd.com/385/](https://xkcd.com/385/)

If you're a white person who doesn't know how to swim and it gets brought up in conversation, your interlocutors might be a bit surprised - <USER3> swimming is a somewhat common skill in 2016 in most parts of the world - <USER4> that'll be the extent of it.

However, it is my understanding that if you're a black person who doesn't know how to swim and it gets brought up in conversation, you get to hear semi- frequently something along the lines of "oh yeah that's right, black people can't swim" (not necessarily that explicitly stated, but you get the idea).

I hope you can see why it might problematic to repeatedly have this kind of interactions in your life.

<comment><USER64> What a strange stereotype. Why do people in the U.S. think blacks can't swim?

<comment><USER52> I'm guessing it's related to segregation, specifically public pools. Swimming is commonly learned in a pool, so if you don't have access to one it would be hard to lean.

Obviously it's pretty outdated, but stereotypes are rarely concerned with accuracy.

</comment></comment></comment></comment><comment><USER65> > Being told by cab drivers that I'm the first Black person they've ever had a > positive encounter with

Seems then part of the problem is behaviour of other black people

</comment><comment><USER66> being big is going to invoke more fear in smaller people. Size is correlated with ability to bring the pain (see: weight classes in MMA). Of course, your color should have nothing to do with it though.

ie: Its natural to be afraid of big people. Its racist to be afraid of only big people who are black.

<comment><USER67> As someone who is extremely tall, it's not very nice to see people crossing the street to avoid you at night. How is making statistical inferences using my height any more justified than making statistical inferences using my race?

The notion of justifiable discrimination will take you to a very scary place if you apply it consistently.

<comment><USER68> I'm a 6'6" mesomorph, and never been in a fight in my life, not even in the schoolyard. I'm used to people being a bit apprehensive of me on a lonely street, and sometimes if I'm behind a woman and we're walking about the same pace, I'll cross the road to avoid potentially stressing them out. When people meet me and make some reference to me being someone 'not to mess with' because I'm big, I tell them that most big guys are teddybears, and to think of other big guys they know (I stress _most_ , but not _all_ ). Almost invariably, their face shows that the light-bulb clicks, as they can't think of any aggressive big guys amongst their friends.

So I'm used to _one_ of the things listed in this article. I'm fine with this preconception people have, as it's not that much of a problem on it's own, and it's easy to take it in my stride. However, it's the gestalt of all those things that the author is talking about that is the problem. They all work together, and if I experienced all of those working against me, I'd feel unfairly treated as well. "People fear me unfairly on the street? No worries, I'll be at work soon, and I don't have to deal with that shit there..."

<comment><USER67> I may not have been clear. I don't feel particularly discriminated and don't really care in any case. It's incredibly minor.

However, I strongly object to the idea that it's okay to discriminate based on unalterable characteristics as long as you're not discriminating against a member of a legally protected group.

</comment></comment></comment></comment><comment><USER69> I'm a 6'6", 260 lbs. white guy and roughly 80% of these things happen to me too. Crazy.

</comment><comment><USER70> As a white man, I definitely think that the problems of gender in tech are still huge and I'd like to help address them. But I also feel like I can't help, because people, both black _and_ white, are so tense about race. As a white man, literally even talking about race is risking being called a racist. And god forbid I have an actual opinion that might disagree with a person of color--even though people of color don't even agree on everything.

For example, I think that the reason people mistake the author of this piece for other black men is that white people have spent most of their lives around other white people, so they become accustomed to the kinds of differences in facial features that white people have. We have less practice differentiating between the facial features of black people, so naturally we're going to be worse at it. It's not malicious or racist.

And in my lifetime, I've had a few people just outright say to me that all white people look the same to them. Which isn't offensive--it's because they grew up around people who looked like them, and have less practice differentiating between white people.

But tensions are so high, that this innocuous common mistake is seen as discrimination _merely because it 's related to race_, not because of any malice or even intent behind it. And I'm quite sure that many people would call me racist for even having the opinion that mistaking people of color for other people of color isn't racist. Even though it could actually be helpful to people of color. If people of color see that white people don't have trouble recognizing you because they dislike you, but because you literally look different from people who they have practice recognizing, that might encourage confidence.

And to be clear, I'm not complaining. It doesn't hurt me at all to keep my mouth shut, and not say anything on the topic of race. The only people who are hurt by my not helping are people of color. Which sucks, but is the result of how tense people (both black _and_ white) are about race.

In short, everyone (of all colors) should chill out and focus more on the problems that are clearly problems, not just assuming anything any white person says or does that is race related is racist. That just alienates allies and makes people of color feel hurt.

EDIT: I do want to point out that while I don't think mistaking one person of color for another is racist, I _do_ think that many of the behaviors the writer of this piece pointed out _are_ racist. I don't want to say that what the author wrote is all incorrect or invalidate his opinion.

EDIT 2: A flurry of downvotes without responses prove my point--people can't point out logically why they think I'm racist, but they downvote to express that they think I am. :)

<comment><USER71> > And in my lifetime, I've had a few people just outright say to me that all > white people look the same to them. Which isn't offensive--it's because they > grew up around people who looked like them, and have less practice > differentiating between white people.

Honestly, all people look mostly the same to me. The only ones that stand out are the beautiful ones. If you ask me to mentally visualize faces of people I've seen during the past few days or weeks, the ones that will stand out the most will be the attractive ones (regardless of race, although being white, I am a tad biased).

The other ones who stand out will be people with features similar to mine, from a certain European ethnicity.

However I grew up in an area which has 4 towns that are the most racially diverse in the US, so I may be accustomed to all the races, so I have to find other features that stand out more (Probably 99% of my days I see people of all races, and probably from every continent as well)

</comment></comment><comment><USER72> This seems as good a place as any to post something I've been thinking of. (It doesn't really have anything to do with the story, just is on topic generally.)

I'd like to do a small study personally, that should take me about 10-20 hours, and I'd like people's feedback here about what they think about the methodology.

\- First, I'd put together ten generic keyword-laden resumes using machine learning from a large dataset - which means it should somewhat reflect an "average" programmer, without representing anyone in particular. It will literally therefore be the creation of a non-existent person.

\- Next I would edit it by hand so that it doesn't seem grossly machine- generated. At this point I'm still blinded, and I'd have ten programmer resumes.

\- Next I would generate a separate list of common first names and surnames. Since most people are white, likely most names are somewhat white but this shouldn't be that relevant, also given that people have the right to change their name legally. The importance of this is that with such generic names, it is almost certain that there are a large number of programmers with that name, and so googling by the employer won't point to anyone in particular. At this point I have ten resumes and ten names.

\- Finally, I would find stock art of a generic black man and generic white man. I would try to pick neutral images that if I were such a person I could actually have taken of myself, and may actually use on a resume. I would only just find two, since the goal of the experiment would be to do A/B testing on just the effect of this image. This is what is being studied.

\- For the experiment itself, I would create email addresses for the ten names, and write cover letters that match the ten resumes.

\- From each email I would email twenty-thirty companies based on a keyword search from the associated resumes for positions that seem a match. I'd be careful to pick all different companies.

\- I'd carefully rewrite the cover letters (in my own voice) about how excited I'd be to work there and what a great match the position seems to me, as they can see from the attached resume.

\- Finally, and this is the tricky part, when actually attaching the resume, in a blinded way I will use a script to insert either the black or the white man's picture. I must not see it in order for this to be a doubly blinded experiment. This is actually easy to do technically: .docx files are just .zip files, you can rename them, change the image in the zip file, and zip it back. I don't need to record anywhere which of the two the script chose (randomly), because as soon as I send it it will be in the sent folder.

The same name and resume must go to a mix of companies, some being sent the picture with a black man, some being sent the picture with the white man. Since I'd be careful not to email the same companies, it doesn't matter if the same name/resume is sent to some companies as a black man and some companies as a white man.

What my prediction is, is that the picture will have a statistically significant effect on emails back. (I don't want to bother setting up ten real phone numbers, what a pain, so the phone number will have to be omitted from the resumes.)

Now, this method isn't perfect. For example, real programmers frequently have github profiles or a large online presence. Still, by sticking to the most common of common names, perhaps there should be enough of a profile to be worth an email back, especially given an enthusiastic cover letter, even if they can't find this programmer in particular.

Finally, after the experiment the recipients could be informed that they were part of a study. But perhaps this is not so important. After all, if they don't email back they likely have forgotten about the resume, and even if they do, if the applicant does not answer their email then the applicant must simply be busy with other offers.

Of course, for authenticity purposes, it would be better not to share this methodology here, where some people might read it and be tipped off.

But given that I am not certain that I am doing things right, and haven't run an experiment in the social sciences before, while at the same time I've heard many people here report on experimental methodology, I thought I would run this methodology past the HN crowd. What do you think? Is it scientifically well-constructed? Is it possible for it to show an A/B effect?

Short of literally reusing people's real resumes with a fake image, I don't know of any way to improve this proposed methodology.

-> Shall I run the experiment?

-> Is there anything I can do to improve it?

-> Would the results be meaningful in either case? (If it does show a statistically significant deviation in email-back percentages, and if it doesn't.)

Thanks for any thoughts.

<comment><USER73> Good idea, but someone beat you to it:

[http://www.nber.org/digest/sep03/w9873.html](http://www.nber.org/digest/sep03/w9873.html)

<comment><USER72> Thanks. I think I read that study (or a report about it.) But I didn't like it so much. (Maybe that study inspired the idea for my study - I don't remember.)

The reason I don't like that study as much is because it's about people's names. But people's names do in fact reflect the level of education of their families, and in an extreme case they can choose a new name if they want. The poster we're reading about, for example, is called "Richard Smith". (Whether by birth or a name that he adopted doesn't really matter.) I like names. If on a dating site I were given, sight unseen, the chance to view an Octavia or a Hermine I would choose it over any Susan or Latisha. Because it seems to me much more likely that Hermine would be educated and interesting.

Does this make Hermine a racial name?

Why couldn't Hermine (or Octavia) be black? In fact they could.

So I would say that the effect of a person's name, and a picture showing them as black, are, as this blog post already shows, somewhat orthogonal. Richard Smith isn't a "black name", but this poster had a black experience.

It's also quite important to point out that parents have almost complete choice over what to name their children. As some linguist pointed out, it's one of the few times that people get to name something (someone) in the world!

So I don't like it as a signal. A picture is much more pure. And also not something anyone can change.

Finally, in my case I'm specifically interested in programmers and tech. So my small "study" would be very targeted.

I'm still very interested if anyone has any comments about the methodology. I've never done any social science research before (well not formally anyway), and I'd be very curious if I'd be making some mistake in the methodology that I could avoid.

<comment><USER73> > But people's names do in fact reflect the level of education of their > families, and in an extreme case they can choose a new name if they want.

Good point -- I hadn't thought of that. But wouldn't the resume reflect the actual education of the applicant? Maybe the discrimination against names you describe is cultural, which could also be of interest in the tech world ("this guy wouldn't fit in with us").

I did see a study on the success rates of people that had changed their names to be less "ethnic," and it was high, but of course there's a self-selection problem, since someone would have to be a very motivated person to change their name to get ahead.

One disadvantage of using pictures is that it makes race immediately apparent, and people might deliberately change their behavior to not appear racist. Maybe they offer an interview to the black candidate to check off a box on the HR form, even if they'd never hire him/her.

Anyway, just some thoughts -- I'd love to see the results of the study here on HN if you manage to pull it off!

<comment><USER72> thanks! oooh, excellent point about deliberately changing behvaior to offer interviews (which can be patronizing.) Now I really, really, really, _really_ want to see the results of my study. I am 100% putting it on my plate, this should be doable. I've got this :)

</comment></comment></comment></comment></comment><comment><USER74> Hi Richard, good to have you in SF! Expat here, living in SF for the past 2 years. Throwaway, because America.

There are three major things entangled here:

> I thought it was normal to feel apologetic that I may have looked or seemed > "threatening" to passersby, if I thought I invoked any feelings of fear or > discomfort in my presence.

* Personal observation: people who move to SF, for reasons that I speculate to include _baseline niceness_, weather, and lack of generally bad things happening to them become after a while really socially, self-conscious, and apologetic. This spikes, but never really goes away, until you go somewhere else, and get hit by a stranger.

Except...

* There is a massive homeless problem in SF, compounded with mental illnesses, and visible behavioristic problems. Speaking strictly of personal observation, a homeless of a race do not hit one of the same race, which means all those white dudes? yeah, they've been shouted, and crapped at by persons of color.

* People are also, psychologically, can't reliably distinguish people of other races prior to knowing a few members of them personally for an extended period of time. This is not uniformally distributed. People who care about you matter. The average Joe down the street does not.

This checks the "why" on racism, and judgement. Which leads us straight into...

* There is a structural incentive problem in how information ecologies replicate themselves, and feeds to action under conditions of visible racial differences, that is best summed up here: [https://i.imgur.com/yjfiYG2.png](https://i.imgur.com/yjfiYG2.png) . Essentially, ideas which cause anger, and anxiety have a _higher delta-replication rate, than every other piece of information any human being can imagine up, ever_.

* This article of yours? Yeah, it's essentially tapping into the same reaction by referencing it (as evidenced by the number of comments here). This is counter to your own verbalised preferences. The two most notable summaries of this effect can be found at: * [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rE3j_RHkqJc](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rE3j_RHkqJc) This Video Will Make You Angry * [http://slatestarcodex.com/2014/12/17/the-toxoplasma-of-rage/](http://slatestarcodex.com/2014/12/17/the-toxoplasma-of-rage/)

For this reason, here is what you can, actually, do about stuff:

* Get off the toxoplasma. Unfollow people who replicate stuff, which makes you feel compelled to react to hatred.

* IF you read something, which makes you feel hatred, ALWAYS, always check the source. In case of law, read the original statement made by court. In case of newsreports, why are you watching newsreports? see 1. Not enough? open up newsreports 5 years ago, and determine how relevant is whatever they are writing to the now-you.

* BE THE SYSTEMATIC CHANGE YOU WANT TO SEE IN THE WORLD. Does writing " I felt like I had to say something. Anything" solves problems directly? No. Does it suddenly induces fear into >20K people? Heck yes. Does it also generates you traffic? Yes. (you see the incentive problem here?) But is it quality traffic, that will convert? Only to other fear-inducing things. Is this the sort of system you want to increase? If not, can you take that ~40 minutes of writing an article into planning? If not, can you code, and donate whatever you've made in that same 40 minutes? Both hacks at the joints of the problem, instead of escalating it.

<comment><USER75> Would you tell Ta-Nehisi Coates or James Baldwin to take action instead of writing about their experiences? Writing is a perfectly fine way of taking action.

We don't even know what the writer does in his spare time. He might be doing those things already.

</comment></comment><comment><USER10> These are interesting. As usual, I have some points from personal experience as a white minority and others just general. His bullet list is mostly good to illustrate what he's describing as racial bias affecting him. However, a few got my attention more than others.

"Being mistaken for another Black person at work"

This is common and should be expected by any minority anywhere if significant differences exist between how two groups identify their members. The reason is that intuitive parts of the brain work based on what input they've received so far. They generalize the patterns out of the data, especially relevant vs data to ignore. Then, they use that for classifying or reacting to new data. Further, what varies the most on Black people is different than what varies the most on white people. Both sides get used to focusing on details important in their area. Simply put, these people probably see very few Black people, look for different traits for identifying them, and therefore suck at differentiating Black people in a casual way (i.e. not focusing).

Just need more Black people in Silicon Valley to increase exposure. Then, this problem starts going away. Meanwhile, it's somethign that sucks a bit but isn't necessarily racism. Just how the mind works that forces a person to work to get noticed & remembered. Happens to me, too, since I intentionally look plain (but nice) to differentiate which people are worth my time. People even trip over me in stores sometimes because they can't remember they saw me. Unless I wear a hoodie: almost everyone, esp cops, sees me then haha.

"Being asked things like, "So, what's it like being a Black guy in Silicon Valley?""

May be good or bad. Many people are curious about others' experiences. Yet, despite this being a problem, he's writing an article on what it's like being a Black guy in Silicon Valley. He feels better getting it out of his system and possibly hopes to help others understand the perspective. Similar to why some ask. They can't ask but do tell.

"Feeling out of place when I can't identify with certain pop culture references or cultural norms"

That's due to both location and race. It was very hard to keep up with the Black ones as a white minority since both the references and the language itself change so fast. I stayed confused by something even when I got a lot of it. Just nodded, grinned, or looked shocked like the rest. So, I relate to this one as a painful, social barrier that will persist unless he embeds a lot with white culture and activities as I had to do with Blacks. It will still persist but he'll have it easier since whites prefer people acting more like them. It's the opposite with Blacks, at least in the South, where they often get angry if whites imitate their culture.

"Being the most athletic person in a particular group, and having people say things like, "…of course it would be the Black guy""

Black people have been telling me for years they're better at sports. All kinds of them young and old. This is one of those things, though, that I wonder if Blacks themselves put into white consciousness. I wondered it myself at one point as a kid thanks to them repeating it nonstop. Especially over basketball and boxing. I'm not sure how long or far Blacks have been saying it due to lack of broader data. Could be white sourcing, too.

"Feeling like I was chosen for certain photo/video opportunities at work and during other activities to feign diversity and acceptance"

This one is more open for debate as it looks totally racist at first. Then, you have to think of all the lawsuits by Jesse Jackson et al where they look at number of Black people, what they make, what words people used, what relationships were like, and so on to argue for massive, financial damages. These events are probably the rare case but will be on media enough to put them into white, management's minds. You also look many Blacks pushing for affirmative action or voluntary quotas to "embrace diversity." With that backdrop, many will try to reduce liability, improve image, or both by hiring some more Blacks or other minorities. They'll also try to show it so people notice. So, this is another case where specific groups of Blacks and/or liberals in general act in a way that, combined with media and whites' own thinking, collectively increases odds Black people might be treated this way. I even warned them it would happen when I opposed most forms of affirmative action & associated liabilities.

Those being hired might be anything from "token hires" to the minority member among several qualified candidates. The latter isn't so bad but the former can make for very, bad situation. This dynamic sucks for all the races and any solution I've presented came with realistic objections from some party involved. One I promoted a long time ago a combo of blind auditions & performance reviews from third party along with, if even applied, quotas only for qualified candidates that resulted from auditions. Everyone, whether ideal candidate or not, will know they earned their place with race/gender having minimal impact. Tricky thing to promote for many reasons. Given that, it was extra-neat for me reading here about GapJumpers putting similar ideas in action. Time will tell...

"At a certain point in my life, I realized that I had no positive role models (let alone ones I could relate to), so I set out to become a positive role model for my siblings. I didn't want them to have to resort to gangs, violence, or go looking for love to find ways to identify with others and gain acceptance. I wanted them to learn to love themselves, and learn to love & empathize with others."

Should've been the conclusion. This is _exactly_ how the most awesome and successful Blacks formed in the down-trodden areas I was in. Probably most from any race if I thought about it more. Just was studying Blacks more as they were the majority. I just noticed, in hateful schools, there were people that were different. They treated whites as well as anyone else, judging on words and actions. Nothing could hold them back academically with some exceeding me with sheer determination & effort. Later learned their parents and role models, including some teachers, were probably the reason. So, I wish the man success on helping his siblings achieve greatness by teaching _and showing_ them. Great stuff.

</comment><comment><USER36> Old but relevant: KTLA Anchor Apologizes After Mistaking Samuel L. Jackson for Laurence Fishburne (Video)

[http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/live-feed/ktla-anchor- apolo...](http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/live-feed/ktla-anchor-apologizes- mistaking-samuel-679048)

<comment><USER76> Mistaking people is an interesting one because it's totally not-deliberate. I'm a bearded-redhead who's been mistaken with another bearded-redhead at the place I work, but I try not to read too deeply into it.

I just think learning to differentiate faces is just a function of experience and I don't read into it, and I hope others don't read into it when I make mistakes.

</comment></comment><comment><USER77> One question: 127 comments. How many from black people?

</comment><comment><USER78> >It's equally crazy how much more comfortable I feel around other Black people

You've almost figured it out.

<comment><USER79> Not sure what you mean.

<comment><USER80> I do not know how to put delicately, but people easily feel comfortable in groups that are genetically similar to them.

<comment><USER81> Seriously?

<comment><USER80> You have anything to debunk other than some snide remark. Yes, people feel comfortable in their ethnic groups, that does mean they do not have friends outside of it or inter-marry. Look around yourself, and spare me of snark.

</comment></comment></comment></comment></comment><comment><USER82> "Being told by cab drivers that they're the first Black person they've ever had a positive encounter with"

So either the cab drivers are lying and saying that line to every black person they encounter for some reason I can't fathom -- or they're being honest about their experiences.

"Being asked things like, "So, what's it like being a black guy in Silicon Valley?""

And yet you wrote a blog post to tell us what it's like. I read it because I was interested, but does my interest therefore mean that mean I'm actually part of the problem?

"Feeling like I was chosen for certain photo/video opportunities at work and during other activities to feign diversity and acceptance"

You probably were. That sucks, but it's one of those damned if you do/don't things. If they don't do it, somebody's going to accuse them of something.</comment>


Ask HN: PHP or Ruby? - <AUTHOR>

Looking to build a website with social networking elements to connect people. Which is a better choice, PHP or Ruby? Need to consider scalability, performance, ease of development, support, hosting... <comment><USER2> Scalability doesn't have anything to do with the programming language but rather with the architecture. The same goes for performance unless you're talking about pure number-crunching. The ease of development depends on your experience with either toolset.

I'm sorry if this sounds harsh, but by asking this question you sound like you aren't a programmer but rather somebody that wants to go to rent-a-coder and have somebody build 'the next facebook'.

<comment><AUTHOR> You are right, partly. Am more of a DB person with a minimal understanding of scripting languages. Hence the reach-out. About building the next facebook, I would love to.

</comment></comment><comment><USER3> Short answer: Any language can scale, and any language can perform well. The easiest language to develop and support is the one you know. Hosting is just as simple/easy/cheap with either language. If you already know one of those languages, go with it. If you don't, go with Ruby; it's a vastly better language, with a more mature ecosystem.

Longer answer:

* Scaling and performance is mostly an issue of architecture, and is heavily dependent on what you're trying to accomplish. You can go a long way just by using varnish/nginx/memcached as appropriate, and serving static assets from a CDN. The actual language is sort of a sideshow, because no language is fast enough; everything needs to be pre-calculate and cached.

* If you don't know either language, you'll probably find that Ruby is easier to learn and become productive with, but it's easier/cheaper to find good PHP developers. Kind of a wash. In either case, you will absolutely need to pick and learn a framework as well, which adds more overhead. (No, you aren't going to write a social networking app in PHP without a framework.)

* It's easier to get a basic PHP page hosted, but if you're even _thinking_ about scalability and performance, then you need more than Bob's Discount Hosting. Doing PHP hosting right is no easier (or harder) than doing Ruby hosting right.

Basically, it doesn't much matter. At the end of the day, _most_ (not all) programmers who have programmed in both detest PHP and love Ruby, and you'll _probably_ find it easier to hire PHP devs.

</comment><comment><USER4> I personally prefer PHP, having used both.

I'm not saying that Ruby is better or PHP is better, it really depends on your ability with the two, but from what I have found in the past, PHP has been easier to scale and has performed well, it is also more widely hosted, though this is really irrelevant as there are still plenty of ruby hosts.

Support for PHP is generally better as it has a larger user-base but generally Google is your friend either way.

You should make the decision based on personal preferences, for instance, I find Ruby much more fun to write, but I can't stand debugging it, whereas I have used PHP for so long that now, those stupidly bad error messages are actually a native language to me.

</comment><comment><USER5> The one you are more comfortable in developing. Choice of framework is more important. If you are good in PHP choose a framework like codeigniter or symfony. If you are good in Ruby choose a framework like Rails.

I have developed in all php, ruby, python and my personal favorite is Python/Django or Python/Flask.

If you want to use any 3rd party api e.g., Facebook API make sure it has official SDK for language you choose.

<comment><USER4> Could not agree more, I used to hate frameworks but after experiencing codeigniter I can definitely see the benefits now, faster development, less complicated code and a structured site architecture.

Though, the crypto packages on CI could definitely use an upgrade.

</comment></comment><comment><USER6> This is a question I've been dealing with myself for some time. I've alot of professional experience with PHP but have done some work in Ruby (on Rails) too. I'm looking to build a decent size site and in the end have opted for PHP for the following reasons:

\- familiarity with the language \- wide support and hosted everywhere \- not restricted by Rails 'norms' \- easier to get up and running on a live server, even if it's your own virtual box \- proven scalability \- personally not mad on ActiveRecord (Rails way of interacting with DB). Would rather have greater control over my DB interactions, which I know is possible in Rails but it's very non-standard

Ruby IMHO is a far superior language to PHP, but you will have to learn a framework to get it up and running on the web, whether it's Rails, Sinatra or something else. Same with Python. PHP doesn't require a framework, although plenty exist, so it'll be easier to get an initial prototype up and running.

</comment><comment><USER7> If you are considering PHP, do explore Yii framework. I haven't used Yii myself but I have heard a lot about its goodness as compared to other PHP frameworks.

If Ruby, RoR should be the first choice I guess. You may also want to consider Sinatra.

</comment><comment><USER8> Are you going to be writing the majority of the code? If so, try out both languages for a few days each and see which you like better. Spending a week choosing the right tool for the job will save you countless hours in the future.

If you're outsourcing the development then you shouldn't be concerned about which language is used. You should be looking for a team of developers who know what they're doing and have experience building systems similar to yours.

Performance and scalability shouldn't be factors when choosing a language, either. Good caching and a delivery network like Akamai or CloudFlare will be more than enough for most large websites. I work on several large (100k+ visitors/day) websites that run on PHP - we get by just fine by caching the hell out of everything on multiple levels (web server, traffic manager, Akamai).

My advice is to focus on the end product, not the implementation. Don't get caught up in which technologies to use, or you will lose sight of what you want to create.

</comment><comment><USER9> However if you are looking to recruit coders for the project first you need to find a good (PHP / Ruby) coder and then let them help you with the recruiting. If your skills in either PHP or Ruby are not up to snuff then you are likely to make some serious recruiting mistakes.

Also I would recommend that you take a serious look at python. My personal preferences puts java at the bottom of the list and PHP above that but below python and ruby (I'm a ROR developer by the way).

</comment><comment><USER10> PHP if you are on a shared hosting environment, otherwise Ruby.

</comment><comment><USER11> If you ask such questions, then php

</comment><comment><USER12> Do you already know one of these languages? You know what they say about photography: the best camera is the one you have with you. The same goes for programming: if you already know how to build something in PHP, there's not much sense trying to make the project in Ruby.

If you know neither, try both of them for a short while and see which one you like better. It's really a 'what do you like better: apples or oranges' kind of question.

</comment><comment><USER13> If you are concerned with Ruby and scalability, use JRuby on top of Tomcat. It does give you a few pieces of magical scalability, however (and more importantly) it allows you to work with "enterprisey" Java tools/libraries/systems that allow you to reach reasonable levels of scalability quickly.

And read this - <http://www.ruby-forum.com/topic/1119702>

</comment><comment><USER14> I agree with many of the other comments here (I prefer ruby myself, but agree that the architecture is what determines scalability).

On the PHP bit, I've done a fair amount of PHP work, but am trying to avoid it for the following reasons: [http://me.veekun.com/blog/2012/04/09/php-a- fractal-of-bad-de...](http://me.veekun.com/blog/2012/04/09/php-a-fractal-of- bad-design/)

</comment><comment><USER15> PHP is phantastic. Ruby is rubbish. < just kidding. You can do cool scaleable stuff in both languages (nowadays).

Choose the right hosting environment. Maybe a scalable cloud platform? Consider a PaaS like: Heroku, DotCloud, AppFog …

Shameless Plug: We are developing a PHP Platform ourselves: <http://fortrabbit.com>

</comment><comment><USER16> None of the points you list have any relevance for making a choice. The two languages are so similar, that it's (imho) entirely a matter of taste which you prefer. If you have experience in either, probably go with that. If you don't, see what your immediate support network prefers and go with that. You're going to need their help when you get stuck.

</comment><comment><USER17> I'd suggest you consider: 1\. Labor costs. Ruby developers may be twice as expensive as PHP ones given the same level of tasks to be solved. 2\. Labor availability. Whether it is easier for you to find PHP programmer or Ruby programmer when you need one?

For me in Russia answer is definitely PHP, Ruby guys are rare and expensive here :)

</comment><comment><USER18> Both

Neither

Do some research and find which one works best for the product you envision building. If they both sound like a good fit, go with whatever one you can get help with more easily, since you mention (in the comments) you're not a programmer.

</comment><comment><AUTHOR> Am considering Ruby at the moment. But reminded of Twitter dropping Ruby due to certain reliability issues. Hence having second thoughts. Or am I a little ahead of myself here worrying about something that may never affect me?

<comment><USER7> Hmm... Do you have plans of building something at Twitter scale? If you can foresee that, then I guess you are right when you are considering Twitter's case of dropping Ruby.

I am no Ruby-ist but I am sure Ruby is not that bad that you will have troubles scaling. You just have to understand how to scale and you can use either PHP or Ruby to apply the general concepts of scalability.

<comment><USER19> Twitter didn't "drop Ruby". They just replaces (huge) parts of their stack by other things that might or might not written in their old default language. As will anyone that has to work at their scale. Their frontend was still Rails for a long time (or still is, in parts?).

Example: see what they have to offer as open source. Still quite a bit of Ruby: <http://twitter.github.com>

</comment></comment></comment><comment><USER20> This question needs a lot more context for any answer to be useful. Who's the developer? What's the long-term plan? What's your own background? What does the app do?

I hate to say "It depends", but sometimes it really does.

</comment><comment><USER21> I would suggest Rails if you want ruby and definitely consider Laravel as a php framework. I am quiet loving the framework, though am bootstrapping one of my web apps on laravel and majority of my works are in Rails ...

</comment><comment><USER22> These threads really will get you nowhere. There are countless discussions like this all over the internet and in every one of them you'll find people stating one or the other choice. You need to try it for yourself.

</comment><comment><AUTHOR> Thanks for the responses folks.

</comment><comment><USER23> Python. (YouTube, Reddit, ...)

Second choice Ruby without a second of doubt.</comment>


LG admits premium display fails near wi-fi - happy-go-lucky http://www.bbc.com/news/technology-38853962 <comment><AUTHOR> _" Changing the location or positioning of either the router or the display should resolve the issue," it said._

"Doctor, it hurts when I do this!"

"Don't do that!"

\---

The article said future models will include additional shielding. Will the people who bought the earlier models be allowed to exchange, or is the above non-solution all they get?

<comment><USER2> The buzz on the Mac web is that they can retro-fit old displays. Don't know if it'll be an exchange or what.

From MacRumors: [https://www.macrumors.com/2017/02/03/lg-27-inch-5k-display-r...](https://www.macrumors.com/2017/02/03/lg-27-inch-5k-display- router-fix/)

> Owners affected by the issue are advised to get in touch with Apple, LG, or > their reseller to arrange for a repair.

<comment><USER3> I'm guessing they just staple some of this shit on: [https://www.lessemf.com/fabric5.html#1246](https://www.lessemf.com/fabric5.html#1246)

"yep, that should do it, all better now!"

</comment></comment></comment><comment><USER4> I see this label on most electronic devices I own:

"This device complies with part 15 of the FCC Rules. Operation is subject to the following two conditions: (1) This device may not cause harmful interference, and (2) this device must accept any interference received, including interference that may cause undesired operation." [1]

If the display comes with that label, shouldn't that be enough to make LG subject to a class action suit, or at least a huge fine from the FCC? Or is the FCC another agency that's lost its teeth this year, along with the FDA and the EPA?

[1] [https://www.law.cornell.edu/cfr/text/47/15.19](https://www.law.cornell.edu/cfr/text/47/15.19)

<comment><USER5> I think LG is in the clear.

My understanding is that as owner of the LG display, you simply cannot sue your WiFi router manufacturer for messing up your monitor, hence the "must accept any interference ... including interference that may cause undesired operation."

Part 15 doesn't guarantee that the monitor will continue to operate under interference.

<comment><USER6> Indeed. My understanding is those terms mean your device can't defensively interfere with the operation of _other_ devices because they are causing undesired operation of your device.

</comment></comment></comment><comment><USER7> That seems like a bad flaw they should have detected during product testing. Rushed to get to market.

I bought their smaller 4K monitor last week and so far, except for a not perfectly fitting usb-c socket, all is great so far. I love it.

</comment><comment><USER8> Wasn't this front page just the other day? Users basically mentioned that the monitor itself was great except for this interference issue.

[https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=13530709](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=13530709)

</comment><comment><USER9> Aha!

I observed the same thing late last year when I use a foldable wristpad with magnets inside that I got from an AT&T booth at a tech conference.

So this is not limited to that specific LG display. Mine is an LG 24MA32D that I bought about 3 years ago.

<comment><USER3> One wonders if the 2.4ghz USB3 interference [1] also messes with it, keep your external drives away!

[1] [http://www.intel.com/content/www/us/en/io/universal- serial-b...](http://www.intel.com/content/www/us/en/io/universal-serial- bus/usb3-frequency-interference-paper.html)

<comment><USER10> I have a USB-C to USB-A hub and a USB 3.0 external HD connected via converter both connected to my LG 5k. No issues so far on either end.

My network is mostly 5Ghz w/ a Google Wifi

</comment></comment></comment><comment><USER5> This isn't new. Honeywell monitor used inside Boeing 737 cockpit failed near WiFi as well. They discovered this defect when in-flight WiFi was introduced.

[http://aviationtroubleshooting.blogspot.com/2014/10/display-...](http://aviationtroubleshooting.blogspot.com/2014/10/display- units-on-boeings-flight-deck.html)

Edit: added link and clarification that the display is used inside the cockpit.

</comment><comment><USER11> I assume this slipped through because the required certifications don't include rigorous requirements for electromagnetic interference on unlicensed bands? Or was this supposed to be caught in required testing?

<comment><USER12> I believe the required testing for FCC Part 15 certification only covers what your device emits, not how it responds to the emissions of other devices.

</comment></comment><comment><USER13> How fucking hard is it to make a competent display? I feel like the A/V market is ripe for disruption. Sell a quality line of displays with no "smart" crap and a relatively low-cost receiver with no "smart" crap, a usable front-end with tons of A/V features and a dozen inputs of different types.

This must be harder than I think it is, because no one is doing it.

<comment><USER14> I dont understand how you can get a 40 inch 4k TV for $350 but a 32 inch 4k display is $900.

Seems the 32 inch space prices are way too high.

<comment><USER15> You're looking at it from the point of view of "but the one over there is bigger". The manufacturer's point of view is "we sell a lot more 40" TVs than we do 32" monitors, so we're going to manufacture the shit out of 40" panels", something something economies of scale.

Same reason we suffered with 27" monitors at 1080 for so long: because LG and the like were selling literal boatloads of 1080 panels to put in TVs. If you wanted something out of band like a 1440 panel, well, get your checkbook out.

Oh, and does that 4K TV do 60fps at 4K? (Honest question, I have no idea if they do or not. Though I would assume so.)

<comment><USER16> If you ever want a good place to answer your last question, I found rtings to be indespensible when I was shopping for a new TV last year. The "supported resolutions" section answers your question, and there's lots of other good information:

[http://www.rtings.com/tv/reviews/sony/x850c#comparison_200](http://www.rtings.com/tv/reviews/sony/x850c#comparison_200)

<comment><USER17> On the other monitor / panel side, if anyone isn't aware of it, TFT Central is amazing. [http://www.tftcentral.co.uk/](http://www.tftcentral.co.uk/)

</comment></comment></comment></comment></comment><comment><USER18> Slightly offtopic: can somebody recommend me a 4K display for programming (around 28-32inches)?

</comment><comment><USER19> This is the biggest bummer with Apple existing the display business. Say what you will about them but at least the engineering is competent.

<comment><USER20> Competent but not flawless (antennagate, bendgate). So maybe not so different from LG.

</comment></comment><comment><USER21> LG has been plagued with quality control issues. Their Android phones are known to suffer from boot loop problems.</comment>


OK Boomer, Who's Going to Buy Your 21M Homes? - <AUTHOR> https://www.wsj.com/articles/ok-boomer-whos-going-to-buy-your-21-million-homes-11574485201 <comment><USER2> > Baby boomers are getting ready to sell one quarter of America's homes over > the next two decades. The problem is many of these properties are in places > where younger people no longer want to live.

Yes, and even if the younger generation does want to live there, they cannot afford to because baby boomers are currently hogging all the cash.</comment>