I've deleted what I wrote because of the scary number of upvotes it was gaining. I don't feel like spending the rest of the night trying to defend something about something that is so devisive even if I am on the "popular" side in this particular forum. I didn't write anything profound and it began to feel like cheap point scoring.
I initially had a similar reaction but then forced myself to take a step back. I think I can sympathise with Adria regarding her initial reaction.
She's a minority surrounded by men who are happy to make these sorts of jokes within earshot. It sounds harmless to us, but I can't even imagine what it's like to have been at PyCon as a black Jewish woman.
It must be very difficult to attend such a conference and then hear a joke like that — made with all the ease and comfort of someone who has no trouble fitting in. It could push you to do something rash like tweet a photo stating how upset it makes you.
Hank did something stupid and insensitive. His actions made a woman feel excluded, even during a talk about being more inclusive to women. But Hank also seems like a good guy who made a mistake that anyone could make.
The overreactions here seem to be on the part of their employers. It fuelled the fire that hurt them both and made the public angry.
I don't really understand how you can be "pushed" to tweet a picture and then make a blog post about it, without feeling to be in a vengeful holy war.
Reporting a bad behavior to the conference organizer is ok. But, I don't see how -in the reality we live in- making a blog post about it will make the world a better place.
She's justifying her lack of empathy by that. He's of a different religion (I suppose he is Christian), so not in-group, but out-group. We have less empathy for out-group people.
Feeling out of place as a black woman I can understand, but how does her religion segregate her from the rest of the audience? Is this difference visible from outside?
Read a little bit on intersectionality [1] and keep in mind that Judaism is a ethnoreligious group that has a history of being oppressed.
My personal take on the matter is that Jews also benefit from quite a bit of privilege, at least in the U.S. but it's understandable why someone with a fusion of minority backgrounds would be aware of how these work against them.
My point was that in the context of the conference, her religion didn't visibly distinguish her from the rest of the audience, so there's no reason to write
"[...] I can't even imagine what it's like to have been at PyCon as a black Jewish woman"
just like there wouldn't be a reason to say
"[...] I can't even imagine what it's like to have been at PyCon as a black vegetarian woman"
or
"[...] I can't even imagine what it's like to have been at PyCon as a black stamp-collecting woman"
Note: I'm aware that the "black Jewish woman" argument was her own statement.
Being raised a black Jewish woman is different from being raised a black woman. That's the entire idea behind intersectionality. Therefore, her black Jewish identity and any oppression she may have suffered as a result is part and parcel in this discussion.
Because she identifies with Jew, then she's being repressed.
Because she identifies with Black, then she's being repressed.
Because she identifies with Woman, then she's being repressed.
In other words, you're going to repress her, whether you like it or not! So stay away from her, or you'll end up in his place.
