[smtddr]

To the author of this blog and all ladies reading this:

I'm sorry, but just like stories around racial diversity in tech you're about to see a bunch of HN comments making _EVERY EXCUSE CONCEIVABLE_, and then some, to dismiss your concerns and/or say this blog is doing damage instead of helping. I think they're all wrong, but I can't argue against all of them. All I can do is upvote your supporters and downvote the detractors.

Please just keep on keeping on. I have a daughter here who will benefit from the path you're creating. You won't see it in the comments of HackerNews, but there are men in tech who can actually see the glass walls & ceilings women run into in this field starting back to at least high-school and won't deny it with pedantic arguments that go nowhere & prove/disprove nothing.

That is all.

[hueving]

Way to throw out the righteous indignation before anything actually happened. That doesn't add to the conversation at all and, if anything, just invites problems.

[DanBC]

It did have a horrible tone but we know it's true. There are some deeply unpleasant people on HN who are happy to spew some really vile opinions.

[yummyfajitas]

Once upon a time, progressive modernist thinkers believed that the correct response to vile speech was a well thought out logical rebuttal.

I miss those days. Nowadays it's dismiss, demonize and downvote.

[DanBC]

I miss the days when things that gratify my intelectual curiosity where the things that got upvotes on HN and things that attract low value flaming didn't get upvoted.

Have a look through this thead for the number of people making the "we don't have programmes to get men in nursing" point. Then see that point being made, and rebutted, in every single previous similar thread. There is no point trying to hold logical conversation with people who are dishonest.

These people don't recognise their bias. Indeed, they have a weird pride in that bias, as if they have The Truth and all those other sheep are being duped by The Women.

[yeukhon]

We all carry some bias. It's like telling a strong animal rightist about hunting. They are not going to agree with you whatsoever, even if it's just philosophical discussion.

> Then see that point being made, and rebutted, in every single previous similar thread. There is no point trying to hold logical conversation with people who are dishonest.

People are just trying to bring out their own arguments. It's not all that weird to argue that someone would want to have more male nurses because the public image of nurse is feminine.

Some arguments are weak and some are strong. For example, in abortion, the two most flammable are status of the fetus and the woman's right, but to be honest, after reading Rosalind Hursthouse's Abortion paper, you will that neither is relevant in the discussion of abortion. But we still bring them up because that's just how people view the issue and I think that's fair and not dishonest.

Dismissive and dishonest responses are those just reject facts without proof. For example, if someone says there are enough women in the tech sector that's a lie because we know the number is not high and we shouldn't place any quota at all. But if someone says that we have enough opportunity for women to enter the tech sector that's not dismissive or dishonest. It's a fair argument because the lack of resource vary from location to location, from age to age, from school to school and vary from personal experience.

[shangxiao]

Your condescending attitude just makes you sound like a tool, not a hero

[_bfhp]

OP was the one calling out condescending people, actually

[theorique]

In a condescending manner though.

[yeukhon]

Downvote simply because someone disagree is like telling other to shut up and don't ever talk about it. That's not the right attitude to respect disagreements.

[rimantas]

  > I have a daughter here who will benefit from the path
  > you're creating

How do you know this? Do you alread have her future planned?