Inclusivity is one of those things that you just have to do, and not talk about. I sincerely hope the irony of excluding this man in the name of inclusivity is not lost on the crowd. What a mess.
I think more people would do well to practice the tolerance and acceptance that they preach. As a gay man, I've run into my fair share of loud mouthed, biggoted people, who say incredibly mean things about me without realizing that they're affecting someone in the same room. A good deal of my friends are Christians, and a good deal of my family is as well. At least in our churches, being gay is considered quite a heavy sin. Somewhat intuitively then, when I came out to my family, I was simultaneously declaring that I would no longer be a part of their religion.
And you know? We didn't fight about it. They understand my limitations, and I still love them. I'm still friends with my Christian friends, and I'm still on great terms with my family. We disagree on certain things but that's OK, because they've learned to see the good in my unique outlook on life, and I've learned to understand the love tolerance that their Jesus teaches, because I watch them practice it every day. We've learned to accept one another, despite our differences.
Inclusivity is not hard, but it starts with avoiding conflict. You're going to have to tolerate that which occasionally offends you, and learn to let it go. Learn to love people despite their flaws, because goodness do people have flaws. We're not perfect. Nowhere near it. But all people still have some good in them, and it's worth making the effort to see past that which you dislike to appreciate the human being underneath it all.
I don't disagree with your overall post except for this point:
> Inclusivity is not hard, but it starts with avoiding conflict.
I think inclusivity is hard -- for all the reasons you mention in the following sentence, e.g. having the strength to let things go, and the open-mindedness to love someone despite their purported flaws. Not only is inclusivity hard, but it is important to recognize how hard it is to achieve and maintain. Because otherwise it becomes easy to trivialize people who genuinely fight for it but fail to achieve it.
How it's related to this conf and Crockford? They refused papers of gay-speakers? Crockford insulted gay-speakers? For both cases answer is No - I don't understand this hysteria about Nodevember.
I respect gays, I respect women, but they should try to attempt as speakers before asking why there's only male speakers on some event.
I think the idea that another man might find them attractive is a source of discomfort. When I came out to my straight friends, almost all of them asked me if at any point I found them attractive, and were visibly relieved when I informed them that I did not.
I suppose even if you are attracted to one of them, you might not admit it, because that could make thinks awkward between you in the future.
So they ask you, not because they want to know the truth, but because they want your assurance that nothing will change in the relationship between you.
> Inclusivity is one of those things that you just have to do, and not talk about
i agree, marching under any banner makes me extremely uncomfortable.. even one of inclusivity
what should be talked about instead though is the exclusivity
i actively seek paradox
i think there are profound truths to be found therein
one that endeared to me long ago was 'exclude exclusion'
> I sincerely hope the irony of excluding this man in the name of inclusivity is not lost on the crowd.
you can easily exclude excluders without your noted irony.. just offer for thaem to exclude thaemself
for a while the posts and articles about this decision lacked any information as to the catalyst to this decision
now what i am seeing is a complete lack of any mention about what the talk was intended to be
what i want to see is this:
first, the topic for the individual's talk.. maybe offer slides or notes as more information will aide in preempting subsequent objections, also if requiring one, then require all speakers to do the same..
if it is purely technical, then great!
if it contains specific elements that people say make them feel excluded, especially that add little more than some intended humor.. see gonads'monads argument..
then offer the speaker an opportunity to either make changes, or to choose to keep the talk as is instead of giving it
why does this whole thing seem predicated on assumptions of universal knowledge and understanding?
what is even the message the conference organisers are trying to express here? progress comes from discourse intended to explicitly develop understanding, stead some assumed a priori posturing
trust is expected, respect is earned
i trust anyone can grow personally, but if someone wants to double down on an inconsequential element of their message that adversely affects others then i'll withhold my respect
I think more people would do well to practice the tolerance and acceptance that they preach. As a gay man, I've run into my fair share of loud mouthed, biggoted people, who say incredibly mean things about me without realizing that they're affecting someone in the same room. A good deal of my friends are Christians, and a good deal of my family is as well. At least in our churches, being gay is considered quite a heavy sin. Somewhat intuitively then, when I came out to my family, I was simultaneously declaring that I would no longer be a part of their religion.
And you know? We didn't fight about it. They understand my limitations, and I still love them. I'm still friends with my Christian friends, and I'm still on great terms with my family. We disagree on certain things but that's OK, because they've learned to see the good in my unique outlook on life, and I've learned to understand the love tolerance that their Jesus teaches, because I watch them practice it every day. We've learned to accept one another, despite our differences.
Inclusivity is not hard, but it starts with avoiding conflict. You're going to have to tolerate that which occasionally offends you, and learn to let it go. Learn to love people despite their flaws, because goodness do people have flaws. We're not perfect. Nowhere near it. But all people still have some good in them, and it's worth making the effort to see past that which you dislike to appreciate the human being underneath it all.