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Forgetting Diversity

by Micah on February 29th

My friend Andrew Hyde launched VC Wear recently. Before it went live, we were sitting at Trident and I tweeted about the experience.

“Dude,” he giggled. “Can you write a blog post about it?” so I did.

About a week ago or so, my friend Danny Newman instant messaged me a link.

And here is how that conversation went:

W1REDone: dude
W1REDone: what the fuck
MicahB37: what the hell?

Clearly not getting the response he desired, Danny continued:

W1REDone: im starving
W1REDone: have you had lunch?

In both cases, my friends had an expected response, since my responses are always one of four types: Serious, Snide, Snarky or Satirical.

But sometimes, those responses are not immediate. Take the article Danny sent (have you read it?). I read it and thought it was fake because it was so blatantly racist, poorly written, and neither Serious, Snide, Snarky or Satirical. That was a week ago.

Yesterday, I was at lunch and read the Colorado Daily, a free paper here in Boulder. There were articles about protests on campus (I had almost forgotten I was in a college town) which reminded me of the protests we had at UC Davis (contrary to what my parents thought I actually did something besides play Spades and Dominoes, drink and smoke weed while in college). The kid who wrote the piece was suspended. People cried that it wasnt enough.

I read the Colorado Daily’s take on the article. Which reminded me of the stupidity of most people who sit behind a news desk and write opinions. Which made me continue to believe that print newspapers should die in their current format. That solidified the belief that we learn more from each other and doing than we ever do from newspapers or professors or books. Especially in business (but thats another post for another day).

(By the way, the response by the Colorado Daily will ensure that I will never read that paper again. Ever.)

And if the Colorado Daily’s search didnt suck, I would pull up the article I read yesterday about the reaction of professional satirists about the article. Their reaction? Same as mine. Clearly written by someone who should be a student, who thought he was funnier than he really is, and needs to take a couple more writing classes before sitting down and writing again. And, most importantly, doesnt understand satire.

But, I still wasnt planning on posting my thoughts. Until this am. What got me going? Two words in a post by my friend Brad Feld about his rejection process.

What were those words?

“time diversity”

I love this concept. Even with time, diversity is important. Every day, I try to live my life diversely. What does that mean?

For me, it means that each day I try something I have never tried before. I try to be better at something I am mediocre at. I review things about myself that I dont like, and figure out how to change them. I am respectful and accepting of difference.

I learn. I experience. I absorb. I enjoy. I wonder. I respect. I accept. I teach. I fail. I succeed.

This guarantees diversity in my life. It ensures that diversity is just something I do, it has become so ingrained in my existence, that I dont need concious thought to “be” diverse.

I used to serve on diversity committees. The question would always be posed: “Why do we need a diversity committee?” My answer was always the same: “Until diversity becomes so a part of our lifes that its an after-thought, it needs to be front of mind and action.”

Max Karson forgot that.

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Viewing 7 Comments

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    I've been following your twitter messages about this. I don't know how you can insist that anyone else "take a moment . . . and think" when you're clearly not. Railing against anything that mentions race or racism as if it were itself racist does not give you the facade of being hip and enlightened that you so desire. It isn't independent thought, it's mob mentality. There are millions like you, who think they "get it", and by "get it" they mean they've figured out "racism, bad. Mention of racism, also bad. I'll look sympathetic if I always speak out against racism any time it comes up. There, that was easy." You end up contributing to the problem, because the moment anyone brings up the topic it triggers you and those like you to immediately shout them down, like robots: "Racist, bad! Racist, bad! Whew, that was a close one! Good thing we were here, someone nearly had a thought."

    I'll grant that the CU column by Karson was poorly executed. It wasn't very funny, and it was a bit more stinging than it probably needed to be. But it couldn't be more obvious that he was aiming for satire. If you insist that he wasn't, then you have to believe he was actually planning to round up Asians with butterfly nets.

    You're not *that* dumb, are you?
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    @bill - here is my point: it wasnt satire. It was a poor attempt at satire. It therefore missed its mark. It was therefore just racist. Yes, racist. Perhaps unintentionally racist, but racist nonetheless.

    My post was not to "rail against anything that mentions race or racism." My post was to rail against poorly executed documents and the discussion around the document. If I was going to do as you suggested I did, why did I take a week to respond?

    If his intent was to foster discussion about racism, then he failed. He put the spotlight on himself rather than the problem, and for that, I condemn his misguided actions.

    Read my words. I didnt DISMISS the piece as racist. I said his intent was poorly executed. (although the piece, since it was lacking satire, was then nothing but racist).

    Read my words. I say specifically that the issue of diversity is important UNTIL it is part of who we are.

    Read my words. As someone who has experienced both sides of this conversation personally I take offense to your implication that I am simply trying to sweep the issue under the rug. My point is simple. Max's intent was good (foster communication) his execution was poor.

    Read my words. do I think racism is bad? Yes. Do I think it should be discussed? Yes. Do I think it can be solved by avoiding it? Fuck no.

    That doesnt mean he should be cannonized or condemned, it means he should be taught, and he should learn.

    And it means that we all should think and act. What Max wrote fostered neither.
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    I have read your words. I was responding - perhaps unfairly - more to things you said on Twitter than here. "It was not satire, it was racist and stupid."

    That doesn't sound to me like separating intent from execution, it sounds quite dismissive. Granted, you can't say a ton in the 140 characters Twitter allows. But even here, you declare your decision never to read the Colorado Daily again, thanks to their take on the matter. Their take appears to be "The kid was trying to write satire and blew it." (As they also point out, no one's noticing that he was far more down on whites than Asians in the piece.)

    Since the first part of that seems to be quite in agreement with what you're now saying (good intention, poor execution), why is it exactly that you're never reading them again?

    I am reading your words. This comment reply is the first time I've seen you mention his intent separately from what he wrote.

    I am reading your words. I have no idea what your note about diversity has to do with any of this. Did Max Karson speak out against diversity? Did I? To whom are you responding, besides those who have asked you in the past why a diversity committee is needed? To bring that up here, when there seems to be no appropriate context for it, looks like posturing.

    I am reading your words. Yes, the point as you've stated in your comment is simple, but I still don't see where you state it prior. I certainly don't see anywhere where you've called his intent "good", or noted that he intended to foster communication. Noting that he needs to take more writing classes sounds more like insult than insight.

    I think your comment in response to mine has offered far greater insight into what you're trying to say than your blog post did, and your remarks on Twitter seemed exactly contrary. If what you say in your comment is what you really meant, then we are largely in agreement. But until you posted it, it didn't seem like that at all.

    One last point: I assume that when you say you've "experienced both sides of this conversation personally" you don't mean that you've been racist, but rather that you've been the target of discrimination. Do you really think there are many among us who have not? I regret that you felt offended, but don't think that you carry some membership card that gives you insight into the matter that is not shared by many.
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    @bill - that makes sense, what I was doing on twitter was reacting to a friend, Andrew, seemingly approving and supporting this kid Max.

    my comment on diversity was simply to note that discussion needs to occur that affects real change, not just sparks discussion.

    In re-reading my post, it was perhaps not as complete as it needed to be. It started out being a post about expectations of reactions, slipped into a diatribe on poor execution and ended about diversity. A little too ADD for sure.

    Finally, I have experienced both sides. I have been both discriminated against (for being Jewish, for having tattoos, for not looking white) and discriminated against (people for being too white, for being too privileged, etc.) Honestly, who hasnt taken actions or made decisions that werent tainted with stereotypes or preconceived notions?

    I do think that in many ways I have a unique perspective because I dont look at this issue through a single lens, and I look it based on experiences I have had. Most people react (like I did on Twitter), but most people dont DO anything.
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    why would you want to do other stuff than get stoned and play spades all night long? isn't that what college is all bout? :-)
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    Yes, Micah, this post was a little unfocused. But I'm not saying that because I think you're a douche bag, or a douchebag.

    I'm saying it because I'd like to see you write a post focused on this:

    Every day, I try to live my life diversely. What does that mean?

    For me, it means that each day I try something I have never tried before. I try to be better at something I am mediocre at. I review things about myself that I dont like, and figure out how to change them. I am respectful and accepting of difference.

    I learn. I experience. I absorb. I enjoy. I wonder. I respect. I accept. I teach. I fail. I succeed.

    Recently a friend told me how amazed and impressed he was about the experiences I've had in my life. I've never really thought much about them that way -- I just know that there's something that compels me to do the things you described above, which I guess has led to some of the interesting things that have happened to me along the way.

    But his comment has made me want to think about my experiences in a more focused way, so that I can direct them in a direction that takes me where I want to go. So I'd love to hear your thoughts about that.

    Yeah, Max Karson is a douche bag, but not as big a douche bag as you are. ;-)
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    @paula I will do my best to focus some thoughts and put together a post. I think that when someone tries to inspire, they dont. They are either inspiring or not. Clearly, you are inspiring.
 

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  • Bill Kocik

    February 29, 2008 at 9:54 am

    I've been following your twitter messages about this. I don't know how you can insist that anyone else "take a ...

  • Where Are The Posts on Business, Buddy?

    February 29, 2008 at 10:05 am

    [...] - Diversity [...]

  • Bill Kocik

    February 29, 2008 at 10:55 am

    I have read your words. I was responding - perhaps unfairly - more to things you said on Twitter than ...

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